The best parks and gardens in Cascais

Considered to be one of the town’s lungs, this park was created in the 1940s by combining the gardens of the Counts of Castro Guimarães Palace (which is now a museum within the park) with the lands belonging to Viscount Gandarinha. This is a park with a romantic side, with lots of nooks for those on dates, but it is also very family-friendly, with two children’s play parks (one for infants, one for older children), and has peacocks, ducks, cockerels, hens and a large lawn that is ideal for sunbathing.

If the Parque Marechal Carmona is one of the town’s lungs, then Parque de Palmela is the other. Built by the Dukes of Palmela in 1870, it has a popular canopy circuit that is suitable for people of all ages (to find out more, visit the Pedaços de Aventura website) and the Fernando Lopes-Graça Auditorium, which is a reminder of the days when the Duchess of Palmela organised extravagant parties. It also has a fitness circuit. Plus it’s never really too busy, so it’s perfect for those early romantic encounters that you want to keep quiet.

The gardens start outside Estoril Casino and extend all the way to the train station. They might have lost some of the glamour they had when they were built about 100 years ago, when the great Estoril project was born, but they are still a nice place to go for a walk or take the kids for a bike ride - this is where a lot of children in Estoril learn to ride their bikes - or just watch the fish in the ponds. After all, what child isn’t fascinated by a golden carp? You can always swing by the Deck Bar, a classic restaurant, and grab a croquette and a beer to drink while seated on one of the park benches.

The figures provided by the local council are not wrong. In the 14,583 hectares that make up this park - partly in Sintra county, partly in Cascais - there are 33 different mammals, more than 160 different birds, 12 species of amphibians, 20 types of reptile and nine different kinds of freshwater fish. And no, this is not a zoo. It is a park where you can lose yourself on the trails, in the incredible views, in the pines and on the cliffs. It is the right place for real walking enthusiasts, and has a number of different routes that can easily be found online.

This park has 41,000 m2 of greenery, part of which is integrated into the National Ecological Network. This urban park incorporates (and is named after) the Ribeira dos Mochos, one of Cascais county’s main waterways. Opened in 2010, it has a children’s playground, an adventure trail, a picnic area and places to walk, as well as the obligatory fitness circuit. An interesting bit of trivia: it is also home to the Cascais Nurseries, where plants are grown that will be replanted in other green areas across Cascais.

Bike paths, pram paths, rest areas and lots of space in which to let the little ones run free is what you will find in the Bosque dos Gaios Urban Park. It borrows its name from one of the birds that live there, along with the rabbits and owls – so you can see how the kids will be entertained, right? – and has around 2.5 hectares of green space to explore. It has a picnic area, a viewpoint and, because every self-respecting park must have one, a fitness circuit for those who prefer to exercise for free in the open air.

It once belonged to the Jesuits and was where the famed Carcavelos wine was made. Today it is a green urban space that retains some of the original forest, boxwood – with representations of animals in boxwood – and has tennis courts, children’s playgrounds and a lagoon. You can visit to read the paper, grab 40 winks, catch some sun or just wander around for the fun of it.