Keep this quiet. Read, but tell no-one! The Lisbon coast is beautiful and largely unscathed by tourism, and I don’t want it to change before I return there, although it probably will as they were building a motorway towards it when we visited in October 2007. It’s beautiful, the people were friendly, the weather was excellent (even at that time of year), and food was terrific. The Portugese really know what to do with fish!
Yet again, Elaine found an excellent place to stay – a room in a refurbished 1900 hotel in Ericeira, with the most westerly balcony in Europe, where we’d sit and watch the most magnificent sunsets over the Atlantic. Ericeira itself is a beautiful, old, white and pastel port with quaint streets, houses and shops. Their holiday season had just finished the previous week but thankfully its numerous excellent restaurants were still open for business.
This was an excellent base from where to visit the many attractions the area has to offer, including surfers’ beaches, castles, palaces, abbeys, fishing towns and country markets. From here we drove south to Sintra, Cascais, Cabo da Roca, Colares and Monserrate. To the north, we visited Torres Vedras, Obidos, Peniche, Alcobaca and Nazare. Apart from mist one morning and one short shower in Obidos, the weather was excellent all week.
The photos below are of Ericeira, Torres Vedras, Obidos and Cascais. You’ll find more in the separate articles on Alcobaca, Nazare and Sintra.
We can highly recommend this as a relaxing holiday destination – but don’t tell anyone!
