01
Rent a bicycle
The Bicas — free public bicycles — line the promenade. Cycle the 9km to Guincho instead of driving.
Portugal by LocalsVolume III · Cascais
Volume III · Cascais
The coast, unhurried.
Cycles along the ocean, seafood in fishing coves, and the golden hour that made this village a royal favourite.
Curated by Édi Cruz
Cascais · 2026
I.Chapter One
A letter from Cascais.
Cascais became a summer town for kings and it never quite lost that ease. But underneath the marina and the boutiques, it is still a fishing village — and if you know where to look, you can still find her old, salt-scented heart.
This is a guide for slow days: for cycling the coast to Guincho, for eating grilled fish in a small cove, for standing at the lighthouse as the sun goes into the ocean.
Bring a jumper for the evening. Bring an appetite for the mid-afternoon. And bring nothing to prove.
For Portugal, with love.
This guide is free. Always.
II.Before you begin
Seven small rules.
Cascais is easy to enjoy quickly and a joy to enjoy slowly. Choose the second.
02
Stay for sunset
The day-trippers leave at 6pm. The best light comes half an hour later.
03
Eat away from the marina
The best restaurants are three streets inland. The marina is beautiful; the food, not so.
04
Walk the Paredão
The seaside promenade from Cascais to Estoril — 3km along the ocean, past palm trees and shipwrecks.
05
Order a bica standing
The old cafés still charge less if you drink at the counter. Do it — it's the Portuguese way.
06
Explore the fishing quarter
Behind the marina, the old fishermen's houses climb a small hill. This is the Cascais that came before the tourists.
07
Trust the fisherman
If the day's catch is on the chalkboard, order the day's catch. It won't be there tomorrow.
III.Where I eat
Seafood, landed today.
The Atlantic is fifteen metres away.
N° 01© Benoît Prieur · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Restaurant
Mar do Inferno
A cliff-edge restaurant next to Boca do Inferno. Perfect grilled fish, choose your own from the ice.
Price
€€€
Best time
Late lunch, 2:30pm
Duration
2 hours
- Order
- Robalo grelhado · Percebes · Arroz de marisco
Atmosphere
Ocean on three sides, big windows, the sound of surf under the room.
Why I love it
Because the fish is landed at the tiny harbour next door in the morning. You cannot cheat that.
N° 02© ricardo · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Restaurant
Marisco na Praça
The old market of Cascais, converted into a seafood restaurant. You pick from the ice, they cook it however you like.
Price
€€
Best time
Friday evening
Duration
About 90 minutes
- Order
- Camarão da costa · Sapateira · Vinho verde
Atmosphere
Loud, market-hall vibe, the kind of place where you fall into conversation with the next table.
Why I love it
You will taste the difference between fresh shellfish and shellfish that has been on ice for two days. Once you have, you cannot go back.
N° 03© Vitor Oliveira · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Restaurant
Casa da Guia — small tascas
A cluster of tiny restaurants inside a coastal estate between Cascais and Guincho, on the cliff. Wander until one smells right.
Price
€€
Best time
Sunday lunch
Duration
1½ to 2 hours
- Order
- Grilled sardines · Salada de polvo · Vinho branco
Atmosphere
Old stone terraces, ocean below, a slight wind in the hair.
Why I love it
The setting is the meal. The food happens to also be good.
N° 04© Gonçalo Nobre · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Restaurant
Furnas do Guincho
A cliff-perched dining room above Guincho. Big windows, big wines, a big view of the Atlantic hurling itself at the rocks.
Price
€€€
Best time
Sunset dinner
Duration
2 hours
- Order
- Peixe do dia grelhado · Bacalhau à Braz · Feijoada de polvo
Atmosphere
Slightly grand, but never stiff. Come at sunset for the theatre.
Why I love it
One of the great sunset dining rooms in Portugal.
“In Cascais, the light does half the cooking.”
— Édi
IV.Old cafés & slow mornings
Small corners.
Cascais still has its old cafés. This is where the fishermen go before the boats leave.
© Rodrigo Argenton · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
01
Confeitaria Sacas
A one-room bakery in the old town, opened in 1938. The tosta mista and the small custard tarts are the ceremony.
© Tom Page · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
02
Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau
A hot codfish croquette filled with Serra da Estrela cheese, eaten with a glass of Port. An unusual, wonderful mid-morning stop.
Editorial illustration · representative photograph, not the exact venue
© Mix321 · GFDL · Wikimedia Commons
03
House of Wonders
A vegetarian courtyard café with cakes stacked on a marble counter. Come for breakfast under the fig tree.
VI.Museums & houses
Culture, salt-touched.
Three small houses that tell the story of Cascais better than any panel ever will.
N° 01© Jorge Franganillo · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Chapter
Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães
A 19th-century villa on the sea, kept exactly as the count left it. Books, tapestries, a library that opens to the Atlantic.
Duration
1 hour
Why I love it
One of the most romantic small museums in Portugal.
A hidden detail
The illuminated 16th-century manuscript in the library is the object to seek out.
N° 02© HilaThong · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Chapter
Casa de Santa Maria
A small tile-covered house on the cliff, once designed by the architect Raul Lino for a wealthy family — now open and free.
Duration
45 minutes
Why I love it
For the azulejos. For the view. For the reminder that Portuguese modernism began in houses like this.
N° 03© Vitor Oliveira · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Chapter
Paula Rego House of Stories
A striking rust-red building designed by Souto de Moura, housing the fierce and strange art of Paula Rego, Portugal's greatest modern painter.
Duration
1½ hours
Why I love it
Rego made pictures about power and womanhood. They are hard, and they are unforgettable.
A hidden detail
Take the audio guide narrated by Rego herself in her later years.
“In Cascais, always cycle. It is the honest speed for this coast.”
— Édi
VII.Where I stand
The coast, framed.
Three balconies onto the Atlantic. Come at dusk if you can.
N° 01·Sunset
Farol da Guia
© Arquivo Científico Tropical · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
A small red lighthouse on the road between Cascais and Guincho. Park, walk to the cliff edge, sit down. The Atlantic writes at your feet.
- Best light
- Golden hour
- Time to visit
- 30 minutes
- Photography tip
- Wait for the lighthouse to switch on — usually five minutes after sundown.
N° 02·Sunset
Cabo Raso
© Walterpeitz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Between Cascais and Guincho, the road bends past a small lighthouse and a stretch of low cliffs that catches the very last light of the day.
- Best light
- The last twenty minutes of sun
- Time to visit
- 45 minutes
- Photography tip
- Bring a jumper. The wind here is always cooler than in Cascais.
N° 03·Morning
Praia da Rainha
© Jorge Franganillo · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A pocket-sized beach in the heart of Cascais, framed by the cliffs of the old fishing quarter. Named for a queen who liked to swim here in the 19th century.
- Best light
- Mid morning
- Time to visit
- 1 hour
- Photography tip
- Photograph the beach from above, from the promenade — the framing is perfect.
VIII.Small boutiques
What I would bring home.
Cascais is not a shopping town — but there are three small doors worth pushing.
© Manuel de Sousa · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
01
A Vida Portuguesa
Old Portuguese soaps, sardine tins in gorgeous packaging, hand-embroidered linens. A love letter to Portuguese craft.
© Vitor Oliveira · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
02
Ceramica de Coimbra — small shop
Hand-painted Portuguese ceramics that will survive a suitcase. Ask them to wrap.
© Eduardo P · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
03
Livraria Galileu
A tiny, old bookshop in the historic centre with an owner who will happily discuss Pessoa for an hour. English translations available.
IX.The Cascais coast
Where I swim, where I walk.
Three beaches, three moods. Choose according to the wind.
© Alvesgaspar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
01
Praia do Guincho
Wild, wind-swept, breathtaking. World-class kite-surfing.
WhoKite-surfers, photographers, dramatists.
SeasonBeautiful year-round; best autumn
© Vitor Oliveira · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
02
Praia da Duquesa
The main town beach — soft sand, family-friendly, cafés at either end.
WhoFamilies, first-time visitors.
SeasonMay — October
© Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
03
Praia da Ribeira
The old fishing beach beside the marina. Small, calm, and full of local character.
WhoA short swim between meals.
SeasonJune — September
“The last light in Cascais is the reason for the whole day.”
— Édi
Thank you
Thank you.
Thank you for allowing me to share a little piece of Portugal with you.
I hope one page of this stayed with you longer than you expected.
That is what these letters are for.
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A warm invitation
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Portugal again?
The other letters.
Portugal always has another story waiting.
- Volume I
Lisboa
The real Portugal begins in her hills
Open the guide - Volume II
Sintra
Where fog becomes a language
Open the guide - Volume IV
Porto
River, wine and stone
Open the guide - Volume V
Alentejo
Wide plains, white villages, deep silence
Open the guide - Volume VI
Algarve
Golden cliffs, hidden beaches, small ports
Open the guide 
Volume VIIDouro Valley
The river that carved the wine country
Open the guide
Volume IXÓbidos
The queen's walled town
Open the guide
Volume XNazaré
Fisherwomen, giants, and the sea
Open the guide
Volume XIFátima
Where three children saw a lady
Open the guide
Volume XIIMadeira
The island in the mist
Open the guide
Volume XIIIAçores
Nine islands, halfway to America
Open the guide- The Long Letter
The Heart of Portugal
Ribatejo · The country beyond the Tagus
Open the guide
