azeitão

Conveniently located just to the south of Lisbon, the enchanting Setúbal Peninsula (aka the Costa Azul, or Blue Coast) exudes much of the rare authenticity that still abounds in the more rural parts of 21st-century Portugal.

Located within the protected Arrábida Natural Park, Cabo Espichel is a lonely, brooding promontory where land comes to an abrupt end on the south-western tip of the Setúbal Peninsula some 50 kilometres south of Lisbon.

In 1830, when Gaspar Henriques de Paiva left his home in Monsanto, central Portugal, for the village of Azeitão in the Arrábida mountains close to Lisbon, he took with him the winning formula for one of Portugal’s best cheeses.

Nestling among vineyards and olive and cork trees, Azeitão is a pretty little town situated on the old road between Lisbon and the port city of Setúbal at the foot of the Arrábida mountains just 40 km south of the Portuguese capital.

A major highlight of the enchanting Setúbal Peninsula south of Lisbon is the long stretch of sandy coastline known as the Costa da Caparica.



Devastated by a succession of earthquakes over the centuries, Setúbal is rich in relics of the past and nowadays is one of the busiest ports on Lisbon‘s southern shoreline.

The great suspension bridge over the River Tagus opens the route to the scenic wonders of Lisbon’s southern shoreline, but the attractions are by no means confined to the coast.