Estoril (Lisbon, Portugal) 2015 - Scores 74/100

Estoril is Malibu of Portugal
Oh, there are so many houses that I could fancy living in around Estoril. Lush gardens, hills with streets going up and down and lots of swimming pools. Everybody heads down to the beach after work to do some surfing, fishing or just to have a cold beer.

Estoril is a suburb with nice beach and parks. Not as vibrant as Cascais, but you can walk to Cascais old town in 30 minutes. Estoril is more big time casino, BMWs and wealthy people kind of place. So this is a great place to stay if you have a car and want more space.

The Estoril beach in the sun

The Casino Estoril is an imposing building with it´s large park, right in the center of estoril

The casino park

This Vespa model and colour is perfect here. It would look strange to have in Stockholm a rainy november day but here it´s so right.

We Scandinavians have a soft spot for palm trees. Beacause we can´t have them with our winters and it is probably also a Pavlov thing as we connect palm trees with vacation in the sun.

The biggest beach in Estoril. 

The beach is close to train stations (3 different stops in Estoril)

The score! (This is the evaluation. The scoring system has 10 categories with 1-10 in grades, maximum score is 100)

1. The beach

Clean, water quality, nice sand, facilities etc.

Score: 8 (cold water, otherwise perfect, same as for Cascais)

2. The boardwalk and local environment

Good for running and walking. Nice viewpoints. Vibrating life with people and activities.

Score: 9 (Yes, really nice, surfers hang out, boys playing football, older men fishing, Carmela Soprano kind of women powerwalking)

3. Rainy day activities

Is it close to a big city or is there a lot to do rainy days in the area (museums, parks, sights and events)?

Score: 7 (Lisbon is 40 min away with so much to explore, not so much to do in Estoril besides gambling in the Casino)

4. Sunny day activities

Outdoor activities like kayaking, surfing and more.

Score: 8 (Small beaches with surfing possibilities, close to Cascais for more action) 

5. Restaurants and cafes

Are there many restaurants and cafes? Is the food nice? Is it expensive or cheap? Service and variety.

Score: 7 (A few good restaurants, you can also walk or take the train to Cascais)

6. Parks, forests and mountains

Can you find parks, forests, and mountains so you can go for hikes and do (mountain) biking?

Score: 7 (Yes, Estoril is also close to parks and mountains, same as for Cascais)

7. Shopping and street life

What about the quantity and quality of shopping? Is it nice to stroll the streets at night?

Score: 7 (Some, but you can walk to Cascais or take the train to Lisbon city)

8. Weather

In this guide we favour summer temperatures with sunny days.

Score: 7 (Due to it´s position on the Atlantic coast It´s colder here than in Malaga for example, same as for Cascais))

9. Transport

Is it easy to fly to this place? How long and expensive is the trip including transfer from the airport.

Score: 7 (Taxi from the airport is quite cheap and takes only 30 min but a limited variety of companies fly to Lisbon, same as for Cascais)

10. Housing and hotels

Is there a wide range of nice hotels, apartments (on AirBnb etc.) and houses?

Score: 9 (A lot of houses to rent, cheap and really nice)

Total score: 76/100 points