Page 145 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

The old fishing port of Carrasqueira, on the Península de Tróia

THE LISBON

COAST

Within an hour’s drive northwest of Lisbon you can
reach Portugal’s rocky Atlantic coast. Traders and
invaders, from the Phoenicians to the Spanish,
have left their mark on this region – in particular
the Moors, whose forts and castles, rebuilt many
times over the centuries, can be found all along
the coast. After Lisbon became the country’s
capital in 1256, Portuguese kings and nobles built
summer palaces and villas in the countryside west
of the city, and on the cool, green heights of the
Serra de Sintra. Along the “Portuguese Riviera”,
wealthy Lisboetas have been building holiday
villas in the seaside resort of Cascais as far back
as the late 19th century.
Neighbouring Estoril became fashionable when
exiled European royalty moved there during World
War II; in its heyday, the town became a hotbed for
spies, including Ian Fleming, who recreated Estoril’s
casino in his first James Bond novel. Across the
Tagus, the less fashionable southern shore could
be reached only by ferry until the Ponte 25 de Abril
was built in 1966. This swiftly opened up the long
sandy beaches of the Costa da Caparica, the coast
around the fishing town of Sesimbra and even the
remote Tróia peninsula as popular summer resorts.
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