Cascais Convention Bureau

The Museum Quarter is a cultural destination with a diverse offer of experiences that nourish a love for the arts and for the pleasure of life. Located within a confined area, discover different cultural facilities that will keep their identities although as a whole they represent memory, tradition and heritage.

In 2006, the London-based painter Paula Rego (currently the best-known Portuguese plastic artist of her generation) chose Cascais as the location for her House of Stories, a project designed by the architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. The display comprises a significant number of her works as well as some by her husband, Victor Willing, an artist and critic who died in 1988. With its varied parallel programme, the Paula Rego House of Stories is a first-class cultural attraction that provides a dynamic and ongoing educational service for the local community by continually rotating its collection. Facilities include a cafeteria, bookshop with a small library and an auditorium.

Set in a small cove so close to the sea that the water actually laps the building at high tide, the location of this fine example of the revivalist architectural style is as appealing as its contents. The museum’s exhibits include an impressive art collection, rare pieces of Indo-Portuguese furniture, a few prehistoric archaeological remains and a library notable for its illuminated manuscript dated 1505 and some richly-bound volumes from the 17th century. The palace was built by Jorge O’Neill in 1897 to a design by Luigi Magnini, creator of some important neo-Manueline revivalist projects such as the Bussaco Palace Hotel in central Portugal and Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra. The building was further developed by the prominent painter and architect, Francisco Vilaça. Taking a stroll through the surrounding Marechal Carmona Park brings you to a small chapel, some beautiful painted azulejo tiles and a small zoo.

Located on the site of the former convent of Our Lady of Mercy stands the Cascais Cultural Centre, a stunning building expertly restored by the architect Jorge Silva. This centre is a not-to-be-missed cultural hub that hosts most important exhibitions and other kinds of shows. Facilities include a cafeteria with a very pleasant indoor courtyard.

Boca do Inferno is one of the most fascinating places in Cascais. Its name relates to the size and sheer force of the huge waves that batter these shores in winter. Literally translated as the Mouth of Hell, Boca do Inferno is the remains of an ancient cave with its wide-open mouth jutting into the sea in the form of an archway, through which the Atlantic waves crash relentlessly. With features as unique as this, visitors can only marvel at such an incredible spectacle and enjoy the magnificent sunsets from that very same spot. Next to the viewing platform, visitors will find a restaurant, cafeteria and a few shops selling locally-made products.

The westernmost point of Europe Unusually close to a major city like Lisbon, Sintra-Cascais Natural Park has managed to preserve throughout the territory surrounding the westernmost point of continental Europe and to coexist harmoniously nature and human presence, that, so near the capital, would inevitably make itself felt . In its territory, the park presents a stunning diversity of environments and landscapes, including sand dunes, forests, lakes, a rugged coastline where high cliffs are interspersed with lovely beaches, the imposing and Cabo da Roca, in the center, the magnificent Serra de Sintra and the entire area classified by UNESCO as a cultural landscape heritage of mankind.