Gambling -- An alcohol-stoked crawl through the upscale bars of such hotels as the Palácio might provide insights into the glamour of this pocket of Portugal. If you're looking for something more formal, check out the Estoril Casino, in the Parque Estoril, Praça José Teodoro dos Santos (tel. 21/466-77-00). There's a cover charge of 4€ ($5.20) for entrance into the section with the gaming tables (roulette, French banque, chemin de fer, blackjack, and craps); you can gamble to your heart's content every day between 3pm and 3am. You must present a passport, driver's license, or other form of photo ID, and you must be 18 or over. A jacket is required. Entrance to the separate slot-machine room is free and requires no ID. Built in the late 1950s, the casino rises from a formally landscaped garden on a hilltop near the town center. Glass walls enclose an inner courtyard with fountains and tiled paths.
Clubs & Bars -- The casino is the venue for the region's splashiest and most colorful cabaret act, Salão Preto e Prata, in the Estoril Casino, Parque Estoril, Praça José Teodoro dos Santos (tel. 21/466-77-00). We usually skip the dinner offered here and pay a cover charge of 17€ ($22), which includes the first drink. On Sunday, the cover charge is 15€ ($20), which also includes the first drink. Shows begin at 11pm, and most spectators who aren't dining show up at around 10:30pm for views of leggy, feathered, and bejeweled dancers strutting around in billowing trains and bespangled bras. Food is served in the 700-seat theater or in a 150-seat satellite restaurant, Wunderbar. Dinner, including access to the show, costs 50€ to 65€ ($65-$85) per person.
For a more regional watering hole, try a fast pick-me-up at the raffish-looking Forte Velho (Old Fort), Estrada Marginal, São João do Estoril (tel. 21/468-13-37). It isn't the most fashionable club in the region, but its location within the 500-year-old walls of a once-powerful fort adds an undeniable allure. You'll find a high-energy crowd of under-30s on weekends, and a more varied age range on weeknights. There's a cover charge of 7€ ($9.10), a beer costs around 3€ ($3.90), and whiskey costs 5€ ($6.50).
Looking to rub elbows with some of the Costa do Sol's corps of English-speaking expatriates enjoying their gin and tonics? Head for the long-established premises of Ray's Cocktail Bar & Lounge, Av. Sabóia 425, Monte Estoril (tel. 21/468-01-06). The eclectic, kitschy, colonial decor seems to celebrate English-speaking, hard-drinking communities throughout the world. Mixed-drink prices start at 4€ ($5.20); beer costs at least 1.30€ to 2.60€ ($1.70-$3.40). It's open Monday to Saturday 6pm to 2am.
Many foreign visitors, especially expatriate Brits, flock to the English Bar, Av. Sabóia 9 in Monte Estoril (tel. 21/468-04-13), to catch the sunset over the Bay of Cascais. Behind its mock-Elizabethan facade, this popular gathering place serves pub snacks and the town's best selection of brews.
