Private tours in Lisbon & surroundings
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Sintra, Cascais, Estoril - full day
Personalized booking
Program
Estoril coast - the "sunny coast" where the sun shines 300 days per year. Drive close by the largest beach of Carcavelos
and the rocky stretch of Sao Joao and Sao Pedro of Estoril with aristocratic palaces, manor houses and deluxe villas.
Cosmopolitan Estoril with a stop at the biggest casino in Europe, its gardens and esplanades. Cascais bay and ancient
fishing port, stop of many navigators in the past, like Columbus and Vasco da Gama. See the typical fishing boats
unloading the catch and a panorama of the coastline. Continue by the seaside with rocky and sandy beaches and the
picturesque cliff - the Mouth of Hell. Guincho, the wind surfer beach and Cabo da Roca - the westernmost point of
continental Europe - view of the ocean and seashore at 140 meters high. Drive across the luxuriant Sintra Mountain and
its gardens by twisted roads surrounded by a huge variety of vegetation - "The Glorious Eden", "The Garden of
Paradise". Admire the noble houses - each one in a different style, matching the variety and originality of the vegetation.
Stop in the medieval Sintra town, with free time to see the most ancient royal palace in Portugal, the narrow streets with
local handicraft shops, the typical local pastry like queijadas and travesseiros, the wine shops, the gardens.
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Our additional suggestions:
-Pena Palace at the top of Sintra mountain. A XIX century palace with a mixture of several styles: Oriental, Arab,
Indian, Neo-classic, Manueline, Renaissance… a fairy tale like palace with a stunning view over the ocean, mountain,
Lisbon. And surrounded by a park with 1000 different species of plants.
-Moorish castle: also at one of the highest points of the mountain with a spectacular view. But only advisable to
people who don’t mind to walk up the hills through steep stairways…
-Mafra convent and palace (an extra payment fee due to extra mileage): dating from the XVIII century, one of the
biggest constructions in Europe, all made of marble, with 900 rooms and a 200 feet high dome. An impressive
building telling about the wealth of king John V. Close by is “Portugal in miniature” or Franco house, with miniatures
of houses and monuments of Portugal.
-Capuchos convent: the smallest convent in Portugal, dug in the granite rock of Sintra, where monks used to live in
the XVI century.
-Regaleira palace: a revival of Manueline style, made by a Portuguese millionaire in the XIX century.
- Queluz palace: the Portuguese Versailles: palace and gardens tell us about the “rocaille” style and the way of living
in the XVIII century.
-Colares wine lodges: come to see the wine cellars of Sintra, where you can also taste and buy this traditional wine
belonging to a demarcated area.
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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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