Restaurant Marisco

Cascais (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɐʃˈkajʃ]) is a coastal town and a municipality in Portugal, 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of Lisbon. It is a cosmopolitan suburb of the Portuguese capital and one of the richest municipalities in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 206,479,^[1] in an area of 97.40 km².^[2] The former fishing village gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal family in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Nowadays, it is a popular vacation spot for both Portuguese and foreign tourists.

It is located on the Estoril Coast (also known as the Portuguese Riviera), in the Greater Lisbon subregion.^[3] It has an airport for general aviation serving the Lisbon Region in Tires (S. Domingos de Rana), the Cascais Aerodrome, that also offers domestic scheduled flights by Aero VIP.

History

Human settlement of the territory today known as Cascais dates to the late Paleolithic, as indicated by remnants encountered in the north of Talaíde, in Alto do Cabecinho (Tires) and south of Moinhos do Cabreiro.^[4] It was during the Neolithic that permanent settlements were established in the region, their inhabitants utilizing the natural grottoes (such as the Poço Velho in Cascais) and artificial shelters (like those in Alapraia or São Pedro) to deposit their dead. The bodies were buried along with offerings, a practice that continued to the Chalcolithic.^[4]

Roman interventions in the area occurred with the settlement of the villae of Freiria (today São Domingos de Rana) and Casais Velhos (Charneca), evidence for which includes a group of ten tanks discovered along the Rua Marques Leal Pancada in Cascais, which was the location of a salting factory for fish.^[4] Roman dominion over the territory also influenced place names in the region, as was the case with the word "Caparide" (from the Latin capparis, meaning "caper"), as well as several inscriptions associated with funerary graves.^[4]

Similarly, Muslim settlers in the region left their mark on local place names, including "Alcoitão" and "Alcabideche", where the romantic poet Ibn Muqana al-Qabdaqi, who wrote of the region's agriculture and windmills, was born at the beginning of the 11th century.^[4]

The development of Cascais began in earnest in the 12th century, when it was administratively subordinate to the town of Sintra, located to the north. In its humble beginnings, Cascais depended on the products of the sea and land, but by the 13th century its fish production was also supplying the nearby city of Lisbon. The toponymy "Cascais" appears to derive from this period, a plural derivation of cascal (monte de cascas) which signified a "mountain of shells", referring to the abundant volume of marine mollusks harvested from the coastal waters.^[4] During the 14th century, the population spread outside the walls of its fortress castle.

Tourism

Today, there is a large yacht harbour and several small sandy beaches in and around the town. Cascais is easily reached from Lisbon by car on the A5 Lisboa-Cascais highway, or alternatively on the scenic "marginal" road, as well as by frequent inexpensive commuter trains. Taxis are also a common and inexpensive mode of transport in the area. The city has the ruins of a castle, an art and an ocean museum, as well as parks and the charming cobbled streets of the historic centre. The town has many hotels and tourist apartments as well as many good restaurants of varying cost. It is a fine base to use for those visiting Lisbon and its environs who prefer to stay outside of the city yet in an equally urban and sophisticated environment.

Cascais is surrounded by popular beaches such as Guincho Beach to the west, and the lush Sintra mountains to the north. Some of its shoreline has cliffs, attracting tourists who come for the panoramic views of the sea and other natural sights such as the Boca do Inferno. It is also becoming a popular golf destination, with over 10 golf courses nearby. Surfing, sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing are also popular in the region due to favourable weather, wind, and sea conditions. In 2007, Cascais was the official host of the ISAF World Championship in sailing for dinghies and racing yachts.

The municipality also hosts international tennis and motorcycling events and for many years hosted the FIA F1 Portugal Grand Prix. The famous Estoril Casino is one of the largest in Europe. Near the casino is the "Hotel Palácio" (Palace Hotel), a 5-star hotel where scenes of the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service were shot.

Geography

Cascais is situated on the western edge of the Tagus estuary, between the Sintra mountains and the Atlantic Ocean; the territory occupied by the municipality is delimited in the north by the municipality of Sintra, south and west by the ocean, and east by the municipality of Oeiras.^[4]

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias),^[5] with municipal authority vested in the Câmara Municipal of Cascais:

• Alcabideche
• Carcavelos e Parede
• Cascais e Estoril
• São Domingos de Rana