24-05-2025
The stunning Portuguese escape that's just 3 hours from London and inspired hit movie Casino Royale
FRIDAY
12pm A 30-minute drive from Lisbon airport and I'm at Penha Longa Resort (from £242, Forget its renowned golf courses, I'm here for the pair of Michelin-starred restaurants and, given its spot in Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, forest walks – plus a monastery.
1.30pm Hammock tested (I have a garden suite), it's Mediterranean tapas time at Arola, in the resort. Port pairings at its artisanal chocolate shop follow. The pastel de nata chocs rock. And the sardine-filled ones? I blame the port for my bravery and verdict: 'Ooh, creamy!'
4pm Time to visit the 14th-century monastery to marvel at its architecture and fancy myself as a monk in its kitchen. Next? An 'hour's walk' to recharge my city-weary soul with the magic of the surrounding natural park. Two hours later I'm back, no longer lost, just exhausted.
7pm At Michelin-starred Lab, the taster menu (from £134) is pure theatre: first up, a ceramic cockerel is moved around a table etched with a map of Portugal – where it stops, regional bites are served. Later, geisha dolls proffer oyster tempura, and cured yolk comes gold leafed.
SATURDAY
9am After brekkie it's a 15-minute drive to the Portuguese riviera for a boat tour of Cascais bay. We hear of the town's history as a magnet for European royals and – in the war – spies, including James Bond writer Ian Fleming, who found inspo for Casino Royale here.
12pm On to Cascais's cobbled streets and farmers' market, where crockery, clothes and unfeasibly large tomatoes await. Next – call it my starter! – ice cream at Portugal's best-known spot Santinis, then lunch at the marina's Marisco na Praça to mainline lobster rice (£40 for two).
2pm I've never experienced wind like it – standing at Cabo da Roca, a headland known for its gusts and being Europe's western-most point. I try (and fail) to spy New York across the Atlantic, so head to Boca do Inferno (Mouth of Hell), a cave created by the sea's waves.
7pm Dinner is at the resort's Midori restaurant, Portugal's only Michelin-starred Japanese. Hidden behind a secret door and seating just 18, its Japanese flavours with Portuguese soul warrant a hail of chef's kisses (tasting menu from £134). My usual M&S sushi can't compete.
SUNDAY
7am It's early but I can't resist another (short!) walk – just me, birdsong and a few robot mowers out there – before yoga in the meditation garden (above). A massage at the spa, a dip in the pool and, go on then, a round of golf before the airport. Crazy golf, that is.
