After enjoying a relaxing few days on Portugal’s southern coast, we decided to change things up by heading north…for some additional beach time! Cascais was recommended to us by many other travelers given its proximity to Lisbon (40 minutes by train) and charming, small beach-town vibe.
Friday was a long day of traveling – nearly five hours on a bus to Lisbon, then connecting to the train via metro, then finally the train to Cascais – but we were thrilled when we finally arrived in a beautiful small town, full of outdoor cafes and more cobblestone streets (one of the many things we are starting to love about Portugal). We had to wait about a half hour to check into our guest house for the next two nights, but we passed the time by sipping beer outside from a nearby bodega and taking in the views!
The street on which our guest house was located - so pretty!
Right in front of our guesthouse - no dark alleyways here.
After checking in, we freshened up and then headed out to explore the town, which was easily doable by foot. The small town harbor was packed with colorful little fishing boats just as the restaurants were packed with other tourists – mostly local Portuguese visitors.
One of our favorite places to walk past.
Boats in the bay.
Once the sun went down, we sought immediate refuge from the wind and colder temperatures and luckily found it right around the corner from our guesthouse at 5 Sentidos. Well, sort of…we had to sit outside since the place was packed but the restaurant was prepared and handed each of us big, warm blankets to fight off the wind! In addition to the blankets and bottle of wine we ordered, we were also warmed up by the biggest plate of seafood paella I have ever seen in my life.
Seriously, this could have easily fed a table of six!
Alex and I definitely overdid it with the paella (it was just SO good) so we rolled ourselves home and off to bed to rest up for a big day of – you guessed it – doing a whole lot of nothing while relaxing at the beach.
We woke up to perfect weather on Saturday – we have yet to have a cloudy day in Portugal, where it is sunny approximately 300 days out of the year! – and started by walking along the boardwalk from Cascais to nearby Estoril.
Looking back on Cascais.
One of the many beautiful homes we passed by.
Praia Tamariz in Estoril.
Crystal clear - and cold! - water in every direction.
Lots of bright yellow buildings throughout Portugal.
There weren't too many sailboats around but this big one caught our eye.
The walk between the two towns reminded us of the Bondi Beach walk we did in Sydney, though we haven’t seen too many places that can compete with the scenery of the Australian coast! We picked a spot on the beach near Estoril and pretty much camped out for the day, alternating between reading, laying out and cooling off with a dip in the ocean. Once we’d had enough sun, we headed back to Cascais and ended the day with a deliciously simple dinner of mussels and gin at the aptly named Moules & Gin. Alex and I hadn’t been big shellfish eaters prior to this trip (well he has always “claimed” he was allergic to shrimp and scallops), but we will both definitely be incorporating mussels into our future meals!
Quiet streets on the way back to Cascais.
Pre-dinner stroll along the water.
A lot of broth fell into that beard.
We started Sunday with another coastal walk, this time to Boca de Inferno, and enjoyed the much quieter feel of this less-traveled part of town.
Lighthouse near Cascais Marina.
Alex posing near Boca de Inferno.
The cliffs at Boca de Inferno.
While the day was beautiful, we decided that instead of sticking around in Cascais we would head back to Lisbon, agreeing to spend one of our four remaining days in Lisbon at a closer beach town. The past week of surf, sun, sand, siestas (and shellfish!) has been the perfect way to recover from our horrible incident in Marseille and we are looking forward to four more days in sunny Portugal.