A day trip: Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais

After the colourful sunrise on the ship we set off on our excursion. The photographs from this trip are arranged by location. Starting with Sintra, followed by Cascais and finally snapshots from Lisbon at the end. Weather during the cruise was hit and miss. Luckily in Portugal we had a lovely, sunny day. I took a lot of photos in Sintra as every nook and cranny looked attractive. This is why I will do another post with lots of photographs from this mountainside town.

A tile decorated building in the shade in Sintra, Portugal.

Building in shade in Sintra

Houses in Sintra

Rooftops in Sintra

Sintra in black and white

A tiled sign for Bar Fonte de Pipa, Sintra, Portugal.

Bar Fonte da Pipa

Sintra is merely 30 minutes from Lisbon. A short bus ride from the city brought us to this picturesque sanctuary. We had about an hour to mosey around the narrow streets and sample the local pastries. But not enough to see the castles or the palaces. Sintra has a lot to offer and I would gladly go back with more time to spare.

A shadow of a tree on a building in Sintra, Portugal in black and white.

Tree shadows

Tree shade cast on a house in Sintra with a walkway.

A building in Sintra

Black and white capture of mountainside Sintra under a tree.

Sintra under a tree canopy

Ivy walls

A black and white capture of a house on the Portuguese Atlantic coast..

Black and white house

On the way to Cascais we stopped at Praia da Guincho, a well-known Atlantic beach on Portugal's Estoril coast. We spent no more than 5 minutes here taking photos and enjoying the Portuguese coastline. This beach is located 5 km from Cascais and is renowned for its surfing conditions. This beach was also featured in a James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969.

Black and white landscape of Praia da Guincho in Portugal.

Praia da Guincho Landscape

Atlantic Coast

Praia da Guincho

Atlantic Ocean coastline

Cascais is a coastal resort town on the western edge of the Tagus estuary, between the Sintra mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. It is located half an hour away from Lisbon. We didn't have much time to walk around and explore this old town on the Portuguese Riviera. In fact, I have hardly any photos from there. Below are 3 black and white photographs of the fishing harbour. But Cascais is more glamorous and stylish than these photos. It is full of grand mansions and sidewalks lined with extremely tall palm trees. This area is where the Estoril race track is and where the Portuguese F1 Grand Prix takes place. On top of that, Cascais is home to one of the largest casinos in Europe. The Estoril Casino was an inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 novel Casino Royale. According to the rumours, during the Second World War it was a gathering point for spies, ousted royals and wartime adventurers.

Caiscais bay in Portugal in black and white.

Cascais bay

Black and white landscape of Cascais, Portugal.

Cascais bay landscape

Black and white capture of boats in Cascais bay, Portugal.

Boats in Cascais harbour

Tiled wall in Lisbon

Black and white photo of Rossio Railway Station building on the outside in Lisbon, Portugal.

Rossio Railway Station, Lisbon

We had some spare time when we got back to Lisbon. We decided to hop off the bus early and walk back to the cruise ship terminal along the river. I managed to take more photos during this short stroll than I did back in Cascais. We came upon a flowering Orchid tree and we marveled at its pink flowers for a good few minutes.