Cabo da Roca
The Westernmost Point Of Mainland Europe, On 140 M Cliffs In The Sintra Cascais Natural Park, With A Lighthouse And A Camoes Inscription · Colares, Lisbon
Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point of mainland Europe: a headland of granite cliffs about 140 m high at the far end of the Sintra hills, where the land stops and the open Atlantic begins. A stone monument topped by a cross carries the line by the poet Luis de Camoes, 'where the land ends and the sea begins', together with the coordinates, and a red-roofed lighthouse stands on the rise behind it. There is a tourist shop that sells a certificate to say you were here, a small cafe, a car park, and paths along the cliffs of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, including the rough way down to the wild Praia da Ursa. People come to stand at the edge of a continent, to see the sunset over the ocean and to add a dramatic stop to a day in Sintra or Cascais. The honest caveat: there is not much here beyond the view, most visits last 20-40 minutes, the car park fills with tour coaches, the wind is fierce, fog can hide everything, and the fences are only partial - people have fallen from these cliffs.
Cabo da Roca lighthouse and monument, Colares parish, Sintra municipality, on the N247 about 15 km north-west of Cascais, Colares, Lisbon, Portugal
The headland, the monument, the viewpoints and the cliff paths are open at all hours, every day, and free. The tourist shop and cafe keep daytime hours, longer in summer (confirm). The lighthouse is a working light and is generally not open inside - confirm. Cabo da Roca is about 15 km north-west of Cascais and about 18 km west of Sintra; a bus between Sintra and Cascais stops at the cape (long known as the 403 - confirm the current number and times). By car it is about 45 minutes from Lisbon. Nothing needs booking.