Vising Cascais, Portugal

At around 9:30, I ordered UberX from Torel Palace Hotel to Cais do Sodre Train station, which regularly departs for Caicais. We arrived at about 9:57, missing the 10:00 train for Cascais. However, we boarded the next 10:20 train.

According to Wikipedia (see more about Cascais):

Cascais is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal on the Portuguese Riviera. The city has 214,158 inhabitants[1] and an area of 97.40 km2.[2] Cascais is an important tourist destination. Its marina hosts events such as the America's Cup, and the town of Estoril, part of the Cascais municipality, hosts conferences such as the Horasis Global Meeting.

Cascais's history as a popular seaside resort began in the 1870s when King Luís I of Portugal and the Portuguese royal family made the seaside town their residence every September. This also attracted members of the Portuguese nobility, who established a summer community there. 

Cascais is known for the many members of royalty who have lived there, including King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom when he was the Duke of Windsor, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and King Umberto II of Italy. 

Exiled Cuban president Fulgencio Batista was also once a resident of the municipality. The Casino Estoril inspired Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.[3]

The municipality is one of the wealthiest in Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula. It has one of the most expensive real estate markets and one of the highest costs of living in the country, and is consistently ranked highly for its quality of life.

On arrival at Cascais (about 40 minutes later), we started exploring the town. The weather was initially foggy and cloudy. However, the fog cleared by noon, and the sun came out with clouds disappearing.

We saw many interesting shops and restaurants and stopped at Palácio Seixas to take photos. We saw a few people swimming and SUPping on the beach. 

We decided to continue exploring and stopped at Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães. At first, we toured the beautiful gardens with a large tower built up. Then, at around 12:30, we purchased tickets to see the inside. We toured the three-story building and saw some notable paintings and furniture.

According to Wikipedia (see also Palácio dos Condes de Castro Guimarães):

The Palácio dos Condes de Castro Guimarães, originally known as the Torre de São Sebastião (St Sebastian's Tower), was built in 1900 as an aristocrat’s summer residence in Cascais, Lisbon District, Portugal. 

It became a museum in 1931. The building follows an eclectic architectural style, while the museum includes paintings of national and international significance, furniture, porcelain, jewelry, and a neo-Gothic organ.

Our next stop was the Caiscas Lighthouse (Farol Museu de Santa Marta), which was closed. We continued our long walk, stopping at the famous Boca do Inferno, described as:

These scenic oceanfront cliffs feature a natural archway & open cave created by pounding waves.

It was past lunchtime, so we stopped by Mar do Inferno for seafood. After sitting down, we ordered a seafood platter for two, which included fresh seafood (sea bass, large shrimp, clams, and broccoli).

The seafood was delicious!

After lunch, we walked back downtown, looking at various shops. In the Cascais Marina, we found a mall with high-end stores. We looked around for some time but did not buy anything.

We decided to get a light dessert and stopped by a nearby Paul bakery for pastries. I had an espresso with a couple of pastries. The pastries were delicious!

We also tied coffee at the highly rated Coffee Cascais Centro. I tried the mocha while Inna explored the shops around Cascais.

Cascais Trip Report

Highlights

• Sitting around Cascais Beach (near Paul bakery), people watching
• Enjoying the beautiful gardens of Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães
• Munching on pastries at the Paul bakery 

Lowlights

• Hot, muggy weather