Atlantic Coast N247 from Lisbon

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Lisbon

   Lisbon is built on hills, as the old joke goes, to give the trams something to do. The city rises from the north bank of the Tagus river on seven hills, a tumble of tiled houses, church domes and steep cobbled lanes, with yellow trams creaking up the slopes, and the great red suspension bridge, the 25 de Abril, spanning the estuary. In 1755 a huge earthquake, followed by a tsunami and fires, destroyed much of the centre and killed tens of thousands, and the flat grid of the Baixa district was rebuilt afterwards under the Marquis of Pombal. The hill quarters of Alfama and Mouraria, which came through, still have their medieval twists and turns.

   Read the complete Lisbon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Lisbon is where the day begins. Next is Cascais.

2. 2. Cascais

   Cascais has been rich for a long time. It began as a fishing village at the mouth of the Tagus estuary, became a royal summer retreat in the nineteenth century when the Portuguese court started spending the warm months by the sea, and has since turned into a pleasant seaside town for Lisbon's well-off and its visitors. The small citadel stands over the harbour, fishing boats bob on the water, and the old centre has patterned pavements, pastel houses and a pedestrian main street lined with cafés.

   Read the complete Cascais write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Cascais comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cabo da Roca.

3. 3. Cabo da Roca

   Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point of mainland Europe, a wind-scoured headland where the Sintra mountains run straight into the Atlantic and stop. The cliffs rise some 140 metres above the water, topped with a squat white lighthouse that has been working since the eighteenth century, and a stone monument carries a line from the poet Luís de Camões, who described this as the place where the land ends and the sea begins. There is something genuinely humbling about it, standing in a cold gale with nothing but ocean in front of you, though the tourist crowds have rather broken the spell by midday.

   Read the complete Cabo da Roca write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Cabo da Roca. Next is Ericeira.

4. 4. Ericeira

   You come into Ericeira from the south on the N247, and the last few kilometres are the best. The road threads along the top of low cliffs, with the Atlantic on your left and farms and small villages on your right, and the surface is generally smooth and the curves long. Earlier in the day the same road has taken you past Azenhas do Mar, a white village that clings to a cliff above a natural sea pool, and through the vineyards of Colares, where vines grow in deep sand and have been spared the diseases that wiped out most of Europe's grapes in the nineteenth century. Both make good stops, but Ericeira is the proper reward.

   Read the complete Ericeira write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Ericeira, late in the day. Next is Peniche.

5. 5. Peniche

   Peniche was an island until sand silted up the channel, and it still feels like one, a stubby peninsula pushed out into the Atlantic with the sea on three sides. About sixteen thousand people live in the town, and fishing is still the main business, with a harbour full of blue and white boats and the smell of grilled sardines drifting along the waterfront. The coast around has become one of the great surf destinations of Europe, thanks to the long swells that arrive at the beach at Supertubos, where competitions are held every year.

   Read the complete Peniche write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Peniche. That is the ride.