the sintra locals' beach, tram included
Fine, golden sand stretching a good 250 metres. No hidden cove, no difficult access: Praia das Maçãs is, unapologetically, the beach for people who live in Sintra and Colares, and you feel it in the atmosphere, the familiar faces at the terraces, the kids who already know where the wooden boardwalk is.
The tram is the way to arrive. Since 1904, the Sintra line has connected the hills to the coast, and the journey itself is worth the effort. Surfing and bodyboarding are common: the Atlantic here doesn't hold back.
The name has a curious origin. The Colares stream flows out right here, and the story goes it used to carry apples through orchards all the way to the sand. On this same beach, in 1918, José Malhoa painted the local beach life in an oil on wood that took the name of the place. During World War II, Praia das Maçãs sheltered hundreds of refugees, many of them Dutch, waiting on the Atlantic coast of Sintra for better days.
what you'll find here
- fine, golden sand, with plenty of room outside peak summer
- saltwater pool next to the beach
- historic tram from 1904, the most charming connection to Sintra
- surf and bodyboard when the sea's doing its thing
