Berlitz: Lisbon Pocket Guide by Berlitz Travel

Author:Berlitz Travel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Lisbon
Publisher: APA
Published: 2015-03-23T04:00:00+00:00

The main square of Cascais

Lydia Evans/Apa Publications

Cascais

Nearby Cascais # [map], which sits on a pretty curved bay, lives a double life. It is a town of both fishermen and kings, where the humble and the retiring rich coexist with camera-toting visitors. The workaday fishing scene attracts tourists, who inspect the catch as it is unloaded from boats into wooden trays and then rushed to the modern auction building. There the fish are sold by a reverse (Dutch) auction, in which the price starts high and decreases until somebody shouts a bid. You may not understand the auctioneer’s chant, but you’ll see what he’s selling: lobster, shrimp, hake, squid and sardines. Retail sales are in the hands of local fishwives, who set up stalls outside the market. For the finished product, try any of the dozen restaurants within walking distance of the beach.

Cascais’ main square is charming, with swirling-patterned monochrome paving underfoot. The Paços do Concelho (Town Hall) has stately windows with iron railings, separated by panels of azulejos depicting saints. The fire station occupies a place of honour between the town hall and an attractive church, while in the square itself, stands a statue of Pedro I.

The sturdy-looking 17th-century fort, the Cidadela (Citadel), now occupied by the military, is one of the few buildings to have survived the earthquake and tidal wave of 1755. A chapel within the walls contains an image of St Anthony, traditionally carried on the back of a white mule in the parade on the feast day of Santo António (13 June).

After an overdose of sun and salt, the municipal park down the road is a cool relief. The palace in this park is a lovely villa housing the Museu dos Condes de Castro Guimarães (Museum of the Counts of Castro Guimarães; Rua Júlio Pereira de Mello; www.cm-cascais.pt/equipamento/museu-biblioteca-condes-de-castro-guimaraes; Tue–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat–Sun 10am–1pm and 2–5pm), a museum with archaeological remains, artworks, old furniture, gold and silver. For a more complete picture of the resort’s fishing heritage and royal connections, visit the intriguing Museu do Mar – Rei Dom Carlos (King Carlos Museum of the Seas; www.cm-cascais.pt/museumar/; Tue–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat–Sun 10am–1pm and 2–5pm; free), which has historic photographs of the king, who was an enthusiastic marine biologist, at leisure, as well as the costumes and customs of the fisherfolk.

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