We left Castelo Alcacér do Sal at 10:30 this morning and drove our rental car to the Lisbon airport, an hour away. We bought metro tickets and rode down to Cais do Sodre, the metro hub of Lisbon, on the Tagus River. We bought train tickets for Cascais, and arrived in Cascais by 2. We checked into our hotel for the next two nights, an historic fort, Pousada Cidadela Cascais, under rainy skies.
“The Citadel of Cascais is a set of fortifications built between the 15th and 17th centuries to defend the Cascais coastline and River Tagus estuary and to protect against attacks on the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. The first construction of a fort on the site was between 1410 and 1415. Improvements were deemed necessary as the Cascais Bay was constantly threatened by the English. In 1488, a medieval style tower at the tip of the Point of Salmodo, to the southwest of the Bay, was begun under the orders of King Joao II of Portugal. The structure underwent further modifications and repairs until 1755, when it suffered considerable damage as a result of the Lisbon earthquake.
In the 19th century, King Luis I of Portugal ordered the citadel to become a place of retreat for the royal family, and the royal palace area was constructed in the citadel. Until the assassination of King Carlos I in 1908, the royal family spent September ad October in Cascais, which led to the growth of Cascais as an important location for affluent people from Lisbon to spend the summer. In 1878, the complex was equipped with the first electric lights in Portugal. It was classified as an historic property in 1977. A hotel was built into the Citadel buildings, which also now house the Cidadela Arts District.”
“The Citadel of Cascais is a set of fortifications built between the 15th and 17th centuries to defend the Cascais coastline and River Tagus estuary and to protect against attacks on the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. The first construction of a fort on the site was between 1410 and 1415. Improvements were deemed necessary as the Cascais Bay was constantly threatened by the English. In 1488, a medieval style tower at the tip of the Point of Salmodo, to the southwest of the Bay, was begun under the orders of King Joao II of Portugal. The structure underwent further modifications and repairs until 1755, when it suffered considerable damage as a result of the Lisbon earthquake.
In the 19th century, King Luis I of Portugal ordered the citadel to become a place of retreat for the royal family, and the royal palace area was constructed in the citadel. Until the assassination of King Carlos I in 1908, the royal family spent September ad October in Cascais, which led to the growth of Cascais as an important location for affluent people from Lisbon to spend the summer. In 1878, the complex was equipped with the first electric lights in Portugal. It was classified as an historic property in 1977. A hotel was built into the Citadel buildings, which also now house the Cidadela Arts District.”
