Portugal has become a home away from home for beach-loving Brits, with as many as 4.5 million of us landing at Portuguese airports over the past year, according to the National Statistics Institute.
The year-round sun, the great seafood, the friendly locals — we can’t get enough of it. But our reputation precedes us: flocking to the tourist hub beach-haven of the Algarve, bad behaviour is leading to local councils calling time on Brits abroad.
And too right — this beautiful country deserves better than the Girls & Boys brigade.
Want a taste of Portugal, without the lager louts? Looking to catch the sun one more time before 2026 rolls in? Seen all that Lisbon and Porto have to offer, or just want a retreat away from the big city hustle and bustle?
Cascais is the answer. Just a little over 30 minutes drive from Lisbon, this peaceful coastal town has it all — beautiful beaches, Michelin-grade food, stunning resorts, and at least one megastar resident: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Got 48 hours to kill? Here’s 5 can’t-miss highlights to see in this Portuguese hideaway
1. Where to stay: Onyria Marinha Cascais
An oasis by the sea, the Onyria Marinha Cascais is a stylish and modern resort just minutes away from all the best stops to visit on a Cascais stay.
It’s host to 68 deluxe rooms, 4 suites and 39 villas (with two and three bedroom options), three outdoor pools and one inside its luxury spa, and is family run, with the Pinto Coelho family boasting 25 years hosting guests across the country.
The Onyria Marinha Cascais is particularly special though — especially if you’re a golfer. The hotel’s grounds encompass an 18 hole golf course designed by the renowned Robert Trent Jones Snr., with its parkland setting both wonderfully strollable and tuned for strategic play. It’s a global golfing destination, having hosted the PGA Champions Tour, while recent players teeing off include world number one tennis ace Carlos Alcaraz.
Situated close to the most westerly point in continental Europe, ensuring pleasant weather all year round, you’re close to both the glorious Cascais old town and its beaches, and the wild coves of Guincho beach, known for its pristine surfing conditions.
You’re well served if you’re looking for a bite to eat too, with Onyria Marinha Cascais housing its own hidden gem in the shape of the Story hotel restaurant. Offering European fusion dishes, it’s headed up by chef Paulo Nobrega, hailing from the island of Madeira, bringing flair and inventiveness to his seasonal dishes.
The hotel even picked up the Bronze award for Best Overseas Hotel at the 2025 M&IT hospitality awards.
Calling the hotel his neighbour is none other than football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, with one of his many grand homes right next door to the resort.
Not only that, he’s a regular at Monte Mar, the fantastic seafood restaurant a short walk down the coast from the hotel, and a partnered dining spot for guests. Just don’t expect to get a selfie with Ronaldo — we’re told he’s so hounded by eager fans when back in his home nation that he tends to book out the entire restaurant for his personal use. It’s high praise for a menu that bowled us over, with some of the finest catch-of-the-day seabass we’ve ever eaten.
2. Where to eat: Gastronomic Restaurant Fortaleza do Guincho
You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to great food in Cascais, but for the fine-dining foodies among us, Chef Gil Fernandes’ restaurant at the Fortaleza do Guincho hotel cannot be missed.
The Michelin-starred restaurant offers two luxurious, seafood-focussed tasting menus full of flavour and storytelling theatrics, as Fernandes weaves local delicacies with his own experiential takes on classics. Highlights include the ‘Covo’ Lobster Trap with its edible cage surrounding crustaceans and Alentejo ham, the Receita da Avo (or Grandmother’s Recipe) limpet rice and sea fennel. And can you say you’ve truly dined unless you’ve had a waiter add a rue to your dish through a miniature irrigation system? As inventive as it is deliciously fun.
It’s a stunning dining space too — the hotel itself is built around the structure of an old coastal fort, and the main dining space has panoramic views of the surrounding coastline: beautiful when sunkissed, atmospheric when stormy.
3. What to book: Chefs on Fire festival
The culinary stops don’t end there, and if you find yourself booking up a Cascais trip in the late summer, a day at the Chefs on Fire festival is a must.
Showcasing dozens of local and international chefs, it’s all focussed around open-fire cooking, with this year’s event featuring teams from restaurants including Taberna Do Mar, Michelin-starred G Pousada and two-Michelin-starred Smoked Room. Entry tickets include a number of dish and drink tokens, letting you go on a smokey culinary adventure — taking in bites usually reserved for exclusive dining spots — as you wander the grounds.
It all takes place in the beautiful Parque Marechal Carmona, a stunning park with its own beachfront, transformed for the occasion with festoon lighting, hay bale seating and temporary artworks.
The atmosphere is unbelievable, dreamlike even, with blissed-out visitors strolling among the trees, picnicking, dancing and laughing — and you even get wine glasses made of actual glass! Take that, Glastonbury!
With the seventh-annual event (usually hosted in mid-September) now wrapped up for the year, we’ll be eagerly awaiting news of 2026's installment, with knives and forks at the ready.
4. What to see: Cascais’s historic old town
When you need to walk off all that eating and relaxing, it's time for a stroll through Cascais’s historic centre. The Cascais ‘old town’ is one of the most picturesque of all the stops along the Portuguese Riviera, and it's steeped in history.
Affluent, and with stunning 19th century architecture, King Luís I of Portugal made Cascais his official summer residence through the 1870s, making the area one of the most desirable spots to be seen in for the rich and famous of the era. It also led to the construction of grand mansions in the town, many of which still stand today.
With its cobbled streets, pastel-coloured facades and expertly manicured flower beds, its picture-perfect in the way usually only managed in a hermetically-sealed Disneyland resort — except this is a living, breathing town. And it’s got better ice-cream, too — Santini’s gelato and sorbets come with the royal seal of approval.
Away from the many restaurants and bars that line its streets and promenade, Cascais’ centre is also home to a museum dedicated to Portuguese artist Paula Rego, the Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum, and the stunning cove of Boca do Inferno, or ‘Hell's Mouth’, where the Atlantic waves crash into its dramatic rock formations.
And if it’s beaches you’re after look no further as…
5. Where to sunbathe: Praia da Rainha and Praia da Conceicao
…Cascais’s old town is a stone’s throw from the best beaches in the area, too.
Praia da Rainha, or the Queen’s Beach, as its name suggests, was the favoured lounging spot of nobility over the generations, but today is welcome to all visitors. Flanked at either side by natural sea walls, with its back to the promenade, it’s the prettiest of the bunch — but smallest too, with amenities and bars nearby meaning it can fill up fast.
Just a few minutes walk further up the road and you’ll reach Praia da Conceicao. It’s larger, with caves and rockpools to explore, and is easier to secure a spot while still being well served by local shops and services.
Whichever you go for, you’ll be met with white sandy beaches and turquoise waters to wade in.
Alternatively, why not take to the high seas? Cascais’s marina is just a 15 minute walk from Praia da Rainha, with boat tours, charter services and even fishing trips all bookable, taking you from the mouth of the Atlantic right along the Lisbon coastline up the Tagus river. Regardless, you won't want to forget your shades and your sunscreen.
How to get to Cascais from London
The easiest way to get to Cascais is by flying to Lisbon, and then taking a train or car to Cascais.
Flights to Lisbon take between 2 hours 30 minutes and 3 hours, and airlines including TAP Air Portugal, British Airways, easyJet, and Ryanair operate on this route. Airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted all offer flights to Lisbon.
Hiring a car or taking a taxi to drive from Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport to Cascais old town will take you about 30 minutes.
Alternatively, the train from the airport takes about 1 hour. Take the Metro (Red Line) from the airport towards the city centre, then change to the Green Line to Cais do Sodré station. From here, jump on the scenic Cascais commuter train line that runs along the coast.
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