Sintra & Atlantic Coast Loop
Join Sintra, Cabo da Roca, Cascais, Ericeira and Mafra over two or three days without commuting back to Lisbon nightly.
- Allow
- 2–3 days
- Route
- 152 km
- Drive time
- 2 hr 18 min
- Stops
- 6
The short loop west of Lisbon contains enough landscape for a real road trip: Sintra’s forested palace hills, the exposed cliffs of Cabo da Roca, Cascais’s estuary coast and the Atlantic fishing-and-surf towns north toward Ericeira. Mafra closes the circle with monumental scale inland.
Sintra itself is not a pleasant place to improvise by car. Stay outside the historic core, use official buses for the palaces and drive only between bases. Coastal wind, fog and weekend traffic can all change the pace over very short distances.
The road, in one glance
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Drawing the route…
The route earns
its distance
Each pin is selected as a place to do something—not merely proof that you passed through.
Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL · CC BY-SA 2.0Lisbon
Finish the city by metro, tram and ferry, then collect the car at the edge or airport for the coast.
Lisbon ( LIZ-bən; Portuguese: Lisboa ) is the capital and most populous city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 658,236 as of 2025, within its administrative limits and 3,353,000 within the metropolis, as of 2025. The city lies in the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula, on the northern shore of the River Tagus.
Photo: Singa Hitam · CC BY 2.0Sintra
Palaces and gardens rise through a cool wooded microclimate west of Lisbon.
Sintra (, Portuguese: ), officially the Town of Sintra (Portuguese: Vila de Sintra), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of 319.23 square kilometres (123.26 sq mi). Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated municipalities of Portugal.
Photo: Olga1969 · CC BY 4.0Cabo da Roca
Continental Europe’s western headland opens directly to Atlantic wind and cliff-scale views.
Cabo da Roca (Portuguese: ) or Cape Roca is a cape which forms the westernmost point of the Sintra Mountain Range, of mainland Portugal, of continental Europe, and of the Eurasian landmass. Situated in the municipality of Sintra, near Azóia, to the west of Lisbon. Notably, the point includes a lighthouse that started operation in 1772.
Photo: Jorge Franganillo · CC BY 2.0Cascais
A walkable resort town, marina and coast path provide an easy overnight after the headland.
Cascais is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourist destination.
Photo: Joaomartinho63 · CC BY-SA 3.0Ericeira
White-and-blue streets sit above a coast known for fishing traditions and a world surfing reserve.
Ericeira is a civil parish and seaside community on the western coast of Portugal (in Mafra municipality, located 35km northwest of the center of Lisbon, about 45km by road) considered the surfing capital of Europe. It is also one of only two European spots among the World Surfing Reserves because of its exceptional coastline conditions.
Photo: Pedro S Bello · CC BY-SA 4.0Mafra
An immense palace, basilica and library form a monumental inland finale before Lisbon.
The Palace of Mafra (Portuguese: Palácio de Mafra), also known as the Palace-Convent of Mafra and the Royal Building of Mafra (Real Edifício de Mafra), is a monumental Baroque and Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal, some 28 kilometres from Lisbon. Construction began in 1717 under King John V of Portugal and was completed in 1755.
Drive the conditions,
not the itinerary.
Avoid central Sintra by car. Use designated parking and shuttles, expect fog at Cabo da Roca and keep valuables out of sight.
Checked against
the people who run it
Distances and driving times are planning estimates. Conditions, closures, ferries, permits and park rules can change, so check the linked official guidance before setting out.