Cabo da Roca

The westernmost point claim

Parques de Sintra, the body that runs the lighthouse, describes Cabo da Roca as the westernmost point of mainland Europe. Wikipedia goes further and calls it the westernmost point of the Eurasian landmass. That broader framing is a Wikipedia gloss, not language used on the official Parques page, which says only mainland Europe. Camões supplied the line most quoted at the cape: here the land ends and the sea begins.

For a visitor the practical meaning is simple. You can stand at the edge with the Atlantic in front and the whole continental landmass behind you. There is no charge for that.

The lighthouse

The lighthouse's construction was ordered by the Marquis of Pombal by charter dated 1 February 1758. It began operating in 1772, which makes it the second-oldest lighthouse on the Portuguese coast, and Parques de Sintra's own shop calls it one of Portugal's oldest lighthouses still in operation. The tower is 22 metres high and its light reaches about 26 nautical miles, roughly 48 km, per Visit Sintra.

One discrepancy is worth flagging plainly. Visit Sintra's page gives 1722 as the relevant date, which conflicts with Parques de Sintra's 1772 start of operation. The two official sites disagree. Parques de Sintra runs the lighthouse, so 1758 for the charter and 1772 for first operation is the version we print.

Location and status

The cape sits in the civil parish of Colares, inside Sintra municipality, within the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. Since 1989 it has been a member of the Sri Chinmoy Peace Blossoms programme, per Visit Sintra. Beyond the interpretation area, courtyard and cafe covered by the ticket, Parques de Sintra does not itemise other on-site facilities on its page.

The two tiers side by side

Both visits are sold by Parques de Sintra through its online ticket shop and on site. Hours for the courtyard and interpretation area are 09:30-17:30 daily, with last admission at 17:00. Parques de Sintra's general ticket terms forbid entering with food products and admission accompanied by animals, and forbid smoking.

Both tiers are listed on the Parques de Sintra ticket shop.

Our reading on which to buy

Our reading: most visitors do not need either ticket. The cape and the clifftop are free. If you are visiting on a bright clear day with limited time in Sintra, spend the money on Pena instead. Buy the Essential visit if you want the interpretive space and a base with the cafe on a windy day. Buy the Panoramic only if climbing a working lighthouse genuinely interests you. The family Panoramic at $23.10 (€20) is the worst value for a family of four who mostly want the cliff view, because the view from the ground costs nothing.

Two practical notes. The Panoramic climb happens in the company of a Parques de Sintra team member, so our reading is that places depend on staffing on the day. And an optional voluntary $2.31 (€2) ecological restoration contribution appears at checkout, which you can decline.

What you buy

The Cabo da Roca tourist office sells a Certificate of Presence commemorating your visit to the westernmost point of mainland Europe. The standard calligraphed certificate costs $12.69 (€11) and a Braille version costs $5.19 (€4.50). It is a printed souvenir, not an entrance ticket.

Nothing on the cape requires it.

Where and when

The office sits at the cape itself, address Cabo da Roca, 2705-001 Colares. Phone 21 923 8543, email dtge.roca@cm-sintra.pt. It opens daily 09:00-19:30 from 1 May to 30 September and 09:00-18:30 from 1 October to 30 April.

It closes on 25 December and 1 January. Note that the office stays open later than the lighthouse courtyard in summer, which closes at 17:30, so a late-afternoon certificate run after the lighthouse shuts is possible in the summer months.

The transport options

Carris Metropolitana took over all regular non-tourist bus routes in the Sintra municipality in 2023, replacing the former Scotturb network on these lines. The old Scotturb numbers for the coast are retired, so ignore any guide still printing them. One more honest gap: Carris Metropolitana's fare structure is zone based, and the exact single-ticket euro price for a Sintra-area ride was not readable on the operator's fare page during our check.

Its line pages also do not show current frequencies in readable form, so check departure times before you commit to a return bus.

Practical warnings

The critical detail on line 1624 is that not every trip stops at the cape. The operator's data distinguishes variants 1624_1, which stops at Cabo da Roca, from 1624_0, which passes the turn-off. Board the wrong variant from Portela de Sintra and the bus passes the Azóia turn-off and carries on to Cascais without calling at the cape. Board at Sintra station on line 1253 if you want certainty of the stop.

The bus stop for Praia da Ursa is 'Estr do Cabo da Roca (X) Ursa', the junction stop on lines 1253 and 1624. That is the only official naming of Ursa on any transport or tourism site we found. Visit Sintra publishes no page, access description or safety note for the Ursa descent, and no official municipal or park page itemises per-beach hazard warnings for it. For broader route planning see getting around Sintra and Lisbon to Sintra. For more walking options see our hiking page.

What IPMA records

IPMA's Cabo da Roca station, number 750, sits at 141.2 m altitude on the cape at 38.7816N, 9.4975W. It is a coastal station, cooler and less rainy in summer than Sintra's historic centre on the inland slopes of the Serra. The extremes are mild: on average only 2.7 days a year reach 30°C, 17.9 days reach 25°C, and the station essentially never freezes, with an average of 0.0 frost days per year.

IPMA notes the series is a hybrid series, reconstructed from more than one measurement period, so treat the exact extremes with some care. There is no IPMA normals station in Sintra's historic centre, so no official figure exists for fog days or town-centre temperatures there. Source: IPMA climate normals for Cabo da Roca.

What it means for your visit

Expect a mean maximum of around 21°C even in August, and expect wind. November is the wettest month and July the driest. For choosing a season, see our best time to visit Sintra guide.

The list

• The lighthouse began operating in 1772 under a charter signed by the Marquis of Pombal in 1758, making it the second-oldest on the Portuguese coast (Parques de Sintra).
• Visit Sintra prints 1722 as the lighthouse date while Parques de Sintra prints 1772. The two official sources disagree, and Parques runs the site (Visit Sintra, Parques de Sintra ticket shop).
• Only 2.7 days a year reach 30°C at the cape's own weather station, and it averages zero days a year below freezing (IPMA climate normals, station 750).
• The certificate of presence is not a lighthouse product. It is a municipal souvenir sold by the tourist office, standard version $12.69 (€11), and the office stays open later than the lighthouse in summer (Visit Sintra tourism offices).
• Not every bus 1624 trip actually stops at the cape. The operator's data splits the line into variants that include or skip the Cabo da Roca stop (Carris Metropolitana open data).

Sequencing the day

Our reading of the published hours: the lighthouse courtyard and interpretation area shut at 17:30 with last admission at 17:00, while the tourist office in summer runs to 19:30. That makes the cape a natural afternoon stop after the palaces, not a morning one. On our one-day plan you would do Pena Palace and the castle early, then ride bus 1253 out to the cape. On our two-day plan the coast gets its own half day, which is more relaxed.

If you would rather not manage the buses, the small-group day tour with Pena entry and a Cabo da Roca stop sequences Sintra, the cape and Cascais for you in nine hours. Independent travellers who want the coast without the cape's ticket can pair it with Azenhas do Mar or the village of Colares on the way back inland.