On my visits to Portugal, I have been twice foiled in attempts to spend time in Cascais. To be fair, the first time it was an issue of ignorance on my part. I had a scant idea of the beauty and wonder of this place. Invited for lunch with a friend at a beachside hotel there, with a full afternoon planned elsewhere, I ate my meal a little too quickly. We then rolled back through the lovely town center of Cascais with looks of marvel on our faces. Looking at each other, we said, “Why didn’t we spend more time here?”
I endeavored to return as soon as possible. But on my second attempt, the timing was just pure bad luck. While visiting Lisbon, Portugal, with my sister’s family, we blocked out an entire day for Cascais. During months of planning, I sang the praises of this seaside town—what little I’d seen of it, anyway. It was a cornerstone of the Lisbon part of our trip.
But a major youth conference also happened to be in Portugal at the same time, drawing millions from around the world. And on the day we wanted to visit Cascais, they did, too.
Trains were full of teens and 20-somethings singing raucous songs and waving flags. Long lines at the station didn’t move. People even tried to climb over the gates to access the tracks. We finally gave up and made other plans. We took a ferry and had a lovely lunch in a small restaurant across the river.
Maybe my third time would be the charm? At this point, Cascais had become an almost mystical place. It was an Eden I could never access, like the Emerald City, with too many obstacles along the yellow brick road.
On the third attempt, I cautiously approached Cais do Sodre station, the site of so much mayhem on that earlier visit. By now, I was conditioned to expect the worst. The sun was shining bright, which meant things would be busy. But it was a weekday afternoon, which improved my chances of getting on board.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the station was almost entirely empty. I paid the minimal fare and found a seat on the train. Soon, I was rolling down the tracks to one of the best little beach towns in the world.
Strung along rugged cliffs and sand dunes, Cascais (which is pronounced kash-kise) is home to a marina, picturesque coves, and 17 beaches. Its reputation received a major boost in the 1870s when King Luis I and Queen Maria Pia made it the summer home of the Portuguese royal family. Aristocrats followed from Lisbon, and other monarchs from across Europe came for extended visits, including kings from Spain, Italy, and the UK.
It was a smooth and scenic ride, the steel cars curving along the Tagus River and under the soaring 25 de Abril Bridge (which looks a lot like the Golden Gate). It was unseasonably warm, and every seat in the carriage was filled.
Exploring Cascais
What to do first? I had no firm plans. In many ways, visiting a small town for the first time can be more intimidating than visiting a big city. In the latter, you’ll probably have a list of main attractions to visit first.Instead of charting any particular course, I wandered downhill, following the crowd. My feet took me past al fresco cafes filled with smiling people, friendly chatter rising from the tables. Nobody was in a rush, and everyone had frosty mugs or glasses of sparkling rosé before them.
I ended up in the sand, at Praia da Rainha, the Queen’s Beach. It’s a small, lovely beach, with outcrops right in the middle. It was busy, but not crowded.
This was a favorite bathing spot of Queen Maria Amelia, the last queen of Portugal. She was a remarkable woman of noble French lineage, and she connected with common people. Married to King Carlos I, she learned Portuguese and even wrote Portuguese songs. Later, she earned a medical degree and was active in the fight against tuberculosis. But in 1910, she was exiled along with the rest of the royal family, when a military coup led to the declaration of the First Portuguese Republic.
I continued to wander down streets lined with shops selling straw hats and bathing suits. After arriving at Praia da Ribeira, I walked past the big Ferris wheel and a line of little food stands. They sold everything from craft beer to hummus to cocktails in coconuts.
Across the road was the town museum. Popping in for a brief visit, I found I was the only person there. But it was filled with so much interesting information. While today, Cascais remains a major beach magnet, it was once even more of an iconic European destination.
For example: You may assume Monte-Carlo was the inspiration for Ian Fleming when he wrote the James Bond novel “Casino Royale,” but it wasn’t. Rather, it was nearby Casino Estoril, a hangout for spies and exiled kings in World War II. It opened in 1931 and today remains one of Europe’s largest casinos.
The museum displays walk you through all the developments that took a lovely but anonymous stretch of coastline and transformed it into the glittering Costa do Sol, which encompasses Cascais and nearby Estoril, Portugal. Electric railways were built and gas lights were installed. Grand hotels were constructed, outfitted with big mineral pools and spas. Major sporting competitions took place, including early automobile races, regattas, and tennis tournaments. The late years of the 19th century and opening decade of the 20th were the heydays.
As I emerged back into the sun, things remained pretty lovely here in Cascais. Perhaps not the same glamour, and certainly no road races or exiled kings wandering around. But I strolled more streets, visiting shops and cafes. I found the site of the big covered market, although it was closed for the day. I took one last look at Praia da Rainha and thought of Queen Amelia.
