Cascais

A cave and arch that the waves have gouged into the cliff base, its name meaning mouth of hell. Calm water leaves it looking tame; it earns the name only when a heavy swell hurls spray up to the viewing platform.

A gallery for the paintings of Paula Rego, opened in 2009 under two red concrete pyramid towers by the architect Souto de Moura. Many of her pictures draw on fairy tales and folk stories, hence the House of Stories name.

A seventeenth century fortress holding the palace the royals used for summers in the late nineteenth century, still a summer residence for the president. A hotel and artists' studios ring the inner yard, and visitors simply walk in.

A small patch of sand tucked between rocks right in the town centre, its name meaning queen's beach. It is so tiny that on summer weekends there is no room left for a towel by late morning.

A broad beach between dunes and hills, 15 minutes west of town by car, where the wind almost never lets up. It suits kitesurfers, and swimmers keep to the flagged area because of the surf and rip currents.

A seawall path squeezed between the railway and the sea from Cascais to Estoril, passing several beaches. Many people walk it at sunset and ride the train back from Estoril station.

Spies from both sides gathered here in neutral Portugal throughout World War II, and Ian Fleming, then posted to Lisbon, is said to have drawn on it for Casino Royale. The gardens in front slope a long way toward the sea.

A castle style mansion from the late nineteenth century over a little inlet, now a museum whose treasure is a view of Lisbon painted in a sixteenth century chronicle. In the park behind, peacocks and chickens roam loose, and children run there first.

A lighthouse inside a small fort, covered in stripes of blue and white tile. The lower floor is a museum of lenses and machinery from Portuguese lighthouses, and the rocky cove beside it hides a tiny beach.

A covered yard of fish, fruit and flower stalls. On Wednesday and Saturday mornings growers from the surrounding farms move in and the market doubles in size.

Woodland wrapping the Castro Guimaraes mansion on the town's western side, where peacocks, chickens and ducks roam loose. Ponds and a playground sit under big shade trees, and local families spend afternoons here. The Paula Rego museum is next door.

A small 17th-century fort perched on rocks along the Guincho road. It was one link in the chain guarding the approach to Lisbon, and its battery and barracks have been restored. From the yard, the Cabo da Roca cliffs show out toward the Atlantic.

Between Cascais and Lisbon no beach is broader, and a Cascais line station sits right behind it. Waves roll in all year, so surf school flags line the sand. At the eastern end, the star-shaped fort of Sao Juliao da Barra stands on the rocks.

A museum named for King Carlos, who was also an oceanographer, covering Cascais sea life and fishing life. Specimens the king hauled up himself hang beside boat models and fishermen's clothes. It stands where a park meets the town hall, handy mid-stroll.