t Jetty with fishing boats moored on the mud flats at Carrasqueira
t Jetty with fishing boats moored on the mud flats at Carrasqueira
Experience The Lisbon Coast
Within an hour’s drive northwest of Lisbon you can reach Portugal’s rocky Atlantic coast. Traders and invaders, from the Phoenicians to the Spanish, have left their mark on this region – in particular the Moors, whose forts and castles, rebuilt many times over the centuries, can be found all along the coast. After Lisbon became the country’s capital in 1256, Portuguese kings and nobles built summer palaces and villas in the countryside west of the city, and on the cool, green heights of the Serra de Sintra. Along the “Portuguese Riviera”, wealthy Lisboetas have been building holiday villas in the seaside resort of Cascais as far back as the late 19th century.
Neighbouring Estoril became fashionable when exiled European royalty moved there during World War II; in its heyday, the town became a hotbed for spies, including Ian Fleming, who recreated Estoril’s casino in his first James Bond novel. Across the Tagus, the less fashionable southern shore could be reached only by ferry until the Ponte 25 de Abril was built in 1966. This swiftly opened up the long sandy beaches of the Costa da Caparica, the coast around the fishing town of Sesimbra and even the remote Tróia peninsula as popular summer resorts.