Wineries by the Sea: Portugal
This stretch of coast is filled with fishing villages and tiny beach towns, including Sintra, the former summer retreat of the Portuguese royal court. Colares is also one of the world’s most unusual wine-growing zones, because its sandy soils are immune to the vine pest phylloxera.
Restaurants | Wineries | Hotels | Best Beaches
Restaurants
Marisqueria Oceano
Waiters in suits and ties serve bowls of steamed lobster, shrimp, mussels and potatoes at this beachside spot.
Neptuno
Ocean views distract from the nautical kitsch at this seafood restaurant.
Porto de Santa Maria
The salt-crusted sea bass at this beachfront restaurant is a favorite of Bill Clinton.
Plus: More Restaurants in Portugal
Wineries
Adega Regional de Colares
This wine cooperative in the center of Colares pours many of the area’s distinctive wines, like Fernão Pires, a zesty white.
Bacalhôa Vinhos de Portugal
Known for its Chardonnay and for the antique Portuguese tilework in its estate house.
José Maria da Fonseca
One of Portugal’s oldest wineries. Tours end with a tasting of wines like Periquita, made mostly from the native red grape Castelão.
Plus: The Next Must-Visit Wine Country: Douro Valley
Hotels
Farol Design Hotel
This property was built within the Count of Cabral’s 19th-century mansion on Cascais’s rocky shores. Locals meet at the hotel bar, On the Rocks, for cocktails at sunset.
Tivoli Palácio de Seteais
This grand 30-room hotel, decorated with frescos, reopened in April after major renovations. It overlooks the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace in Sintra.
Plus: More Hotels in Portugal
Best Beaches
Courtesy of Estoril Tourism Board.
Adraga
Near Sintra but hidden between two cliffs, Adraga can only be reached by driving down a winding road. A tiny beach café next to the car park serves simple seafood dishes.
Guincho
At this long, sandy beach near Cascais, the water is usually too rough for swimming, but locals watch the skilled surfers while sunning.
Portinho da Arrábida
This beach is within Arrábida Natural Park, 15 minutes from the Fonseca winery. Snorkelers love the calm, crystal-clear water.
Praia das Maçãs
A tram runs from Sintra through the countryside to this popular, café-lined beach town named for the apples (maçãs) that would float down the Ribeira de Colares river and wash up on its sands.
Ursa
Free-spirited sunbathers come to this secluded beach along the rocky cliffs near Sintra.
For details, go to golisbon.com.
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