Attractions and Places To See around Santiago - Top 20

Built in the 18th century, it is an eye-catcher with its baroque architecture and the typical blue and white tiles in which some icons were also kept.

An excellent beach, although lacking in infrastructure and difficult to access, it's a super pleasant place, ideal for relaxing and recharging. Nearby, I also visited Mijona Beach and Hell Beach, which offer more challenging access but always boast immense natural beauty. I recommend it for those who don't have mobility issues and appreciate nature. 👍🥾🦯

As it is a wild beach and difficult to access, there is no support equipment of any kind or lifeguards. Don't forget to bring water and food, and on the way back make sure to take all your rubbish with you (there are bins near the car park, at the start of the trail)! If you prefer to stay in the shade, you will need to bring a parasol. Also note that the name of the beach is Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo and not Praia da Ribeira do Cavalo, as it is often called.

For many centuries, the Portuguese coast was known to foreign ships, especially English ones, as the “black coast”, as there was no lighting system to aid navigation. At the end of the 18th century, the Marquis of Pombal ordered the construction of a network of lighthouses to make it safer, including the one at Cabo Espichel, one of the oldest in Portugal, built in 1790.

No one had ever heard of this wild beach until recently, when social media, bloggers, and travel websites began showing photos of its stunning scenery. It wasn’t even marked on any map, and only a few locals knew that there was a trail leading down to one of Portugal’s most beautiful beaches. They kept it a well-guarded secret, but it’s now quite popular, including with tourists.

There is news that as early as 1430 the brotherhood of Our Lady of the Cape had installed a lighthouse that was the predecessor of the current lighthouse. The current tower was inaugurated in 1790, in 1865 it was fueled by oil, changing fuel in 1886, when its light began to be powered by incandescent petroleum vapour and, much later in 1926, by electricity. In 1983 this lighthouse had a lighting device installed, called a first order, which emitted light in groups of four white flashes, instead of the old fixed light system. With this new system it now had a luminous range of twenty-eight nautical miles (forty-five kilometres). The support structure for the lighthouse was extended to the sides around 1900. In 1947 a new era in terms of lighting was entered. An aero-maritime optical device was installed, which had previously been in service with the Cabo da Roca Lighthouse. This new dioptic - catadioptic optic called fourth order, a large model, has a focal length of thirty centimeters, producing single flashes, now with a luminous range of forty-two nautical miles (about sixty-seven kilometers).

Its origins date back at least to the 14th century, to a document from the chancellery of D. Pedro I, dated 1366, which refers to the pilgrimage routes to Santa Maria do Cabo. However, according to oral tradition, the discovery of the image of Our Lady on the promontory by two old men from Caparica and Alcabideche, who had been warned by Heaven in similar dreams, only occurred in the year 1410. The 15th century therefore marked a major development of the Sanctuary. During this period, the Ermida da Memória was built, as well as the original Church. The high influx of pilgrims to the site, guided by the constitution of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Cabo in 1432, led to the construction of the main buildings that today make up the architectural complex between 1701 and 1770: Casa da Água; Church; Aqueduct; Mãe d’Água/Poço Velho da Azóia; Wells; Casa da Lenha, Casa da Ópera; Inns; Three Pilgrimage Cruises and Arrival Cruise. With the Napoleonic invasions, the cult began to gradually decline, which was halted, however, by several restoration works carried out over the last few decades. Currently, the cult at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Cabo Espichel is alive, particularly through the celebrations of the Azoia, Palmela and Sesimbra candlelight festivals, whose festivities take place in the months of March and April and August and September, respectively.

Go see the dinosaur footprints