Praia do Guincho (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Guincho Beach) is an Atlantic beach located on Portugal's

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has host ...

coast, 5 km from the town of

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...

, and is located in the municipality of Cascais, more precisely in the parishes of Cascais and

Alcabideche Alcabideche () is a parish located in the Portuguese municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which ...

, in the

District of Lisbon Lisbon District ( pt, Distrito de Lisboa, ) is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the cu ...

. Guincho is situated close to several small villages, including Areia, Charneca, Figueira do Guincho and Biscaia. The beach, which has a shoreline of approximately 800 metres, has preferred surfing conditions and is popular for

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

, and

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

. Strong northern winds are predominant during summer time (June–August) as well as smaller north-west swells, making this beach ideal for windsurfing and kitesurfing. During winter (especially December), the predominant winds are from the east, and swells increase in size, making it a perfect spot for surfing, with multiple beach-breaks providing powerful lefts and rights. There are also several surfcamps and surfschools in the area that provide accommodation and services including rentals, repairs and surfing classes. However, Guincho is situated on the western edge of the

Sintra-Cascais Natural Park The Sintra-Cascais Natural Park is a park on the Portuguese Riviera, one of the 13 Natural Parks of Portugal. While only established in 1994 as a Natural Park by the Portuguese Government, it has been protected since 1981. Its area is approximate ...

and this designation has protected the beach from excessive tourism development, as has the fact that the waves and wind mean it is not suitable as a beach for swimming and sunbathing, particularly for people with young children. This beach was featured in the pre-titles sequence of the James Bond film ''

On Her Majesty's Secret Service On Her Majesty's Secret Service may refer to: * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (novel), a 1963 novel by Ian Fleming * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (film), a 1969 film adaptation of the novel ** ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (sou ...

'', wherein James Bond rescues Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo from a suicide attempt and foils off two attackers in the surf; the beach still looks as it did in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. More recently, the beach served as location for the shooting of the film ''

This Side of Resurrection ''This Side of Resurrection'' ( pt, Deste Lado da Ressurreição) is a Portuguese independent drama film written and directed by Joaquim Sapinho. It was produced by the independent production company Rosa Filmes and had its world premiere at the ...

'', directed by

Joaquim Sapinho Joaquim Sapinho (born 1965 at Sabugal, Portugal) is a Portuguese film director. Founder of production company Rosa Filmes, he is considered to be part of ''The School of Reis'' film family. Career Joaquim Sapinho was a student at the Portugues ...

. In the '90s, Guincho was one of the locations for the windsurfing world cup. Today, several sporting events are held at Guincho regularly, including the Portuguese National Surfing and BodyBoarding Championships.

Access

The beach is easy to access with lots of parking options available nearby. The closest parking is paid, located on the north end of the beach and has a path leading straight onto the beach and the local beach bar. Free parking options are also available on the southern end of the beach, but require two to five minutes of walking. Some paid parkings are disabled and become free during winter season. During tourist season, cars frequently park along the main road.

References

Beaches of Lisbon District Cascais e Estoril Blue Flag beaches of Portugal Alcabideche {{Lisbon-geo-stub

Access

See also

References