At 10km from Sintra and 20km from Cascais, Villa Valquiria has the two hubs of the beautiful Sintra-Cascais Natural Park within easy reach. This spacious villa with pool is great for golfers, with numerous courses in the region, and for larger groups it can accommodate up to sixteen guests.

The property sits in attractive gardens that feature a pretty outdoor dining area with enough seating for everyone. There’s a charcoal barbecue, and an array of sun loungers lined up alongside the 12m x 5m L-shaped swimming pool. The garden area surrounds the house and gives children lots of space to play on the lawns.

Villa Valquiria is only 1.3km from Praia das Macas beach, with shops and restaurants even closer. Inside, it’s supremely comfortable, with the living and dining room accessible from the terrace. A smaller living room can accommodate two extra beds if needed, and a well-equipped kitchen is equipped with a fridge freezer, dishwasher, microwave and coffee machine.

The vast choice of bedrooms at Villa Valquiria includes three suites with a double bed and en-suite bathroom, two further doubles, a triple room with three single beds, and a twin room.

The sights of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park are many and varied. Cascais has much to see, with its marina and beautiful beaches like Guincho and Carcevelos being great for water-sports, while the dramatic cliffs of the Boca do Inferno, pounded by the crashing waves of the Atlantic, have become an attraction in their own right. Sintra itself is well worth exploring, being historically rich with castles and palaces, while Estoril is home to a landmark casino and one of the region’s best-known golf courses.

Hugely popular with visitors, Cascais is around 35 minutes’ drive from Lisbon, just outside the expansive Sintra-Cascais Natural Park which runs down Portugal’s most westerly fringe.

Once a small fishing village, it’s now a major resort with the facilities to match, but it hasn’t lost its charm or a sense of its history, you can still see why it was the place to be for the Portuguese nobility of the 1800s.

With none of the silliness of the capital, a day spent in Cascais is an easy-going affair. One of its key attractions is the opulent Castro Guimares Museum, featuring artefacts of Portuguese history dating back many centuries.

The museum sits in the pretty Jardim Marechal Carmona gardens, and its brightly coloured, decorative facade means you are unlikely to miss it.

The Praia da Ribeira is just one of many excellent beaches in the area and centrally located. The walk to the impressive Boca do Inferno cliffs is a popular one and scenic too, while the marina area provides another pleasant spot to while away some time with a drink or two.

Around 4km north of Cascais, Estoril is a sophisticated spot famed for both its motorsport racetrack and its centrepiece casino, said to have provided Ian Fleming with the inspiration for a sure James Bond, no less. It lacks the heritage of Cascais, but if you fancy a night at the roulette wheel, or a day at the steering wheel, it’s the place to go.

Sintra, on the other hand, is not lacking in history and punches above its weight when it comes to impressive architecture. From the romantic Palacio da Pena with its whimsical details to the arabesque Palacio de Monserrate and gothic Palacio Nacional, it’s worth arranging an organised tour to learn about these sights in more detail.

You certainly won’t run out of things to see in a hurry and if you need a break from it all, the beautiful Guincho beach or landmark Cabo da Roca provide excellent chill-out locations.

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