Cascais, a seaside town situated on the gorgeous Lisbon coast, serves as an idyllic retreat for both local residents and tourists alike. Known for its radiant beauty and enviable location, Cascais has been a popular tourist destination for those seeking a leisurely day trip from the Lisbon region. One of the town’s major attractions that have consistently captivated visitors is its breathtakingly beautiful beaches, each uniquely captivating and worth a visit on its own. Here we outline the best Cascais beaches to visit. From a town once monopolized by fishing boats to the modern-day attractive respite from Lisbon’s urban center, you will not run out of things to do in this wonderful town so consider this day trip during your time in Lisbon. 

How to Get to Cascais

Getting to Cascais from Lisbon, the Portuguese capital is remarkably convenient. The Cascais train station is well-connected and easily accessible from Lisbon. A train leaves the station every 20 minutes and takes under an hour. Starting your journey from the Sodré station in Lisbon, you can enjoy a scenic train ride along the Lisbon coast, passing some of the best Lisbon beaches before arriving at the picturesque town of Cascais. Furthermore, Cascais’s location, just west of Lisbon, offers the added advantage of being in proximity to Lisbon airport, making it a convenient choice for tourists flying in.

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Overview of the Best Cascais Beaches

The beaches in Cascais are a testament to natural beauty, featuring golden sands, calm azure waters, and soothing sunshine. The tranquil sea is occasionally contrasted by strong winds at certain beaches, making them a haven for water sports enthusiasts. With a wide variety of options, the beaches in Cascais present a picturesque panorama that draws visitors from around the world. And there is something for everyone in your group. 

Praia da Conceição and Praia da Duquesa

Situated within walking distance from the train station and the center of Cascais, Praia da Conceição and Praia da Duquesa are popular beaches with golden sand. These beaches offer a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean and wonderful hotels nearby making them ideal spots for a leisurely stroll or a relaxed sunbathing session. With easy access and an inviting environment, they serve as perfect choices for beachgoers in Cascais.

Praia da Rainha (Queen’s Beach)

Praia da Rainha, fondly known as the Queen’s Beach, is a small beach but a favorite among Portuguese people and visitors alike. At just a two-minute walk from the train station, flanked by Hotel Albatroz, we knew this was one of Cascais’ best beaches and consequently was where we chose to spend most of our day trip to Cascais. The beach is acclaimed for its crystal-clear water and stunning natural beauty. Nestled among cliffs, this small but picturesque beach is a charming escape offering a slice of tranquillity amidst the buzzing tourist scene. Restrooms and changing areas are available at Rainha Beach. A small terrace overlooks the area and is available for eating and people-watching. The beach is small and coveted by those in the know so arrive early if you want to assure yourself of a spot to spread out your beach towel. Lifeguards are on duty and discourage older kids from jumping off the rocks.  

Praia de Carcavelos

As one of the best Lisbon beaches, Praia de Carcavelos offers a unique blend of sandy stretches and azure waters. This town is closer to Lisbon than Cascais but we include the beach on this list because it is so popular. Known for its exciting water sports and low tide, it is a popular spot among adventure enthusiasts. With the right conditions, you could spend some time learning to surf at Carcavelos Beach or just have fun body boarding. You’ll take the same train mentioned earlier but get off at the Carcavelos stop. The beach is a 10-minute easy walk from the station. Facilities like the parking lot and other amenities enhance the convenience factor, making this closer beach a preferred choice for day trippers. Lifeguards are on hand during the busier spring and summer months, also known as the traditional bathing season. 

Guincho Beach

Guincho Beach, famed for its strong winds and water sports, offers an adrenaline-infused beach experience. This beach is located between Cascais and Sintra. You can take a bus or train from Cascais to enjoy this windy area. The bus station is located behind the village shopping mall. 

Situated near the stunning Sintra-Cascais natural park, the beach attracts visitors in large numbers during the summer months and is a favorite spot of the international surfing scene. Whether you’re a surfing enthusiast or a nature lover, Guincho Beach caters to a more experienced adventurer so if you are not an experienced surfer you may want to focus on Carcavelos instead.

Praia da Adraga and Praia da Ursa

Nestled near Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, Praia da Adraga and Praia da Ursa boast of unspoiled beauty and scenic views. This is a great place, if you prefer isolation and tranquility, these are the beaches for you. But they will take some effort to get to. The best way is to take the train to Cascais and from there you will need to grab a bus that departs every 30 minutes for the Sintra area. Get off at the Cabo da Roca stop just 25 minutes away. 

With fascinating rock formations acting as a backdrop, these beaches are true natural beauties. However, Praia da Ursa is a secluded marvel, accessible only at low tide, making it a unique attraction in itself. There are no services at these locations so come prepared with your own food and water. Be aware that due to the isolation of these locations, some beachgoers prefer to sunbathe in the nude.

Praia da Ribeira and Praia das Moitas

Located near the bustling Cascais marina, follow the wave-patterned cobblestone walkway to Praia da Ribeira. Also known as Praia dos Pescadores or Fishermen’s Beach, you’ll note the many fishing boats bobbing in the water. There are no lifeguards on duty here and swimming is not recommended during off-season due to the number of fishing boats active in the area. But this is the perfect place to enjoy the beautiful ocean views though and relax in the sand.

If you are following the promenade from Cascais to Estoril then this should be a stop for you. Praia das Moitas is a smaller beach that packs a punch when it comes to scenic beach views. This less crowded beach has fantastic water quality and serves as one of the best places for serene relaxation, offering beautiful vistas of the surrounding sea and landscape.

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Additional Attractions

Beyond beach time and natural scenery, Cascais has plenty to offer. As you walk across the street from the train station you will cross the Largo da Estacao toward a shopping mall. Here you can pick up souvenirs and even beach towels if you did not pack any. 

One of the best things you can do is visit the Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum, a beautiful spot to not only enjoy the view but appreciate a bit of lighthouse history. Casa de Santa Maria, right next to the lighthouse, is for those who enjoy seeing what their house might look like if they won the lottery. Built by an Irish millionaire in the 19th century this home is now publicly owned and there is no entrance fee.  Casa da Guia, built in 1895, was privately owned until 1973 and stands as a witness to the town’s rich history and culture. Now both the mansion and gardens are publicly owned and open to visitors. There are numerous shops and dining options inside. 

For those seeking a bit of excitement, Casino Estoril, with its mesmerizing ocean view, promises a fun-filled evening. It is one of the largest casinos in Europe and was designed to rival the more famous Monte Carlo. It served as the famous inspiration for Ian Flemming’s first Bond novel when he visited the spot during World War II. 

Dining and Accommodation Options

Cascais boasts some of the best restaurants, serving a range of delectable Portuguese cuisine and seafood. Try the highly rated A Nova Estrela, which is affordable and has daily chef recommendations on the chalkboard out front. They are available for lunch and dinner. You can also check out the Taberna Cladestina Cascais, a Mediterranean tapas bar with a menu that you may want to camp out for. 

And speaking of staying longer than a day, for those wishing to extend their beach day into a weekend getaway, a range of accommodations, from budget-friendly to luxury hotels, are readily available. And some of the best hotels are right on the water! Looking for something upscale that is right by the beaches, then check the availability at Hotel Albatroz. This five-star hotel is next to Praia da Rainha. An affordable boutique option is Senhora da Guia Cascais which includes an outdoor saltwater pool, pool bar, and oceanfront restaurant. You may never want to leave!  

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Cascais, with its beautiful sandy beaches and adorable town amenities, serves as a perfect short trip from Lisbon. Its easy accessibility, rich history, and wonderful natural beauty make it a spot on the Lisbon coast worth visiting. As a pro tip, visiting during the summer weekends promises an unforgettable beach experience, blending leisure and excitement perfectly.

The beaches of Cascais are truly a gem in Portugal’s crown, offering an irresistible invitation to experience its alluring beauty and charm. Another remarkable spot to enjoy while in Portugal are the islands of the Azores. For more information, check out our detailed guide to enjoying the Portuguese island of Sao Miguel.

Any Portugal itinerary would not be complete without a stay in Lisbon. Enjoy UNESCO World Heritage sites, rich history, and beautiful beaches all from the comfort of one of central Portugal’s main cities. This popular spot on the west coast is one of Portugal’s most beautiful places. Even in the high season for summer vacationers, the warm weather lets the brisk water of the Atlantic Ocean cool you down during a day trip to Cascais.

Lisbon is a perfect place to call home during a stay in this small country. Whether you want to appreciate the great views of the city from the Santa Justa Lift or the Sao Jorge Castle you can do it in Lisbon. Take in Belem Tower and the Jernimos Monastery, two UNESCO World Heritage sites worth visiting. Popular destinations such as Sintra and Coimbra are good options for an easy day trip. Let our ultimate Lisbon itinerary inspire your own Portuguese adventure!

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How Long To Stay In Lisbon

We spent six nights and five days in Lisbon. For us, this more relaxed pace and the luxury of returning to spots we felt deserved a second look was the best way to enjoy the city. But you could get away with 3 – 4 days if you’ve got a tighter time frame.

How To Get Around Lisbon

It’s not worth it to rent a car if you are focused on Lisbon itself. Parking is not always available, streets are narrow, and public transportation (e.g., metro, trains, funiculars, and trams), as well as ride-share programs, are affordable and readily available. Plan on grabbing a train or private tour that includes transportation for day trips to smaller towns such as Cascais, Sintra, or Estoril.

Train travel is a great way to day trip from your home base of Lisbon. The train station to Sintra is Rossio station and the rail service to Cascais and Estoril is served by Cais do Sodre station.

Lisbon Itinerary

Our host arranged for airport pickup and transportation to our AirBnB in the Graca area, just at the edge of the Alfama neighborhood. We found out from our driver we’d come just in time for the Santo Antonio Festival (the festival typically hits around June 12th). This is a giant street party filled with live music, amazing food from local vendors, and celebrations across the city’s most popular neighborhoods celebrating one of Lisbon’s most revered saints. Our driver suggested we rest up, and do a small amount of exploring in the area then to save up our energy because by that night streets would be swarming with parades, block parties, live music, and food booths.

For two days we explored the area and enjoyed the festival. A tin of sardines as a souvenir will cost you 15 euros in Chiado but you can grab freshly grilled sardines from anyone of the hundreds of vendors for 1.50. Coupled with a 4-euro mojito and you’ve got a pretty good snack! Not into fish, then try a bifana, a Portuguese pork sandwich. Sweet churros or farturas, the churro’s much larger and calorie-intense older brother, make for a great dessert.

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If you are going to visit Lisbon during this week in June we highly recommend you plan for at least two days to just enjoy the evenings at the different street parties.

Exploring The Historic Alfama District

When we asked our youngest son what he wanted to see in the city he wanted to better understand the history of Portugal. We took a trip to Museo do Alijube – Resistencia e Liberdade in the historic Alfama district. During darker times, the building used to be a prison. Floors 1 and 2 currently cover the history of the dictator, Antonio Salazar as well as the resulting resistance. Ever wondered where Rowling got the name for the evil founding father of Hogwarts? She worked as an English teacher in Portugal from 1991 – 1993 and began her work on the books while staying there.

The 3rd floor covers the anti-colonization period and the eventual overthrow of the dictatorship on April 25, 1974. It was a fantastic and immersive experience that allowed the whole family to get a bit of context into why Portugal stands out among the other European countries. It was amazing to realize that anyone my age or my husband’s age would have spent their early childhood under this dictatorship. Realizing the lingering impacts of the grip of dictatorship on a still-healing country can definitely increase your perspective.

Exiting the museum you are right next to the Lisbon Cathedral. By chance, we were lucky to witness another Festival of Santo Antonio tradition as 11 couples exited the chappel after getting married together. This ceremony is sponsored by city partners and since the late 1950s was designed to give cash-strapped couples an opportunity to get married without spending too much money. The ceremony is televised to hundreds of admirers who line up the street for blocks pressed against blockades waiting alongside a live band, reporters, and camera crews to celebrate the couples as they exit the mid-12th century cathedral. After a brief celebration and interviews, and a happy explosion of white and pink confetti, the couples parade through the streets of Lisbon continuing the celebration with the city.

Enjoy the 11th-century Sao Jorge Castle! Originally built by Moors, the crusading Afonso Henriques took the castle in the mid-12th century. After buying your ticket (either at the ticket booth or online here – at the time of writing 5 euro for youth and 10 for adults) and walking through the turnstile, you can get a hint of its military history by walking along the walls peppered with cannons, though today you enjoy a panoramic city view rather than the threat of attacking ships. To the left, you’ll walk into the inner castle area, past a simple museum, where peacocks walk confidently with their young chicks, ignoring tourists and crying out to each other dramatically.

We loved climbing the castle walls and imagining the battles that raged over the centuries. Climbing to the top of one of the river-facing towers gives you a beautiful spot to enjoy a sunset.

The Alfama neighborhood is one of the oldest and most charming neighborhoods in Lisbon, and as you can tell, it offers a unique experience that sets it apart from other areas in the city.  There are amazing local rentals and apartments that you can check out throughout the neighborhood. 

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The Belem District

Use ride share or public transportation to get out to the Tower of Belem. This beautiful 16th-century fort was built to protect the shoreline from raiders sailing up the Tagus River. But more famously it was often the last thing sailors saw as they sailed out into the mysterious Atlantic Ocean. Granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1983, the tower receives hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Based on our research, we felt it was sufficient to see the tower just from the outside but you can buy tickets for 6 euros or enter for free with the Lisboa Card.

Walk toward the red suspension bridge, which looks incredibly familiar to anyone who has visited San Francisco, California. The “25th of April Bridge” which was named the Salazar Bridge until 1974, was built by the same company that built the SF – Oakland Bay Bridge and connects the city of Lisbon to Almada on the other side of the river. On the riverside promenade, you won’t be able to miss the Monument to the Discoveries. This concrete structure is shaped like the prow of a ship and stands over 160 feet tall. Built to honor the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator, the monument also highlights Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Queen Philippa of Lancaster, among others. You can explore inside the building as well as take a lift up to the top for panoramic views of the area. You can get reduced admission to the museum with the Lisboa Card.

When touring this area you should not miss the Jeronimos Monastery. Just across the road from the waterfront, this remarkable building is impressive even if you aren’t someone who pays attention to Manueline architecture or Portuguese history. While the church is free to enter, you can gain easier access to the cloister by buying a 12-euro combo ticket at the Archaeology Museum. If you are relying on your Lisboa Card please recognize it does not get you out of waiting in line here. So the best bet is to grab the combo ticket and come to the cloister from the Archaeology Museum.

Eat at any one of the fun restaurants along the quaint avenue Rua De Belem which leads up to the monastery. Pick up a pastel de nata at the oldest bakery in Lisbon, Pasteis de Belem. People debate which bakery has the best so go ahead and try this one (strickly for comparison purposes of course). Enjoy them while you walk through the simple but enjoyable Jardim Botanico Tropical. Or you can have an Uber driver drop you off at Time Out Market for lunch as we did. It was very crowded but we appreciated all of the choices. Tip: no outside food or drink is permitted and they do have workers that come around the tables checking.

The Mouraria District

Considered an eclectic immigrant quarter of Lisbon this is where people from the many former colonies of Portugal, Mozambique, Goa, Brazil, and elsewhere came once the dictatorship ended. We chose to explore this area by walking with a private guide in order to better see areas we otherwise might not have discovered. Lucia was amazing and able to share insights on the population here as well as accommodate us on the spot as she asked us questions about what we had already explored in Lisbon, things we still had questions about, and what we’d still like to explore.

From Mozambique herself, she and her family came from the former colony after the dictatorship ended. She helped us better understand some of the exhibits we had seen at the Alijube museum. She also explained the lingering impacts of the dictatorship on today’s Lisbon and helped us interpret the street art we saw as we walked. She took us to Cantinho do Aziz to appreciate one of the best Mozambiquan restaurants in Lisbon and showed us how to interpret the landscapes we saw across the different Lisbon neighborhoods.

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Learning quickly that we had an appreciation for food and drink, she shared with us her favorite spot for ginginha, from a local vendor stationed at Praca Dom Pedro IV. And shared with us a tip for getting around the long lines at the nearby Santa Justa Lift via a nondescript set of stairs just beyond the Carmo Convent. She waited with us while we purchase tickets for the evening show, Lisbon Under the Stars, at the Carmo Convent and shared with us specific night spots to enjoy in Bario Alto (don’t miss Honorato for their amazing burgers!) then walked us just beyond the back of the convent. To the right side of the ruins, there’s a simple set of stairs. Walk up those stairs and you are at the top of the lift. All the glorious views from the top of the lift, without the long line and expense!

Tip: If you are going to see Lisbon Under the Stars, have dinner at the wonderful Grehla do Carmo. It was delicious and the most affordable meal in the area! Then you can take a short walk to Grom for gelato for dessert! So very yum!

She dropped us off at the Elevador de Bica, one of the most photographed spots in all of Lisbon. Here the Bica funicular will take you up one of the steepest streets in Lisbon and you can see all the way to the Tagus River. She also recommended we return to Praca Martim Moniz to visit the recommended Cork House for quality souvenirs made locally from cork.

Lucia’s tour stayed with us and we appreciated her insight and personal touches. We highly recommend her if you are wanting a deeper understanding of Lisbon. You can reach her via WhatsApp at 00351 967101654. Send her a message to see if she can customize something that matches your interests.

We spent the rest of the day shopping in the Chiado area and had a drink at Delirium Cafe. You can’t miss this spot with the 2nd-floor window seating and a huge pink elephant by the entrance at the top of the stairway. They have a full bar with great drinks and a ton of beers on tap.

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Parque Eduardo VII

We chose to explore the park on our last day. Named after the British King who visited in 1903, this taste of urban green is a beautiful way to wrap up your stay in the city with beautiful views of the downtown area all the way down to the river.

From the statue of the Marques de Pombal, you look up the slope of trimmed hedges toward the Monument and fountain dedicated to the April 25th Revolution.

This is a beautiful place to walk and take any one of the various paths that jut off from the sides of the slope and past the monument. You can stumble across secrete gardens and small ponds with statues surrounded by ducks and geese, or cross a bridge toward a lovely outdoor dining spot.

Or continue past the park to enjoy the Museu Gulbenkian.

No matter how you choose to spend your time in Lisbon I’m sure you will appreciate the beauty here. Let us know what you are planning to do in this amazing city by leaving a comment below!

Thinking of Lisbon as a jumping-off point to elsewhere? Our post on Sao Miguel, Azores may inspire you and you can check it out here.

If you are considering other spots in Europe you can check out our posts on Italy here or Spain here.