Sintra & Cascais from Port of Lisbon

On a recent cruise I had an overnight stay in Lisbon, I chose on the first day to do a shore excursion through P&O to Sintra and Cascais. Once we disembarked the ship we were met by a guide at what was going to be our coach for the day where we then set off on the drive to our first stop of the day which was Sintra, the drive took approximately 30 minutes.

UNESCO listed town Sintra is known for its 19th century architecture and palaces. Popular attractions to visit include Palacio Nacional de Pena, Quinta da Regaleira as well as Palacio Nacional de Sintra. As part of our excursion we took a guided tour around Palacio Nacional de Sintra which is located in the town centre and can be easily identified by it’s medical style and chimneys. As the oldest palace in Sintra Palacio Nacional de Sintra is also the most important palace as Portuguese nobility could be found here from the 15th century to the 19th century. A tour of this palace takes two hours as you find yourself walking through each of the different rooms admiring the interiors. As you conclude the tour of the palace you will find yourself in what used to be the kitchen which is crowned by two large conjoined chimneys that are easily visible from outside making them iconic.

After completing the tour of the palace we were given 30 minutes of free time to explore the city centre before we would be going for traditional lunch at one of the restaurants facing the palace. My first stop was to get some Portuguese Tarts which are traditionally known as Pastel de Nata as no trip to Portugal would be complete without sampling some. The city centre is lined with cobbled streets where you are able to find shops and cafes. Take a walk up the steep winding hill where you will find some stores selling local souvenirs.

After spending some time in Sintra as well as having a traditional lunch there it was time to board the coach again to the coastal town of Cascais. In the 18th century the Portuguese royal family made Cascais their official summer residence which meant the town began to appeal to wealthy people. To this day Cascais is still often by tourism boards as the Portuguese Riviera.

Cascais is home to a scenic beach which is known as Praia da Rainha. If you are wanting to spot some surfers or even have a go at some surfing the beach for this is Praia do Guincho.

As a town Cascais is walkable, once we had got off the coach at Cascais our guide walked us to the promenade where we then had an hour of free time to explore the town ourselves. As we walked from the coach to the promenade we could see that we wouldn’t be able to achieve the whole town in an hour as we walked past narrow streets lined with boutiques as well as restaurants. As you get to the south of the town you are able to find an old fort as well as the harbour with luxury yachts. If you are wishing to visit a viewpoint there is a small Casa de Santa Maria where you are to see the blue and white lighthouse.

Next to the city hall is the city museum of Cascais which is free to visitors, here you are able to learn all about the history of Cascais.

If there is one thing that I personally don’t think can be missed whilst you visit Cascais it is a visit to the local gelato shop. Santini ice cream shop is an Italian gelato place which is local and they have a variety of flavours to choose from, I chose to have passion fruit and lemon sorbet.