Whilst wandering around Cascais we found a short cut to the coastal road north past the interesting bold pyramid shaped towers of the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego which led into an extensive park (Marechal Carmona Park also known as Gandarinha Park) with gardens, architectural and sculptural interests and where we came across a peacock with the largest / longest tail I have ever seen.
We also came across the Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães – a charming fairy-tale example of the revivalist architectural style built in 1897.
The museum’s exhibits include an impressive art collection, rare pieces of Indo-Portuguese furniture, a few prehistoric archaeological remains and a library and if you climb up to the tower there are impressive views over the Santa Marta bay and the Santa Marta Lighthouse.
After visiting the museum and the pretty Chapel of Saint Sebastian, which is close by, we walked down to the lighthouse to have a closer look before going for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the bay.
There is a lot more to this seaside resort than you might first think, plus it is an easy train ride into Lisbon and also a cheap bus ride to the historic town of Sintra. A perfect base in my opinion.
TRAVEL WORDS 
We walked through the grounds but didn’t visit the museum (I think it most probably was closed at the time) but I think we almost certainly ate at that same restaurant, overlooking the lighthouse. A perfect bay. Love your angel.
Yes, it’s lovely around there.
So lovely Jude 🙂
Thanks Brian.
My goodness, what a variety of evocative photos – a host of memories!
Another add on to a conference trip to Lisbon. I made the most of those times.
More joys of Portugal. Lovely photos, Jude.
Best wishes, Pete. x
It was a bit too hot for me in May, but we’ll worth visiting. April is probably nice.
I should go back to Cascais as I seem to have missed pretty much all of this!
Well we didn’t spend any time in the newer part of the town. The old section is rather nice as is this area along the coast.
Yes, I was mainly in the old part 🙂 But I didn’t get to this area.
Together, the angel and the two pyramid-shaped towers make an impressive visual opening for this post.
The views from the tower are lovely, especially the lighthouse.
That’s a fab lighthouse. Love the blue and white.
The museum does look like a fairytale castle – and what a pretty yellow it is too! Cascais looks like a lovely place to visit.
It is definitely worth a trip if you ever find yourself in Lisbon. I wouldn’t object to living there.
So good to have photos to browse back through, reviving all those good memories
Yes, thank goodness for the photos, we do very little travelling now, but I can look back on the beautiful places we were lucky to visit.
Me too Jude
It sounds like an excellent location, close enough to everywhere but also a little bit removed.