Hotel Albatroz

Activities

• The sandy beach is fifty metres from the front door. There are loungers and parasols if you want to decamp for a day.
  
  
• All sorts of water sports can be arranged. The west coast is famous for its surfers – you’ll find surf schools if you want to learn. You can also windsurf, sail and ski.
  
  
• Cascais is an elegant town, with a park housing a mansion-full of 19th-century paintings and furniture, a military cidadela due to open as a cultural centre, exhibitions of boats and of tiles, a contemporary art collection, an active fishing port, a handsome largo (square) - and no shortage of boutiques and nightlife.
  
  
• Cabo da Raco, the most westerly point of mainland Europe, is 5km west. A great cycle path follows the coast and bikes are available free of charge from the Town Hall (just bring some ID).
  
  
• Head north along the coast and find beach after beach - and lots of surfers. The hotel at Praia Grande has a fantastic pool above the sea; non-residents can pay a small fee to use it.
  
  
• Visit spectacular Sintra for the Pena Palace, a fantasy castle built around a 15th-century convent. It somehow manages to balance on top of the hill in its multi-coloured glory.
  
  
• The Sintra Mountains are wild and wonderful, with fabulous walking or riding in exceptional landscapes; watch out for wild boar.
  
  
• Estoril, 15 minutes' away along a seaside promenade, has golf, palaces, a casino, and a packed schedule of events all year including the motorbike Grand Prix in mid-September.
  
  
• Trains into Lisbon take 30 minutes. The station is on your doorstep.