Situated 25km/15.5mi west of Lisbon on the Costa do Sol, Cascais (Altitude: 0-20m/0-65f) is one of Portugal's most popular seaside resorts, with a correspondingly wide range of sporting and recreational facilities. Partly owing to the shelter from north winds afforded by the Serra de Sintra this former quiet fishing port swiftly expanded to become an elegant, almost cosmopolitan, coastal resort but little of this elegance remains today. Although prosperous folk from Lisbon still live here Cascais is thronged in the summer months by an endless stream of sunseekers.
There was a settlement here in Roman times. Cascais was granted a charter in the 14th C., but it was devastated by the 1755 earthquake which destroyed most of its old buildings. As the summer residence of the kings of Portugal (from 1870) and the President of the Republic, the turn of the Century saw Cascais becoming a meeting place for high society.
Townscape
In recent years Cascais has grown at a furious rate and has now almost joined up with Estoril. Around the outskirts of the town high rise apartments predominate, together with some exclusive residential areas inhabited by rich Portuguese and many British, French and Germans. The old town center is the only place where there are still a few narrow alleys lined by pretty white houses, while the "smart" area of the town center is now a mass of restaurants, cafes and stalls catering for the tourist trade.
At the western exit from Cascais is the viewpoint above the Boca do Inferno, the "mouth of Hell", a cliff 15-20m/50-65ft high in which the sea has hollowed out a number of caves in which the pounding of the waves gives an impressive demonstration of the power of the Atlantic.
The history of Cascais is closely linked to the sea. The Maritime Museum north of the Parque do Marechal Carmona provides background information.
Address: Maritime Museum, Rua Júlio Pereira de Mello 2750-407 Cascais, Cascais , Portugal
Hours:
10am-5pm; Closed: Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Anniversity of the Revolution - Portugal (April 25), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), National Day - Portugal (June 10), Assumption Day - Christian (August 15), Republic Day - Portugal (October 5), All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1), Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), Independence Day - Portugal (December 1), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Good Friday - Christian, Corpus Christi - Christian
Somewhat further up the road from the Citadel in Cascais is the Baroque style church of Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes, which has a remarkable portal and fine azulejos in the interior.
The Palace of the Condes de Castro Guimaraes houses a small museum containing family portraits and other paintings, as well as furniture, china, silver and gold objects and local prehistoric finds.
To the west of the citadel extends the Parque do Marechal Carmona, and on the southeast side of the park is the Palace of the Condes de Castro Guimaraes, dating from the beginning of the Century, which the family conveyed to the State in 1927.
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Boca do Inferno, Cascais
Beaches, Cascais
Cascais
