Day tours in Lisbon & surroundings
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Sintra, Cascais, Estoril - half day
Personalized booking
Program
Sunny Coast and its beaches. Cosmopolitan Estoril, colourful Cascais bay, with beaches and the picturesque cliff - the Mouth of
Hell. Guincho, Cabo da Roca - the westernmost point of continental Europe (stop from 1st April to 31 October). Drive across the
luxuriant Sintra Mountain and its gardens to see the Palace (the most ancient of all royal palaces in Portugal) (closed on
Wednesdays, replaced by Queluz Palace).
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... Described by Lord Byron as “Glorious Eden,” Sintra’s charms have long been celebrated. Once the
summer residence of the kings and Moorish lords, today Sintra is a romantic getaway for people from all
around the world. Inhabited since the pre-history period and by Celts and the Romans who called this area
“The Mountain of the Moon”. In the 8th to 9th century, Muslims built a castle here. During Medieval times, the
Portuguese royal family, overflowing with the pomp and riches from their colonial triumphs abroad, first came
here to escape the heat (and stench) of the summer in Lisbon. Beginning in the 14th century, the Portuguese
aristocrats followed the royals to Sintra, a dwelling place for hunting and relaxing. Stormy and mysterious, the
mountain is covered by more than 1000 different species of plants. Several artists from different countries came
here to work, inspired in the beauty of this place, extolling its beauty: “The Garden of Paradise”, “Garden of
Europe”, “Glorious Eden”…
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...One of the most beautiful parts of the Estoril Coast is a succession of hills dotted with pine trees and houses,
sweeping down to the sea and the local villages with their typical houses and the old palatial villas along the sea front.
Villas from the Roman period have been excavated and inscriptions found of family names, names of the Gods they
worshipped and names chosen for their sons. Cascais became a lookout for Lisbon in the great maritime era of
discovering new worlds. It was the first place the navigators saw when they returned from long and adventurous
voyages seeking their homeland. It was in Cascais during the latter part of the XIX century, that the Royal Family first
began to bathe. It was a custom which was becoming popular in Europe and Cascais was an ideal place owing to its
mild climate. Over the years, many important families have made Cascais into a cosmopolitan town...
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