Page 160 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

11 The day’s catch can be tasted court yard. Baroque paintings,
ex votos and a frescoed ceiling
in the town’s excellent fish
Sesimbra restaurants along the shore. deco rate the church’s interior.
High above the town is the Nearby, a domed chapel has
! D5 @ n Rua da Fortaleza Moorish castle, greatly tiled blue and white azulejo
de Santiago; 212 288 540
restored in the 18th century panels depicting fishing
Protected from north winds when a church and small scenes. The site became a
by the slopes of the Serra da flower­filled cemetery were popular place of pilgrimage
in the 13th century when a
Arrábida, this busy fishing
added inside the walls. There
EXPERIENCE The Lisbon Coast is a maze of steep narrow w on a mule. Legend has it that
local man had a vision of the
are wonderful views from the
village has become a popular
holiday resort. The old town
Madonna rising from the sea
ramparts, especially at sunset.
streets, with the Santiago Fort
the tracks of the mule can be
seen em bedded in the rock.
(now a customs post) in the
centre over looking the sea.
Cabo Espichel
From the terrace there are
views of the town, the Atlantic
13
! D5 @ From Sesimbra
and the wide sandy beach that
stretches out on either side.
Sesimbra is fast developing as
the sea on this windswept
! D5 £ @ n Castelo de
promontory. The Romans
a resort, with plentiful pave­
Palmela; 212 332 122
ment cafés and bars that are Sheer cliffs drop straight into Palmela
named it Promontorium
always busy on sunny days. Barbaricum, alluding to its The formidable castle at
The fishing fleet is moored dangerous location, and a Palmela stands over the small
in the Porto do Abrigo to the lighthouse warns sailors of hill town, high on a north ­
west of the main town. The the treacherous rocks below. eastern spur of the wooded
harbour is reached by taking Stunning views of the ocean Serra da Arrábida. Its strategic
Avenida dos Náufragos, a and the coast can be enjoyed position dominates the plain
sweeping promenade that from this bleak outcrop of for miles around, especially
follows the beach out of town. land but beware of the strong when floodlit at night. Heavily
When the fishing boats return gusts of wind on the cliff edge. defended by the Moors, it was
from a day at sea, a colourful, In this desolate setting is finally conquered in the 12th
noisy fish auction takes the impressive Santuário de century and given by Sancho I
place on the quayside. Nossa Senhora do Cabo, a to the Knights of the Order of
late 17th­century church with Santiago. In 1423, João I
its back to the sea. On either transformed the castle into a
Brightly painted fishing side of the church a long line monastery for the Order. It
boats moored in the of pilgrims’ lodgings facing has since been restored and
harbour at Sesimbra inwards form an open converted into a splendid

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