Leave the car at home. Suburban trains reach most of Lisbon's family day trips. The Sintra line runs from Rossio to palaces, a castle wall and a garden with a spiral well; the Cascais line hugs the river and the ocean out to the beaches; and trains over the 25 de Abril bridge get you to Setúbal's dolphin boats. Here's what we checked, from Pena Palace to Boca do Inferno.
King Ferdinand II built this castle-like palace on a summit of the Sintra hills: red and yellow walls, towers, terraces and a stone Triton over one archway. Kids walk the terraces and a circuit of rooms inside.
The surrounding Park of Pena is Portugal's largest arboretum, with woodland paths, the Valley of Lakes, a fern valley, the Chalet of the Countess of Edla and the High Cross lookout.
A 10th-century fortress built during the Moorish period on one of the peaks of the Sintra Hills. Its granite walls run along the ridge between boulders and cliffs, and kids can walk the parapet between towers, with views over Sintra town, Pena Palace and the Atlantic.
Inside the walls are grain silos, a cistern, the ruins of an Islamic settlement and a medieval church.
Quinta da Regaleira is a hillside estate built in the late 1800s by the Italian architect Luigi Manini, on the edge of Sintra's old town. Kids walk down the spiral staircase of the Initiatic Well, then follow the underground tunnels out to the Eastern Grotto.
Above ground there are towers, a chapel, the palace and winding garden paths. Paths are steep and uneven, with many steps.
The Linha de Cascais is the CP suburban train from Cais do Sodré to Cascais. For most of the ride the track runs right beside the Tagus and then the Atlantic, so kids watch the 25 de Abril Bridge, Belém Tower and the waves slide past the window.
It doubles as a beach shuttle: Carcavelos, the Estoril beaches and Cascais bay are a short walk from their stations.
Praia de Carcavelos is a 1.25 km stretch of open sand beside the Fort of São Julião da Barra, the first Cascais beach coming from Lisbon. Strong Atlantic waves make it a surf, bodyboard and windsurf spot, with surf schools on the sand.
The beach also has three volleyball courts, three beach tennis courts, a footvolley court and a football field, and a promenade of cafés runs behind it.
Conceição and Duquesa are two small sandy beaches on Cascais bay, side by side below the seafront promenade and joined into one stretch at low tide. The bay keeps the water calm for paddling and swimming, though the Atlantic stays cold even in August.
Beach bars and restaurants line the promenade above, and the walkway runs about 3 km east to Azarujinha beach in São João do Estoril.
Parque Marechal Carmona joins the old Gandarinha estate with the gardens of the Castro Guimarães palace, now a museum. Peacocks, roosters and ducks wander the paths and lawns, and a stretch of the Ribeira dos Mochos stream and small lakes run through a wood of big old trees.
Kids get a playground, a picnic area and a field for traditional games, with a café close by.
Boca do Inferno ("Mouth of Hell") is a sea-carved rock formation on the cliffs just west of Cascais town center. Atlantic waves rush through an open arch into a collapsed cave below, booming and throwing up spray, most of all on stormy days.
Viewpoints look straight down into the chasm, and a coastal walkway links it to central Cascais, so it pairs easily with a stroll along the seafront.
Two-hour guided boat trips from Setúbal head out into Setúbal Bay, where the Sado estuary meets the sea, to find a resident community of about 30 wild bottlenose dolphins that live there year-round. Each dolphin is known by name from the shape of its dorsal fin.
On the way, the boat passes the Arrábida coast, the Tróia peninsula, the Outão fortress and small white-sand islands.
The oldest palace in Portugal, begun around the 10th or 11th century under Moorish rule. Kids spot the two giant conical chimneys from the square, then look straight up them from the royal kitchen.
Inside are the Swan Room and Magpie Room with painted ceilings, the tiled Room of the Coats of Arms, and a central patio with a water grotto.
Leave the car at home. Suburban trains reach most of Lisbon's family day trips. The Sintra line runs from Rossio to palaces, a castle wall and a garden with a spiral well; the Cascais line hugs the river and the ocean out to the beaches; and trains over the 25 de Abril bridge get you to Setúbal's dolphin boats. Here's what we checked, from Pena Palace to Boca do Inferno.
King Ferdinand II built this castle-like palace on a summit of the Sintra hills: red and yellow walls, towers, terraces and a stone Triton over one archway. Kids walk the terraces and a circuit of rooms inside.
The surrounding Park of Pena is Portugal's largest arboretum, with woodland paths, the Valley of Lakes, a fern valley, the Chalet of the Countess of Edla and the High Cross lookout.
A 10th-century fortress built during the Moorish period on one of the peaks of the Sintra Hills. Its granite walls run along the ridge between boulders and cliffs, and kids can walk the parapet between towers, with views over Sintra town, Pena Palace and the Atlantic.
Inside the walls are grain silos, a cistern, the ruins of an Islamic settlement and a medieval church.
Quinta da Regaleira is a hillside estate built in the late 1800s by the Italian architect Luigi Manini, on the edge of Sintra's old town. Kids walk down the spiral staircase of the Initiatic Well, then follow the underground tunnels out to the Eastern Grotto.
Above ground there are towers, a chapel, the palace and winding garden paths. Paths are steep and uneven, with many steps.
The Linha de Cascais is the CP suburban train from Cais do Sodré to Cascais. For most of the ride the track runs right beside the Tagus and then the Atlantic, so kids watch the 25 de Abril Bridge, Belém Tower and the waves slide past the window.
It doubles as a beach shuttle: Carcavelos, the Estoril beaches and Cascais bay are a short walk from their stations.
Praia de Carcavelos is a 1.25 km stretch of open sand beside the Fort of São Julião da Barra, the first Cascais beach coming from Lisbon. Strong Atlantic waves make it a surf, bodyboard and windsurf spot, with surf schools on the sand.
The beach also has three volleyball courts, three beach tennis courts, a footvolley court and a football field, and a promenade of cafés runs behind it.
Conceição and Duquesa are two small sandy beaches on Cascais bay, side by side below the seafront promenade and joined into one stretch at low tide. The bay keeps the water calm for paddling and swimming, though the Atlantic stays cold even in August.
Beach bars and restaurants line the promenade above, and the walkway runs about 3 km east to Azarujinha beach in São João do Estoril.
Parque Marechal Carmona joins the old Gandarinha estate with the gardens of the Castro Guimarães palace, now a museum. Peacocks, roosters and ducks wander the paths and lawns, and a stretch of the Ribeira dos Mochos stream and small lakes run through a wood of big old trees.
Kids get a playground, a picnic area and a field for traditional games, with a café close by.
Boca do Inferno ("Mouth of Hell") is a sea-carved rock formation on the cliffs just west of Cascais town center. Atlantic waves rush through an open arch into a collapsed cave below, booming and throwing up spray, most of all on stormy days.
Viewpoints look straight down into the chasm, and a coastal walkway links it to central Cascais, so it pairs easily with a stroll along the seafront.
Two-hour guided boat trips from Setúbal head out into Setúbal Bay, where the Sado estuary meets the sea, to find a resident community of about 30 wild bottlenose dolphins that live there year-round. Each dolphin is known by name from the shape of its dorsal fin.
On the way, the boat passes the Arrábida coast, the Tróia peninsula, the Outão fortress and small white-sand islands.
The oldest palace in Portugal, begun around the 10th or 11th century under Moorish rule. Kids spot the two giant conical chimneys from the square, then look straight up them from the royal kitchen.
Inside are the Swan Room and Magpie Room with painted ceilings, the tiled Room of the Coats of Arms, and a central patio with a water grotto.
