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Lisbon to Sintra by the coast

Lisbon Coast, Portugal · 14 stories · Half a day

From the monuments of Portugal's Age of Discovery along the Marginal to wartime Estoril, the cliffs of Cabo da Roca and the misty palaces of Sintra.

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Stories along the way

  1. 1. 25 de Abril BridgeAs you cross the Tagus River near Lisbon, you might feel a sudden vibration and hear a distinct, metallic hum beneath your tires. That peculiar sound comes from open steel grating…
  2. 2. Monument of the DiscoveriesImagine looking out over the water of the Tagus River and seeing a colossal stone ship, frozen right at the edge of the riverbank. That is the Monument of the Discoveries,…
  3. 3. Lisbon's Golden Spice MonasteryYou are coming along the banks of the Tagus river into Belém, approaching a sprawling complex carved from warm, gold-coloured limestone. On a July night in 1497, the explorer…
  4. 4. Lisbon's Carved Gateway to the SeaAs you come along the northern bank of the Tagus River, you are looking at one of Europe's grandest maritime monuments: the Belém Tower. Its pale local limestone glints right at…
  5. 5. Guardian of the TagusAs you follow the coast near the mouth of the Tagus River, you are passing what was long considered the ultimate guardian of Lisbon: the Fort of São Julião da Barra. It sits out…
  6. 6. The Vanishing Wine of PombalAs you drive through the coastal corridor between Lisbon and Estoril, you are passing through what was once one of the most celebrated wine regions on earth. Today, you mostly see…
  7. 7. CascaisLong before it became the playground of exiled royalty and fictional spy masters, Cascais took its name from something rather unglamorous: shells. The name appears to derive from…
  8. 8. The Edge of EurasiaYou are coming up to the very edge of continental Europe. Beyond these cliffs lies nothing but the vast Atlantic Ocean, stretching thousands of miles to the west. To the ancient…
  9. 9. The Vines That Defied the SandIn the late nineteenth century, a tiny insect called the phylloxera aphid swept across Europe, destroying ancient root systems and devastating the continent's vineyards. To…
  10. 10. The Eccentrics of Monserrate PalaceYou are moving through the mist-shrouded foothills of Sintra, high above the Atlantic Ocean, in a landscape that has seduced eccentric dreamers for centuries. According to local…
  11. 11. The Royal Echoes of SintraAs you come into the town of Sintra, look toward the town center, where two towering conical chimneys rise straight up into the sky. They look like colossal white funnels, marking…
  12. 12. The Fortress in the FogHigh up in the granite crags of the Sintra Mountains, where cool ocean air rolls in to wrap the peaks in thick fog, sit the serpentine walls of the Castle of the Moors. Muslim…
  13. 13. The Secrets of Quinta da RegaleiraImagine buying a lush hillside estate in Sintra not just to live in, but to construct a secret subterranean world, complete with a twenty-seven-metre inverted tower plunging…
  14. 14. Sintra's High Royal FantasyHigh in the Sintra Mountains, crowning a peak far above the town, sits the Pena Palace. On a clear day, its bold red and yellow towers can be seen all the way from Lisbon. Long…