Beautiful Beaches

Ericeira is a lovely old fishing town which has kept a lot of its character with its narrow cobblestone streets, characteristic housing, singular monuments whilst providing plenty of attractions for visitors; beautiful sandy beaches (some of which are a paradise for surfers), plenty of bars and restaurants where you can enjoy delicious fresh seafood, tennis, mini-golf and a new public swimming pool.

The local museum has a model collection of traditional fishing boats and in July and August there are several festivals including colourful street processions.

Sun everywhere

Ericeira is famous for its beautiful beaches.
Surfing and sunbathing are the dominant sports.

If you want to learn to surf Ericeira has a number of schools with safe teaching.

However, Ericeira offers a lot more to those interested in sport. Body-boarding, skim-boarding, windsurfing, fishing, diving, sailing, jet-skiing, water-skiing and beach-volley are some of the activities enjoyed at the beaches of the village.

Quality food

In addition, the modern facilities of the municipal gymnasium and the Santa Marta park offer even more sporting facilities. Or you could discover the beautiful landscape on a mountain bike, horseback riding or by just hiking around.
Walks in Ericeira: Fountains  /  Not to miss in Ericeira  /   Beaches  /   Beautiful Streets and Chapels

Ericeira is known for its quality of fresh fish and seafood.
Many restaurants and seafood restaurants ("marisqueiras") offer a great variety of dishes, some famous and typical of the Ericeira area, like the "puré de mariscos" (seafood purée), "frango de caldeirada" (chicken, peas and various condiments) or "sopa de cabozes" (crab, whiting-pout and mussel soup).

The tradition of Ericeira's nightlife continues to attract a regular and distinctive audience, not only Portuguese, but foreign as well, especially in summer and at weekends. A large variety of bars and nightclubs promise an exiting night.
The second oldest nightclub in Portugal, the “Ouriço”, picturesquely located overlooking the cliffs and the Atlantic Ocean, is situated in Ericeira

Palácio da Vila - Sintra

SINTRA is one of the most delightful places to be found in Portugal. With its extensive range of green bills with its crags - the Serra de Sintra - so picturesquely situated and offering stupendous views of the coastline with its impressive beauty, Sintra is indeed "a garden of the earthly paradise". The Old Town was described by Byron as "the most pleasing in Europe", but there are also valuable archaeological remains, particularly from the Roman period, ancient manor houses, churches of personalised artistic value and characteristic villages. The three National Palace - Palácio da Vila, Palácio da Pena and Palácio de Queluz - and the various municipal museums contain important historical and artistic collections.

CASCAIS Little town beaches (Praia da Rainha, Praia da Conceição) with charming surroundings and yachts bobbing on the water. The Praia da Ribeira is a picturesque spot and still a traditional fishing harbour. The beaches of Cascais have names like the "Pescadores", "Marchioness" and the "Queen", reminding us of the time when it was the "Land of Kings and fishermen". Portuguese kings and many exiled kings have lived in Cascais over the years

ESTORIL Renowned worldwide as an important tourism spot (casino, golf course and racing track). The Verdades-Farias Museum which hosts an important collection of musical instruments related to popular music, assembled by MichaeI Giacometti. The beautiful Santo António Church stands out in this cosmopolitan resort, which also boasts an exciting nightlife
MAFRA Palace-Convent built in the 18th century, is the largest Portuguese religious monument. It consists of lavish royal apartments aswell as 330 cells for its monks, a magnificent library (which houses about 36.000 collectors books that include a first edition of “Os Lusíadas” by the Portuguese poet Luís de Camõe), carillon, basilica and museums.