MUST SEE PLACES IN CASCAIS

| How to get there

If you’re already in Lisbon, make your way to Cais do Sodre Train Station, to catch one of the hourly trains to Cascais. I was staying in the city centre, so I caught the 207 bus from Praça do Comércio to the station. This took 2 minutes (walking – 10 mins). The train ride to Cascais takes less than an hour and costs €4.50. Once you hop off the train in Cascais its a 15 minute walk through town to the beautiful cove you’ll find lower in the post.

| WELCOME TO CASCAIS

I’ve only just learnt how to pronounce the name of this town so that I can tell you guys. Though the ticket man at the train station managed to understand me when I said ‘KA – SAIS’, the Portuguese pronunciation is ‘KASH-KICE’.

The small seaside town was once a traditional fishing village, but that all changed in 1870 when King Luis I of Portugal chose it for his summer holiday. In those times, if the king went somewhere, the court would follow. The Governor of Cascais’s home would be transformed in to a palace for the king. Soon, mansions, theatres and restaurants would follow. Cascais become the holiday resort of royalty.

I’m not going to lie to you though, the town centre now has more of a cheap film set feel to it. I’m not saying it’s unattractive, because it’s not. However, there is a feeling that everything here caters to mass tourism, and any reminders of its past are largely found in kitch gift shops. I don’t mean to offend, but this is the experience I had. Instead, I powered through the streets of themed restaurants with laminated menus and headed straight for Santa Marta beach.

| EDGE OF TOWN

Mirador Casa de Santa Maria

This cove was just what I had hoped for, and made my march through town worth it. If I hadn’t been alone, I would love to have gone for a swim and paddled in the water under the trees. In hindsight, I probably could have done, but I felt nervous about leaving my camera, phone and wallet on the beach unguarded. At the time there were quite a few nosey dogs and a group of teenagers having a party.

Even without a dip in the water, this spot was so relaxing and magical. I climbed over the rock pools and waded through the warm water under the bridge to the beach behind it. (I later realised there were steps to the beach on the other side of the bridge – but that wouldn’t have been nearly as fun).

Santa Marta Beach and Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães

Looking out to sea, you have Santa Marta Villa on your right, and behind you, a madeira cake of a palace. Formally known as the Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães (Museum and library of the Counts of Guimarães). I’ve only found out recently, that the palace was built by none other than an Irish family from the O’Neill Dynasty. Their dynasty’s heir was a personal friend of King Luis I. I decided to not go in the palace after being told the tower and balcony were off limits, and instead wandered the grounds for free.

Casa de Santa Maria & The Lighthouse Museum

The villa I did visit, was Casa de Santa Maria. It’s quite expensive for the size of the museum at €10, but if you love azulejos and want a view from the terrace, it’s worth it. I would of considered it cheap if I had known at the time that this also bought me entry to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, I didn’t know this at the time, but I’m sure the view of the bay would be fantastic.

The villa was built for the daughter of the Irish heir, so she could have her own house just a matter of metres from the family home. The villa was intended to showcase the best of Portuguese architecture. As such, the conical chimneys were styled on those atop Sintra’s National Palace. The tiles were tsalvaged from a crumbling chapel and convent in Lisbon.

| BY THE BEACH

Walk to Boca do Inferno

The walk from Santa Marta beach to the Boca do Inferno is a good 10 minute walk along the coast path. On the way, you can weave in and out of the Pedra da Nau Nature Park and enjoy the views, or stop to watch local cliff jumpers. Two of my favourite spots are in photographed below. The first is a secret beach just to the right of Hotel Farol. The second is Pedra da Nau Scenic Point.

Boca do Inferno

Boca do Inferno translates quite literally as the ‘Mouth of Hell’. Cascais’s collapsed sea cave was christened this unforgettable title for the roar of the water as it pummels through the cave entrance to collide with the back of the cliff. For this same reason, I don’t recommend climbing down into the cave except on an incredibly calm day! Saying that though, there are fences everywhere, which means you would have to sneakily coasteer in. The best place to view the cave entrance is from a large rock above the cave, right next to the security fences (photo below). Please be careful though, and don’t go too close to the edge.

Little known to anyone outside of Cascais, the cave was once the center of a scandal. In the 1930s, an English occultist painter living in Portugal, Alister Crowley, faked his own death in the ‘Mouth of Hell’. It was rumoured he did it to gain publicity and to escape his girlfriend. However, he then turned up 3 weeks later to his art show in Berlin!

You can find his ‘suicide’ letter inscribed on a plaque at the Boca do Inferno. Crowley went on to lead a very strange life, calling himself ‘Beast666’ and was denounced by the English press as ‘the wickedest man in the world’. He was later forced to leave Italy, where one of his occult followers died whilst performing a ritual. Anyway… try and forget about him, as this cove is very beautiful and one of the lesser known beauty spots in Portugal!