Going to be in Lisbon for 4 days. What are some day trips that combine beach with quaint towns. Must be easy to reach by train.
TIA
Posted by
453 posts
From Lisbon the easily reached beaches by train are on the Lisbon to Cascais train line ( all other beaches require more transportation).
The sandy beaches start at Paço de Arcos , the largest is Carcavelos, Estoril and Cascais have more tourists.
The rocky beaches are between Parede and São Pedro, at low tide some marine wildlife can be seen but the rocks can be very slippery.
Quaint depends on your personal definition, personality I wouldn't call any of them quaint, perhaps Cascais a long time ago but not now.
If you're willing to go further you might consider Ericeira, Costa da Caparica or Sesimbra.
Posted by
9772 posts
Evora is an ancient Roman city just east of Lisbon.
Obidos îs another with an amazing wall.
Sintra is great.
Posted by
49 posts
If this is your first time in Lisbon, you have to go to Sintra, assuming you like history and hiking/walking. We were in Lisbon for 5 days in Oct, and we went to Sintra twice. Obviously there is no beach at Sintra, but Cascais is a nice beach town near Sintra, so many people do half day in Sintra and half day in Cascais, but it does make a long day and you are skimming at both towns.
However, if you want quaint towns, I don't think either Sintra or Cascais would qualify, unless you are from a major US city and therefore any place without hour-long traffic jam would feel quaint.
I wrote a pretty detailed post about our experience in Lisbon, which may be of some help to you. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/portugal/practical-tips-learned-from-our-5-day-stay-in-lisbon-part-1