STEPS 1.812
Day 5: Lisbon – Sintra – Cascais – Lisbon April 23 2025
(Italics tour description)
Following breakfast at the hotel, you will drive along the road surrounded by ancient aristocratic estates and picturesque villages before reaching Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of the European continent.
You will continue to Sintra, a medieval royal residence that became a favourite vacation spot for the aristocracy in the 18th century.
Lunch at leisure in Sintra before taking back the road. Lunch in Cascais.
You will stop at the legendary Devil's Mouth cave and Guincho Beach before taking a stroll in the fishing town of Cascais. On your way back to Lisbon, you will pass by Estoril, a spa town where several noble families lived during World War II.
Dinner at leisure and overnight in Lisbon. (Breakfast)
Breakfast at the hotel and departure at 8:30.
Our first stop is Sintra and Pedro decides we should visit the Palace since we missed out on the Monastery yesterday, however, he collected the entrance fee of 13€ each and booked it on his credit card. HMMM but the monastery had an entrance fee included in our tour package...
Once a summer retreat for Portuguese nobility and royalty, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is captivating with its opulent palaces, extravagant villas and historic sites, all set amongst lush forests and steep hills.
The Sintra National Palace, also known as the Town Palace, was among the palaces used by the Portuguese Royal Family almost up to the end of the Monarchy, in 1910.
Its construction began in the 15th century by an unknown architect. Its features are characteristic of Medieval, Gothic, Manueline, Renaissance and Romantic architecture. The palace is considered an example of organic architecture, an ensemble of apparently distinct forms, which nonetheless come together as a whole, through courtyards, stairs, corridors and galleries. It houses the largest set of Mudéjar tiles in Portugal, and its kitchen is crowned by two large conjoined chimneys: an icon of Sintra.
The first reference to the ‘Paço de Sintra’, alongside the castle which faces it high up in the mountains, was made by the tenth-century Arab geographer, Al-Bakrî. In 1147, following the conquest of Lisbon by King Afonso Henriques, the Almoravides of Sintra surrendered, ending more than three centuries of Muslim domination.
The movie "The Ninth Gate" by Roman Polanski, starring Johnny Depp, was partially filmed in Sintra, Portugal, specifically at the Biester Palace. The Biester Palace, also known as Chalet Biester, is a 19th-century neo-Gothic mansion that served as the location for some scenes in the film, including the mansion of book collector Victor Fargas.
Taken outside the palace.
We are released to explore the town.
Ginjinha is a Portuguese liqueur made from aguardente (brandy or fortified wine) that’s been infused with sour cherries, sugar, and cinnamon. It’s dark red, super sweet, and surprisingly strong, with an ABV of around 18–24%.
Ginjinha is sometimes also called ginja, which can be slightly confusing since this word also refers to the fruit itself: a small red berry that’s highly acidic. In English it’s formally known as a Morello cherry. The word ginjinha may look like a mouthful, but it’s actually pretty simple. Try sounding out “jeen-jeen-ya” and people will probably know what you mean.
It is traditionally served in small edible chocolate cups.
It’s a spectacular drive as the road winds north from the broad sandy beach of Guincho (which loosely translates as ‘scream’) past windswept hills and along rocky cliffs overlooking the Atlantic.
Cabo da Roca or Cape Roca - mainland Europe’s most westerly point.
Besides the lighthouse, which was inaugurated in 1772 and stands as one of the oldest in the world, visitors flock here to marvel at the magnificent sunsets and recall the words of Portugal’s most famous poet, Luís Vaz de Camões, who described Cabo da Roca as the place ‘where the land ends and the sea begins’.
Boca do Inferno (Portuguese for Devil/Hell's Mouth) is a chasm located in the seaside cliffs close to the Portuguese city of Cascais.
Cascais was an important fishing town through the Middle Ages, an aristocrat holiday hotspot in the late 1800’s and a safe haven for exiled European royalty in the Second World War. Benefitting from fresh Atlantic breezes the town is a favorite destination for the Portuguese, especially residents of Lisbon. The town is also one of the wealthiest in Portugal and one of the most expensive real estate markets, as we saw by the many large mansions along the sea front.
We headed for a lunch spot. It was a local Portuguese restaurant.
John had piri-piri chicken and I had shrimp.
During World War II, the Hotel Palácio provided sanctuary for European royal families who had fled to Estoril, earning the area the nickname “Coast of Kings.” Many members of European nobility made the hotel their chosen residence. However, the hotel also attracted British and German spies who frequented the hotel’s bar, leading to tales of intrigue and espionage that later inspired famous novels and movies, including the James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”
Back to Lisbon. We Uber to the Time Out Market.
I'm a big fan of market halls and Toronto now has several.
Set within the old-school Mercado da Ribeira, where locals buy their meat and fish, it’s one of the best places in Lisbon to while away the day, eating and drinking from more than 50 different concepts
Officially called Rua Nova do Carvalho, this small pedestrian street is better known as “Pink Street” since 2013, when an urban renewal project painted the pavement between the terraces, bars and clubs in pink. It has become Lisbon’s hottest destination at night, and is also often used as an open-air art gallery.
The neighbors complain about the noise and the garbage left behind after its daily street parties, but it’s now the center of Lisbon’s nightlife. The New York Times even placed this former lane of “streetwalkers and sailors” on its list of 12 favorite streets in Europe. It attracts locals and tourists, who stay drinking outside until dawn.
