Cascais is charming during any season. This gorgeous coastal town is located only about 20 kilometers from Lisbon, a quick 30-40 minute train ride. It has been able to keep "it's old style" and downtown is filled with restaurants, small shops beautiful pedestrian streets and bars. This old fishing village is filled with history and it has a great location. Here you can enjoy the beach, amazing food, see the museums and parks around town and it's very close to the major Palaces (like the ones in Sintra) which used to be the royals residences back in the day. The royal extended family had their beach summer residences here and even today, people who live in the busy capital of Lisbon go to Cascais for their beach houses. 

Our family rented a home on Airbnb and then we just took the Uber to visit the different locations. We spent New Years there and it was quite magical with all the fireworks and celebrations going on. We visit the Palace of Seteais for Tea which was only about 20 minutes by car, visited the Palace of Queluz, Pena Palace, Mafra Palace and a few other places.

Below you can see the Museu da Vila (Town Museum). Here you can learn about the history of the town and it was also where the Spanish Army landed when they tried to take over Lisbon in 1540. 

Downtown Cascais is fun, this is right next to the beach and I am behind the Cascais sign.

I love the beach and Cascais has several beaches that you can enjoy in the warmer months. This one is called Praia da Rainha, the other ones near by are Praia do Guincho and Praia da Poça.

If you want to see the World's largest waves, then consider taking a day trip to Cabo da Roca. It is considered the most western point of mainland Europe, making it a significant landmark for it's geographical position not just extreme wave heights. There you can observe and experience the dramatic cliffs and views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Even in the winter people like to go checkout the water. The little homes in red are all the different artisans selling their products. I found great gifts made of cork to bring back. 

Did you know that Portugal is the top producer of cork globally? About 50% of the world's cork comes from Portugal. Between Lisbon and Faro (in the south of Portugal), we have the largest farm of cork trees which can only be harvested every 9 to 12 years after it reaches 25 years of age. The second largest producer is Spain producing about 25%, then the rest of the coastal Mediterranean countries.

Of course we are also famous for the worlds renowned Port Wine, Soccer (Cristiano Ronaldo), Fado, tiles, ceramics, linens beautiful beaches and delicious cuisine.

Museu Condes de Castro Guimaraes, this building is so close to see that on high tide it can touch it's walls. There is a beautiful art collection inside and also an organ. You can also see Indo inspired Portuguese furniture and a library (over 25,0000 books), known for its manuscripts dated 1505 and some richly bound volumes from the 17th century. 

The palace was build in 1897 by Jorge O'Neill designed by Luigi Magnini. He created some Manueline projects like the Bussaco Palace Hotel and Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra which is near by. 

Below you see the dining room inside this museum de Condes. I have a little bit of an obsession with tabletop (since I sell it), so I took more pictures than I thought but I made a collage here so that I could share with you some angles of the table. So many details here, how about the crown on the top of that tureen? Also notice how the napkins are folded like a flower and all that silver how beautiful!

 

Inside the Museu Condes you can see beaufitul furniture, dishes and tiles. 

I lost count of how many ginger jars, I saw but this one on top is quite special.

Take a closer look at the Tobacco Leaf Tea Pot design on the bottom left of the collage and the Famille Rose Jar design on the bottom right of the collage. My inspiration to design my fabrics with these designs comes from here, I sell collections of products with these beautiful prints and what a delight it is to be able to share with you where my inspiration from my exclusive designs come from!

 

 

Parque Marechal Carmona is a beautiful park around the Condes de Castro Guimaraes mansion. It has flower garden, lots of trees, a pond with turtles and ducks and domestic animals. You can also find a small chapel. The park has several trails that you can walk and it's right next to the water. This green space after passing through several owners, was purchased in 1834 by Visconde da Gandarinha, building a romantic park here. 

The gardens were joined to the Palace of Condes de Castro in 1944 and then opened to the public. This hand painted azuleijos (tiles) fountain panel has the date of ANNO (in Portuguese ANO) MCMXXV (1925), a perfect place to relax.

This blue and white azuleijos as we say it (tiles) panel shows us the glorification of the Virgin Mary carried in a procession by the religious leaders of the church. It was You see the Latin words "Deus nobis haec otia fecit", which means "It was God who provided us with such delights" in Portuguese "Foi Deus quem nos proporcionou tais deleites". It's believed that the author of the panel was Bartolomeu Antunes You also see the peacock on the top right of the picture, they just roam around the park and are beautiful to look at. 

Below I am standing next to a tree that has beautiful blooms like hydrangeas.

Above and below  is Casa de Santa Maria built in 1902. Later was purchased by engineer Jose Lino. The tiles on this house are stunning and the ceilings are beautifully painted on wooden ceilings similar to Sintra's National Palace. You can see the servants quarters and visit the private chapel.

Did you know that blue and white were the colors of our original flag? That's right, when we had a monarchy up to 1910 we had only blue and white but after that the flag changed to green and red.

I have always had a bit of an obsession with blue and white stripes and as you see we go way back with this design here! 

When walking around Cascais you will see beautiful homes along the way that are still very well preserved. 

 

Below is a grocery store advertising that is selling tobacco and wine. 


If you are interested in seeing another place that I visited "The Palace of Seteais", then click HERE.

For more inspiration please follow me on Pinterest HERE and on Instagram HERE.

Go see the Tobacco Leaf Inspired print that I designed entirely by hand.

To read about my trip to Copenhagen go HERE

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about this special city and visit. If you enjoyed please share with someone who might enjoy learning about Portugal or is planning a trip. Also comment, I would love to know what you think. 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 12, 2025 — Cecilia Mason

Leave a comment