Things To Do in Cascais

Many visitors, both foreign and domestic, clog the roads to Cascais on summer Sundays, when bullfights are held at the Monumental de Cascais, a ring outside the "city" center.

When you're not at the beach, a good place to relax is the sprawling Parque do Marechal Carmona, open daily from 8:30am to 7:45pm in the summer and until 5:45pm in the winter. It lies at the southern tip of the resort, near the water. Here you'll find a shallow lake, a cafe, and a small zoo. Chairs and tables are set out under shade trees if you'd like to picnic.

The most important church is the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Assunção (Church of Our Lady of the Assumption), on Largo da Assunção (tel. 21/484-74-80), a leafy square toward the western edge of town. It's open daily from 9am to 1pm and 5 to 8pm. Paintings by Josefa de Óbidos, a 17th-century artist, fill the nave. They're unusual because women rarely attained such artistic posts in those days. The hand-painted azulejos (tiles) date from 1720 and 1748. The beautiful altar dates from the end of the 16th century.

Cascais also has some minor museums, including the Museu do Mar (Museum of the Sea), Rua Julio Pereira de Mello (tel. 21/486-13-77 or 21/482-54-00). The museum displays fishing artifacts, including equipment and model boats. Folkloric apparel worn by residents in the 1800s is also on exhibit. Old photographs and paintings re-create the Cascais of long ago. The museum is open November to April Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, and May to October 10am to 9pm; admission is 2€.

Another museum is the Museu do Conde de Castro Guimarães, Avenida Rei Humberto II de Itália, Estrada da Boca do Inferno (tel. 21/482-54-07). On the grounds of the Parque do Marechal Carmona, it occupies the former 19th-century home of a family whose last surviving member died in 1927. The museum offers a rare glimpse into life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with ceramics, antiques, artwork, silver ewers, samovars, and Indo-Portuguese embroidered shawls -- you name it. It's open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 12:30pm and 2 to 5pm; admission is 2€ and free for children under 18 and seniors. Guided tours are on the hour between 10am and 5pm.

The most popular excursion outside Cascais is to Boca do Inferno (Mouth of Hell). Thundering waves sweep in with such power that they've carved a wide hole resembling a mouth, or boca, into the cliffs. However, if you should arrive when the sea is calm, you'll wonder why it's called a cauldron. The Mouth of Hell can be a windswept roar if you don't stumble over too many souvenir hawkers. Take the highway toward Guincho and then turn left toward the sea.

As a prominent beachfront resort, Cascais offers lots of simple kiosks selling sunglasses and beachwear. The region's densest concentration of stores catering to united Europe's definition of the good life is nearby. The sprawling shopping center Shopping Cascais, Estrada Nacional 9, Estrada de Sintra (tel. 21/012-16-28 for information), is beside Highway 5A, the road between Cascais and Sintra. (Some locals refer to it as the Shopping Center of Cascais.) It contains two floors and more than 100 boutiques, with special emphasis on housewares, home furnishings and accessories, and clothing.

Tear Linhos, Rua da Saudade 6 (tel. 21/484-43-36), is our favorite emporium for hand-embroideries in all of Cascais, with a selection of sheets, tableware, and women's nightgowns. The owners also believe that a well-dressed child is a well-behaved child; as a consequence, the store carries some of the most charming children's clothes in Cascais.

If you're in the mood for more folkloric, less overtly commercial settings, you might want to ignore the megamall. Wander instead through the warren of small ceramics shops that surround Cascais's church, or walk along the town's most commercialized street, Rua da Raita, an all-pedestrian walkway in the town center.

The most intriguing shopping possibilities are at the markets. Head north of the center along Rua Mercado, off Avenida do 25 de Abril, on Wednesday or Saturday morning, and you'll find a fruit and vegetable market (along with a lot of other items). Another sprawling market operates at the bullring, Praça de Touros, on Avenida Pedro Álvares, west of the center, on the first and third Sunday of each month.