Azenhas do Mar

Azenhas do Mar is a small village built down the face of a cliff on the Sintra coast, white houses with red roofs stepping down in terraces to the sea, and the standard photograph is taken from the road on the northern approach looking back at the whole stack. Its name means watermills of the sea, from the mills that once worked on the stream behind. At the base is a tidal swimming pool built into the rock in the 1950s, filled by the ocean at high tide and used through the summer with a restaurant above it; swell closes it and has damaged it repeatedly, and it has spent long periods shut for repair. The cliffs here are actively eroding and parts of the village have needed stabilisation work. Praia das Maçãs, a larger and more accessible beach, is a couple of kilometres south.

What you actually see

• The stacked village - white houses terraced down a cliff face to the sea.
• The tidal pool - a 1950s rock pool filled by the ocean at high tide.
• The viewpoint - the northern approach road, where the standard photograph is taken.
• The erosion - cliff stabilisation work visible around and below the houses.

When to go

May to September for the pool, which is seasonal and closes in swell. Two to three hours. Sunset is the popular time at the viewpoint.

Honest expectations

The tidal pool closes frequently and has been shut for long periods for repair - do not count on swimming. Parking above is very limited. Steep steps down into the village. Cold Atlantic water and strong swell.

Nearby

Praia das Maçãs is south; Colares and its vineyards are inland.