Lisbon · Sintra Ridge and Atlantic Coast

Ridge roads, ocean wind and a palace-town pause.

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Why this ride

Ridge roads, ocean wind and a palace-town pause. 96 km round from Sintra - plan on about 1 h 40 of riding. It goes by way of Cabo da Roca, Guincho coast and Cascais. The coast is the point of it.

Roadbook

1. Sintra palace roads start

   Sintra is a hill town where a granite ridge catches the Atlantic cloud and holds it, so that the slopes are green, damp and cool while Lisbon, half an hour away, bakes. Lord Byron called it a glorious Eden, and Portuguese kings agreed, building summer palaces among the rocks and tree ferns. The Moors left a ruined castle on the ridge, and in the nineteenth century King Ferdinand II, a German prince who married the queen, built the Pena Palace on the highest peak, a fantasy of yellow, red and blue towers that looks as though it was assembled from a box of bricks. Close to the town centre the Quinta da Regaleira has a spiral well and tunnels, and Monserrate Palace has some of the finest gardens.

   The ride up to the palaces is the point of the place. The road climbs through dense forest and moss-covered boulders in tight hairpins on a narrow, damp surface, with tourists on foot, tuk-tuks and buses sharing the road. On a busy day it can be slow and a bit nerve-racking, and the mist can fall without warning, so start early. Once you are over the ridge, the road drops west toward the sea and the cape of Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, where a lighthouse stands on cliffs above the Atlantic wind. A coast road then runs south toward Cascais, with views over surf beaches and rocky coves.

   The old town of Sintra is a tangle of cobbled lanes, and parking a motorcycle is easiest on the outskirts. Pastry is the local vice: travesseiros, flaky pillows filled with almond and egg cream, and queijadas, small cheese tarts, are sold in the cafes in the old centre. Summer weekends bring big crowds, and spring and autumn are quieter and cooler. The air smells of eucalyptus and damp earth, and the temperature can be ten degrees lower on the hill than on the plain.

   Sintra has about twenty-six thousand people, with fuel at the edge of town and larger stations around Algueirão and along the main road to Lisbon. Keep a warm layer in the bag, as the sea breeze on the cape is chilly, and expect a wet road after fog even on a sunny day.

2. Cabo da Roca photo

   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.

   The ride in is part of the pleasure. From Sintra the road climbs through eucalyptus and cork oak into the hills, passing quiet villages and then opening onto a bare, heathy plateau. Along the coast, the N247 runs north and south with bends that are open but often sandy, and the wind can be violent, with gusts strong enough to move a loaded bike across the lane. Fog off the sea can swallow the cliffs in minutes, particularly in summer, and sometimes the whole peninsula is clear while Sintra's palaces sit in cloud. Go early, before the tour buses arrive, or late in the evening, when the sun drops into the sea.

   Colares, a few kilometres away, is worth a stop in its own right. Its vineyards grow in deep sand, and because the phylloxera pest cannot live in sand, they were never grafted, which makes them some of the last ungrafted vines in Europe. The wine is tannic and demanding but has a devoted following. Nearby Azenhas do Mar, a village of whitewashed houses spilling down a cliff to a tidal swimming pool, is among the most photogenic places on the coast.

   Fill the tank in Colares, Cascais or Sintra. Bring a windproof jacket whatever the season, because the cape is exposed and cold even on bright days.

3. Guincho coast swim

   Guincho is a wind machine with a beach attached. The broad, curving strand lies on the exposed Atlantic side of the Cascais peninsula, backed by dunes and a wild scrub of juniper and umbrella pine, and the north-westerly that Portuguese sailors call the nortada blows across it almost every summer afternoon. Windsurfers and kitesurfers love it, and on a good day the water is full of bright sails skimming the swell. To the north the granite bulk of the Serra de Sintra catches clouds and holds them, while to the south the line of the coast leads on toward Cascais, six kilometres away, and Alcabideche sits on the hills inland.

   The dunes behind the beach are protected as part of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, and they are worth knowing about because they are some of the last such dunes on this stretch of coast. A boardwalk crosses the sand at Cresmina, and in spring the slopes bloom with sea lavender and wild thyme, while lizards bask on the warm planks. At the southern end of the bay, an old sea fort stands on the rocks, a reminder that this coast spent centuries watching for pirates and enemy ships.

   Riding to Guincho is a good outing in its own right. The coast road from Cascais is fast and open, with views of the sea, and the sweeping run toward Cabo da Roca takes you out into a landscape of low cliffs and wind-flattened grass. Gusts can be strong enough to shove a bike sideways, so grip the bars and be ready on exposed stretches. Fog often appears without warning, rolling over the dunes in a cold wall, and the temperature can fall ten degrees in minutes. If the day is bright, though, nothing beats the colour of the Atlantic here, a hard, bright blue.

   Fuel and supermarkets are in Cascais and Alcabideche, and a handful of seafront restaurants near the beach serve grilled fish and shellfish, though prices reflect the view. Swimming is for the strong, since the surf is powerful and currents are treacherous, and the water is cold even in August. The best time for a visit is a calm morning in September, when the crowds have gone and the light is soft.

4. Cascais food stop

   Cascais began as a fishing village, and the fish never left. In 1870 King Luís I made the little town his summer residence, the court followed, the aristocracy built villas along the shore, and a quiet harbour became the smart seaside resort of Lisbon. It is about thirty-six thousand people now, with a marina full of yachts, a pedestrian centre of mosaic pavements, and a fishing fleet that still unloads in the afternoon, which is the best moment to understand why people eat here.

   Food is the reason for the stop, and Cascais is generous with it. Grilled sea bream, sea bass and sardines are the staples, cooked simply over charcoal with coarse salt, and you will find shellfish by the kilo, with prawns, barnacles and clams in garlic and coriander. Rice with seafood, soupy and rich, is a local classic, and a plate of salt cod in its many forms is never far away. Pastries are good, a pastel de nata for the road is almost obligatory, and the coffee is strong. Many of the best simple places are a street or two back from the water, where the prices are fairer and the customers are locals.

   The town has a few things to see between meals. The old citadel, a sixteenth-century fortress, guards the bay, and nearby is the Boca do Inferno, a sea cave and chasm where the Atlantic booms into the rock. Further west lies Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, about fifteen kilometres away, and the long beach of Guincho, famous for wind and kitesurfers.

   For a rider, the coastal road from Lisbon along the Marginal is a famous run, with the ocean on one side and the line of the railway on the other, though it is heavy with traffic on summer weekends. The road from Cascais towards Guincho and Sintra winds along cliffs and through pine woods, with good bends, wind gusts and great views. Watch for sand blown across the surface at Guincho, and for cobbles and tram-like rails in the centre of town.

   Fuel is easy in Cascais and in neighbouring Estoril, with plenty of stations, and parking for motorbikes is possible near the marina. Allow time to eat slowly.

   The late afternoon light on the bay, with a glass of cold vinho verde, is the point of the stop.

5. Back to Sintra palace roads finish

   Back at Sintra palace roads. That is the ride.

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