Cabo da Roca
Where the land ends and the sea begins.
Cabo da Roca is the end of the continent: the westernmost point of mainland Europe, a dark headland of schist and sandstone dropping around 140 metres to the Atlantic. A stone marker quotes the poet Camões — 'where the land ends and the sea begins' — and a red-and-white lighthouse, working since 1772, stands over the gorse-covered slopes.
The wind here is almost constant and the horizon is pure ocean, with nothing between you and North America. Short trails lead along the clifftop to quieter viewpoints away from the car park, where the only sound is the surf far below.
It sits inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, so it pairs naturally with a day among Sintra's palaces or along the Cascais coast. Bring a windproof layer whatever the season.
Getting there
Cabo da Roca is about 45 minutes by car from Lisbon and 20 minutes from Sintra or Cascais. Bus 1624 links Sintra and Cascais via the cape. There is a car park and a small visitor point at the headland, with clifftop paths leading off from there.