Private tours in Lisbon & surroundings
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Sintra, Cascais, Estoril - half day
Personalized booking
Program
Estoril coast - the "sunny coast" where the sun shines 300 days per year. Drive close
by the largest beach of Carcavelos and the rocky stretch of Sao Joao and Sao Pedro of
Estoril with aristocratic palaces, manor houses and deluxe villas. Cosmopolitan Estoril
with a stop at the biggest casino in Europe, its gardens and esplanades.
Cascais bay and ancient fishing port, stop of many navigators in the past, like
Columbus and Vasco da Gama. See the typical fishing boats unloading the catch and a
magnificent panorama of the coastline.
Continue by the seaside with rocky and sandy beaches and the picturesque cliff - the
Mouth of Hell.
Guincho, the wind surfer beach and Cabo da Roca - the westernmost point of
continental Europe - stop for a marvelous view of the ocean and seashore at 140
meters high.
Drive across the luxuriant Sintra Mountain and its gardens by twisted roads
surrounded by a huge variety of vegetation - "The Glorious Eden", "The Garden of
Paradise". Admire the noble houses - each one in a different style, matching the variety
and originality of the vegetation.
Stop in the medieval Sintra town, with free time to see the most ancient royal palace in
Portugal, the narrow streets with local handicraft shops, the typical local pastry like
queijadas and travesseiros, the wine shops, the gardens.
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... Described by Lord Byron as “Glorious Eden,” Sintra’s charms have long
been celebrated. Once the summer residence of the kings and Moorish lords,
today Sintra is a romantic getaway for people from all around the world.
Inhabited since the pre-history period and by Celts and the Romans who called
this area “The Mountain of the Moon”. In the 8th to 9th century, Muslims built
a castle here. During Medieval times, the Portuguese royal family, overflowing
with the pomp and riches from their colonial triumphs abroad, first came here to
escape the heat (and stench) of the summer in Lisbon. Beginning in the 14th
century, the Portuguese aristocrats followed the royals to Sintra, a dwelling
place for hunting and relaxing. Stormy and mysterious, the mountain is covered
by more than 1000 different species of plants. Several artists from different
countries came here to work, inspired in the beauty of this place, extolling its
beauty: “The Garden of Paradise”, “Garden of Europe”, “Glorious Eden”…
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...One of the most beautiful parts of the Estoril Coast is a succession of hills dotted
with pine trees and houses, sweeping down to the sea and the local villages with their
typical houses and the old palatial villas along the sea front.
Villas from the Roman period have been excavated and inscriptions found of family
names, names of the Gods they worshipped and names chosen for their sons.
Cascais became a lookout for Lisbon in the great maritime era of discovering new
worlds. It was the first place the navigators saw when they returned from long and
adventurous voyages seeking their homeland. It was in Cascais during the latter part
of the XIX century, that the Royal Family first began to bathe. It was a custom which
was becoming popular in Europe and Cascais was an ideal place owing to its mild
climate. Over the years, many important families have made Cascais into a
cosmopolitan town...
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