Why Cascais Is Great to Families

Cascais has a long-standing reputation for being cosmopolitan and, therefore, friendly both to foreign tourists and expats. What you might not know is that it’s a place where you can be in all comfort with your family — it offers plenty of opportunities for playtime and quieter moments.

Regardless of why you’re planning to go to Cascais, let me tell you why it’s a great place for families.
 

You’ll be surrounded by nature

A major reason for families to pick Cascais as their home, either for shorter or longer stays, is the location. It’s right next to Lisbon and, like Lisbon, it’s bustling with cultural events, but offers the possibility of engaging with nature.

For starters, it’s a place where you can rent a house or a villa with a garden.

Even within the city itself, you will find the Marechal Carmona Park, with beautiful well-kept vegetation and lots of animals your children will feel tempted to chase. You can have your peace and quiet here if that’s what you’re looking for. Children will love the large playground.

There are great beaches in the city too, with the advantage of waves being more toned-down than in other locations, like Guincho. You might actually be able to take a relaxed swim (if you can get past the initial cold!). It’ll be very easy to sign up your kids, or the whole family, for surf lessons.

Beaches a bit more to the north, like Guincho and Praia Grande, boast bigger waves and, thus, attract more surfers. That said, there is a great offer of surf schools throughout the entire coastline and they usually organize both private and group lessons.

If you have toddlers, consider going to more accessible beaches, like the ones in the city of Cascais (for example, Conceição and Duquesa beaches) and Praia do Tamariz in Estoril, with a view of Casino Estoril, which served as inspiration for Casino Royale.

Lastly, part of the municipality of Cascais is inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, an area with amazingly diverse landscapes (stunning beaches, sand dunes, cliffs, forests, and lakes). Overlooking it all are the mountains of Serra de Sintra, recognized by UNESCO as a Cultural Landscape. Other than appreciating their flora, fauna, and geomorphology, you might want to take advantage of their great potential for outdoor activities, such as hiking, rock climbing, cycling and mountain biking.

Cascais is pretty safe

Portugal ranks as one of the safest countries in the world, and that’s a feature that extends to Cascais. There’s low crime in the area, with very little danger of getting mugged or robbed. You can walk around on the street day or night without looking over your shoulder.

In other words, you can relax and enjoy your time together at home or outdoors.

In the summer, there is a long bathing season, during which beaches are supervised by lifeguards in the daytime.
 

There are good school options nearby

If you’re planning to move to Cascais with kids, it’ll interest you to know that there are several international schools nearby: Saint Julian’s School (a British international school) in the Carcavelos parish and Saint Dominic’s International School in São Domingos de Rana.

In Estoril, you have the option to enroll your children in kindergarten or pre-school at the Deutsche Schule Lissabon (German School of Lisbon). Additionally, in proximity to the municipality of Cascais, in Oeiras, there is the reputable Oeiras International School.

However, the rising inflow of foreigners means that everyone wants to get into the same schools, making it harder to get accepted. That, combined with the fact that the quality of education in the national school system is quite alright, motivates a lot of expats to enroll their kids in Portuguese private and public schools (incidentally, saving up a lot of money).
 

Transportation won’t be a hassle

Coming from Lisbon, take the train by the river wherever is more convenient for you: Cais do Sodré, Santos, Alcântara or Belém. If you don’t have a parking spot waiting for you in Cascais and you want to spend the day there, I’d actually recommend you to travel by train, especially during the high season. Cascais can be reached in as little as 40 minutes, so you can choose the capital as your base camp and, from there, take day trips.

To visit the old town, its main attractions and beaches, you can rely on your feet. If you want to explore the surrounding area, there are public buses with great connections.

• Buses n. 405 and 415 will take you to Guincho,
• Buses n. 403 and 417 will take you to Cabo da Roca (westernmost point of continental Europe) and the town of Sintra, just to name a few.
• You can also rent a bike from a biCas kiosk (€6 for the whole day) and pedal all the way to Guincho.

 

Are you ready to start your new life in Cascais? Let ProprHome guide you on your journey to finding the perfect home for you.