Cascais is where Lisbon families go when they want the sea without a long drive. The town has calm sandy bays, rocky coastline to explore, shady parks and nature trails just inland. This list gathers the beaches, parks, play spaces and local events we've checked there, and it updates as new plans come in.
A contemporary, colorful take on the Oz story, told as a pop musical. After a storm carries Dorothy to Oz, she follows the Yellow Brick Road with the Scarecrow, a Tin Robot and the Lion, looking for the Wizard while facing the Wicked Witch of the West.
The story leans on helping others, facing fears and finding that some of what you look for is inside you. It's in Portuguese.
Anima Park covers 1,500 m² under one roof. Kids climb two 7-meter walls on auto-belays, cross a 25-meter rope-bridge course, ride a 20-meter zip line and tackle a 175 m² play structure with a maze and ball pit. Trampolines, a tube slide, mini soccer and a pretend-play mini city fill the rest. Parents watch from a mezzanine lounge with snooker, pinball and pizza.
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.
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.
Praia da Rainha is a sandy cove about 50 meters long, tucked between cliffs in the middle of Cascais. The rocks shelter it, so the water is usually calm enough for paddling and first swims.
A stairway leads down to the sand, and a snack bar with outdoor seating sits nearby. It is named for Queen Amélia, who favored it during royal stays in the town.
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.
Quinta do Pisão is a 380-hectare nature park inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, with meadows, woodland and farm fields crossed by walking and cycling trails.
Kids can meet woolly Miranda donkeys (a rare Portuguese breed), Sorraia horses and Campaniça sheep, ride a donkey on a booked outing, and pick vegetables at the organic farm garden. The Casa da Cal visitor center has toilets, exhibits and a farm shop.
Cascais is where Lisbon families go when they want the sea without a long drive. The town has calm sandy bays, rocky coastline to explore, shady parks and nature trails just inland. This list gathers the beaches, parks, play spaces and local events we've checked there, and it updates as new plans come in.
A contemporary, colorful take on the Oz story, told as a pop musical. After a storm carries Dorothy to Oz, she follows the Yellow Brick Road with the Scarecrow, a Tin Robot and the Lion, looking for the Wizard while facing the Wicked Witch of the West.
The story leans on helping others, facing fears and finding that some of what you look for is inside you. It's in Portuguese.
Anima Park covers 1,500 m² under one roof. Kids climb two 7-meter walls on auto-belays, cross a 25-meter rope-bridge course, ride a 20-meter zip line and tackle a 175 m² play structure with a maze and ball pit. Trampolines, a tube slide, mini soccer and a pretend-play mini city fill the rest. Parents watch from a mezzanine lounge with snooker, pinball and pizza.
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.
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.
Praia da Rainha is a sandy cove about 50 meters long, tucked between cliffs in the middle of Cascais. The rocks shelter it, so the water is usually calm enough for paddling and first swims.
A stairway leads down to the sand, and a snack bar with outdoor seating sits nearby. It is named for Queen Amélia, who favored it during royal stays in the town.
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.
Quinta do Pisão is a 380-hectare nature park inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, with meadows, woodland and farm fields crossed by walking and cycling trails.
Kids can meet woolly Miranda donkeys (a rare Portuguese breed), Sorraia horses and Campaniça sheep, ride a donkey on a booked outing, and pick vegetables at the organic farm garden. The Casa da Cal visitor center has toilets, exhibits and a farm shop.
