Around Town

The recommended beaches in the area all have lifeguards and advanced rescue equipment.

There are also sea water Olympic sized swimming pools by Praia das Maçãs and Praia Grande for those who do not wish to venture into the waves. Both pools have a children’s swimming area, and Praia das Maçãs has its own children’s pool.

Praia Grande

The next beach along in Sintra’s direction is Praia Grande (Big Beach), you can drive there by turning right about half a mile outside town or walk by crossing the beach at Praia das Maçãs and climb the rocks onto the headlands and then walk for about 20 minutes. You’ll go past Praia Pequena (small beach), a beautiful small beach nested between cliffs. Beware Praia Pequena does not have lifeguards.

Walk down the hill to Praia Grande which has quite a few restaurants and bars at the seafront and a surf shop.
Here are hosted the World Bodyboard Championships at the end of August and the Surf World Cup in mid-September. There is also a surf school here that focuses on theaching children to understand and respect the sea as well as enjoy it!

Colares

Famous since the XIII century for its wine, this small town sits in the valley on the road to Sintra and from here you can enjoy fantastic views of the Serra and the Quintas on the hillsides.
Stop at the Adega (wine cellars) for some wine tasting and admire this wonderful XVIII century building that stores up to 5000 litres of wine.

From here you can take a back road to Sintra Velha and the palaces and stop on the way to visit Monserrate Park with its mysterious Moorish-style palace. Monserrate has just reopened to the public after years of conservation works on the façade of the building. It is surrounded by 30 acres of park on the hillsides, featuring an impressive variety of flora from all corners of the world. This piece of heaven on earth was owned by Francis Cook, viscount of Monserrate, who made an impressive effort to import all the species of plants and trees that now form the luxurious gardens.