The area stretching from the municipalities of Oeiras, Cascais and Sintra, which together form the ‘Portuguese Riviera’, was once promoted as the Costa do Sol. It is located approximately 20 kilometres west of Lisbon.

While Cascais and Sintra are among the riches municipalities in the Iberian Peninsula, Oeiras is known as the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’, with many multinational companies and around 30% of the country's scientific capacity located within its territory, making it one of the world's leading research and development hubs.

The history of Cascais as a cosmopolitan centre dates back to the 1870s, when King Luís I of Portugal and the Portuguese royal family built their summer residence by the sea, attracting members of the European aristocracy. It was also where wealthy families, celebrities and even European royalty and spies fled during the Second World War, when Portugal remained a safe and neutral country.

To welcome them, large hotels and the largest casino in Europe were built, which still holds that status today, and it was there that writer Ian Fleming was inspired to create the character James Bond. We still have some of the glamour and glitz of that era in this region, with large mansions, world-class golf courses and beaches, both for families, with calm waters, and for adventure sports with waves and wind that attract locals and tourists throughout the year.

Sintra had welcomed the Portuguese nobility since the 15th century, but from the 19th century onwards it became one of the main centres of European Romanticism. Sintra's belle époque resulted in the construction of numerous villas, gardens, farms and palaces that characterise the region, inspiring many writers and artists.

The Portuguese Riviera, where glamour blends with tradition and modernity.