Cascais

 It was probably 60 years ago that Penny went with her mother to Cascais when she was able to get a discount fare while she was working for British European Airways.  Cascais is a 45 minute train ride from Lisbon. It was a beautiful sunny day between 21 and 25°.  Today Cascais is a an attractive tourist town with narrow streets multiple tourist  stores, a fishing fleet, there was a marina  in the distance that I saw, but I didn’t make the time to walk to it. Before the rise of the Algarve, Cascais was the haunt of Portugal’s rich and famous. Today it is an elegant and inviting escape from the city with pleasant beaches and relaxing ambience.

Before the 20th century aristocrats wanted to avoid the sun and exaggerate some of their white skin and a day on the beach just made no sense. But about 1900, a Portuguese queen made Cascais a summer vacation getaway – and Portugal’s high Society followed. A train line made Cascais accessible from the city and the area was developed as a kind of Portuguese answer to the French Riviera.