5 Best Sights in Azeitão, Sintra, the Estoril Coast, and the Setúbal Peninsula

For a close look at the wine business, visit the manor house and cellars of the José Maria da Fonseca Company. The intriguing tours talk about the long history of the winery and allow you to see all stages of production, including a peek into its dark and mysterious prized Moscatel cellars, where 200-plus-year-old bottles are still aging gracefully. The tour takes 20 to 40 minutes and ends in a shop where select products can be tasted and purchased.

Wine-loving locals flock to this scenic family estate to stock up on its wonderful red and white table wines. It’s hidden down a long dusty track, but well worth the trip: you can take a seat at one of the outdoor tables and enjoy those excellent wines by the bottle or glass, along with the Quinta’s equally delicious homemade cheeses and preserves. Friendly goats, piglets, and ponies keep younger visitors entertained while the adults enjoy the food, wine, and beautiful views of the surrounding vineyards and the Arrábida hills.

Vila Nogueira de Azeitão's agricultural traditions are trumpeted on the first Sunday of every month, when a country market is held near the center of town. Apart from the locally produced wine, you can buy several kinds of local cheeses with an amanteigado (butterlike) texture.

Facing the tourist information office, this pretty square is anchored by the 16th-century Palácio de Tavora (Tavora Palace), which is not open to the public but has an interesting history. In the 18th century, the Marquês de Pombal accused the Duke of Aveiro, who owned the palace, of collaborating in the assassination plot against the king. Subsequently the duke was executed by the marquês, and the Tavora coat of arms was erased from the Sala das Armas in Sintra's National Palace.

The jewel in the crown of this winery set in a late-16th-century mansion is its box-hedged garden and striking azulejo-lined paths. Visitors can tours the building, gardens, and wine cellars (advance bookings are advised). Among the highlights are three pyramidal towers, including the so-called Casa do Fresco, which houses the country's oldest azulejo panel. Dating to 1565, it depicts the story of Susannah and the Elders. Scattered elsewhere are dramatic bright blue sculptures, Moorish-influenced panels, fragrant groves of fruit trees, and enough restful spots to while away an afternoon.