Top choice in Cascais
The friendly Casa Vela has it all: 29 bright and attractive rooms with modern furnishings in decor schemes set to spice, colonial or garden themes in two upscale residential homes; deceptively large and grand gardens with trickling fountains, hidden nooks and two tranquil pools; and a Portuguese-by-birth, Mozambican-by-upbringing manager, João Paulo, who is the epitome of jovial hospitality. Paradise found.
It's in a peaceful neighbourhood about a 10-minute walk to the old town centre.
12.04 MILES
Belém’s undisputed heart-stealer is this Unesco-listed monastery. The mosteiro is the stuff of pure fantasy: a fusion of Diogo de Boitaca’s creative…
7.25 MILES
The star of Sintra-Vila is this palace, with its iconic twin conical chimneys and lavish, whimsical interior, which is a mix of Moorish and Manueline…
15.96 MILES
Towering dramatically above Lisbon, these mid-11th-century hilltop fortifications sneak into almost every snapshot. Roam its snaking ramparts and pine…
16.22 MILES
Wander downhill (to save your legs) through Alfama's steep, narrow, cobblestoned streets and catch a glimpse of the more traditional side of Lisbon before…
14.39 MILES
Set in a lemon-fronted, 17th-century palace, the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga is Lapa’s biggest draw. It presents a star-studded collection of European…
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian – Coleção do Fundador
15.09 MILES
Famous for its outstanding quality and breadth, the world-class Founder's Collection at Museu Calouste Gulbenkian showcases an epic collection of Western…
7.05 MILES
This magical villa and gardens is a neo-Manueline extravaganza, dreamed up by Italian opera-set designer, Luigi Manini, under the orders of Brazilian…
15.83 MILES
Don't leave the city without riding popular tram 28E from Largo Martim Moniz. This rickety, screechy, gloriously old-fashioned ride from Praça Martim…
1. Museu do Mar Rei Dom Carlos
0.27 MILES
The small, brightly accented Museu do Mar spells out Cascais’ maritime history with costumes, tools, nets and boats, accompanied by quotes (in English)…
2. Casa das Histórias Paula Rego
0.28 MILES
This museum showcases the disturbing, highly evocative paintings of Portugal’s finest postwar artists. Biannually changing exhibits span Rego’s career,…
0.38 MILES
This wild park provides a shady retreat from the seaside crowds, with a duck pond, birch and pine trees, palms and eucalyptus, rose gardens and flowering…
4. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Assunção
0.4 MILES
Weave through the back alleys west of the câmara municipal to the palm-fringed square that is home to the whitewashed Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Assunção,…
0.4 MILES
Formerly a barefooted Carmelite convent, this centre hosts contemporary exhibitions and cultural events.
0.44 MILES
Atlantic waves pummel the craggy 'Mouth of Hell', 2km west of Cascais. It's about a 20-minute walk along the coast, or you can catch the BusCas (427) from…
7. Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães
0.47 MILES
This whimsical early-19th-century mansion, complete with castle turrets and Arabic cloister, sits in the grounds of the Parque Marechal Carmona.
8. Palácio da Cidadela de Cascais
0.48 MILES
Commissioned as a summer palace in 1870 by King Dom Luís I, this captivating museum remains the official residence of visiting heads of state in Portugal…