Cascais is a seaside town 30 km west of Lisbon with a sunny and relaxed climate, always combined with a certain hedonism and a hint of sophistication. Would you call it "hippie chic"? You can go to the beach half of the year, run, bike or surf all year round. Or get involved in a gastronomic marathon eating grilled fish, caught right there in the sea, But you can simply take the train to enjoy an ice cream at Santini, one of the best delicacies in Cascais. That said, the capital of the Sun Coast is also a perfect place to do nothing all day… except to contemplate the sea while you exercise your right to see and be seen. All that glitter and glamour, it is also important to remember, were not always there, quite the opposite. 150 years ago, Cascais was an abandoned and ghost town, which by an extraordinary turn - almost like a magic trick - became a noble haven. The purpose of this tour is to shed some light on these amazing and still remarkable changes in the Portuguese Riviera.

Cascais has spent centuries attracting royalty, spies, and sailors to its Atlantic shores. On this self-guided audio tour, you'll trace how a humble fishing village became Portugal's most elegant seaside resort, shaped by royal summers, maritime science, and wartime intrigue. The tour starts at Cascais train station, the gateway that opened this coastline to the world when the line arrived in 1889. From there, you'll follow the promenade past Ribeira Beach, where fishermen and royal bathers once shared the same sand, and into the historic center along the wave-patterned calçada portuguesa of Rua Frederico de Arouca. At Praça 5 de Outubro, you'll uncover a remarkable historical coincidence: the same date that ended the Portuguese monarchy also marks its founding in 1143. You'll go past the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego and along the marina before finishing at Forte de Santa Marta, where the still-active lighthouse has guided ships along this coast for centuries.