The Estoril Coast

This holiday apartment is for rent in Carcavelos, a small coastal town on the Estoril Coast in Portugal, conveniently situated between Lisbon and Cascais. The apartment is ideally located with a supermarket, pharmacy, bank, post office and numerous restaurants, cafés and bars just steps from the front door. Behind the apartment there's a public park with two tennis courts and a children's playground set in landscaped parkland.

The apartment is just 10 minutes walk from an excellent train service to Lisbon, Estoril and Cascais, which means a hire car isn't essential. With the beach just 20 minutes walk from the apartment and a host of sports facilities include golf, tennis and water sports on hand, this is the perfect location for your next self catering holiday on the Lisbon Coast.

Golf Holidays

With over a dozen golf courses and fabulous weather, the Lisbon Coast makes for excellent golfing holidays. There are several 18 hole championship golf courses within 20 minutes drive of the apartment, including Penha Longa, Estoril, Quinta da Beloura and Quinta da Marinha. Learn more about the golf courses on the Estoril Coast...

Beach Holidays

Carcavelos has one of the best beaches in the area and it's only 20 minutes walk from the apartment. A beautiful golden sandy beach with a host of bars and restaurants. The beach has lifeguards and a medical post manned during the summer and is cleaned every morning by tractor. Strong winds and good waves make it popular for surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing and body boarding.

Guincho beach is also an excellent beach for surfing and regularly holds world championship competitions for surfing and windsurfing.

Caparica, south of the river Tagus, has 32 kilometres of unbroken golden sandy beach with a mini beach train taking people from Caparica to the more secluded spots further down the beach, but beware of naturists!

Portinho de Arrábida is a picturesque little bay with a sandy beach nestling at the foot of the Arrábida mountains. A 40 minute drive south from the apartment, the excellent beach restaurants and serene atmosphere makes this delightful beach well worth a visit.

Carcavelos

Carcavelos is a charming little town with a quaint town centre and an assortment of cafés and restaurants around the church in the town square.

Carcavelos has a gypsy market on Thursday mornings, which is worth a visit if you're after some cheap clothes or shoes. The food market is walking distance from the apartment, but there's also a very good supermarket just over the road.

For water sports enthusiasts, Carcavelos beach has an excellent reputation for surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Cascais

Cascais, once a tiny fishing village, is now a thriving tourist resort with its own yachting marina. Cascais is just a fifteen minute train ride from Carcavelos and is worth a visit. Although now a large town, there's still a working fishing fleet based in Cascais Bay, and fish is still auctioned off to the hotels and restaurants every morning. The historic old town is full of charm and reminiscent of the quaint little fishing village of a bygone era.

Estoril

Estoril is famous for its casino, ostensibly the largest in Europe. This old spa resort was the refuge of choice for various exiled royalty from around Europe and during the Second World War was a hotbed of espionage and intrigue. The spa is currently being restored to its former glory and Estoril also has an excellent, if somewhat small beach.

Sintra

Perhaps the most popular tourist attraction on the Estoril Coast is the town of Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site made famous by Lord Byron, who stayed there for some time. Recognised by UNESCO as a cultural landscape of global significance, Sintra is famous for its architecture, magnificent palaces, impressive landscape, classic music and ballet performances, handicrafts and excellent restaurants.

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal and full of monuments, museums and places of historical interest, and is only twenty minutes away by train. A tram ride through the Alfama (the old town), with its narrow cobbled streets winding their way up to St. Jorge's Castle, is certainly a trip to consider.

At Belém, just a few stops before Lisbon, there's the Presidential Palace, the Coach and Maritime Museum, the monument to Henry the Navigator and the 'Discoveries', as well as the Tower of Belém, the monastery of Jerónimus and the Cultural Centre of Belém, all within walking distance of the station!

To learn more about the Estoril Coast, visit: www.villa-leisure.com.