Fairy-tale palaces and sun-kissed shores – families will have a royally good time in Portugal’s Sintra
Levels of concentration are high right now – three-year-old Raffy is carefully snipping at a bunch of rocket, while Poppy, six, is pulling up a carrot.
We’re raiding the sun-bathed organic garden of Quinta do Pisão, a 380-hectare nature reserve with resident horses in Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, in preparation for an alfresco pizza-making experience.
Sicilian chef Roberto looks quizzically at the carrot, before slicing it up and dipping the batons in olive oil alongside a freshly cut bulb of fennel.
Impromptu snacks made, he then expertly stretches the dough, before sharing his culinary tips as we ladle on home-grown tomato sauce and add our chosen toppings to our base – Poppy going heavy on the ham.
Our pizzas are soon ready for the wood-fired oven, and within minutes we’re digging into them at a table surrounded by wildflowers and butterflies.
A delicious bottle of red and platters of cheese, rosemary flatbread and stuffed pizza wraps are shared for good measure, too.
This Foodlab experience costs £43 per person (Foodlab.cascais.pt).
It turns out to be just one highlight of our week in the natural park, half an hour from Lisbon and in a spot the Portuguese royal family chose for their holidays in the 19th century.
A royal welcome
Talking of royalty, kids are treated like such at Penha Longa Resort, 10 minutes’ drive away in Sintra’s rolling hills.
Although we’re too early in the season for the dreamy outdoor pools to be heated – a large family one and an adults-only infinity option – the indoor pool with hot tub and mini slide keeps our little ones beaming, as does the softplay, climbing walls, mini-golf and outdoor trampolines.
But it’s the staff’s natural enthusiasm for kids that stands out – doorman Tiago will be talked about for months afterwards.
Oh, and the spacious, recently refurbished rooms in luxe neutrals with art-deco touches and signature Ritz-Carlton Diptique toiletries help, too.
The children get their aprons on again for a chocolate workshop with Penha Longa’s patisserie chef Vitor, and delight in designing their own pink-ruby creations, topping them with dried flowers, raspberries and yet more chocolate.
One-hour workshops cost £54 per person.
Sadly, we can’t try the two on-site Michelin-starred restaurants as the kids are too little, but luckily the food in the other five eateries is top-notch.
At Spices, pork belly bao, chicken gyozas and sashimi platters of sea bass, tuna belly and salmon not only look incredible, but taste it too, before we tuck into warming makhani chicken curry, £21.
And the Italian, Mercatto, is on another level, thanks to its Brazilian chef.
The home-made shrimp ravioli smothered in a tantalising moqueca sauce is lick-your-plate-clean amazing, £21, though the duck, orange and macadamia pasta parcels are a close rival.
Meanwhile, the focaccia comes with home-made ricotta, lemon butter and olive oil, £6, and the strawberry, basil, white chocolate and lime pud doesn’t disappoint either, £7.
Perfect palaces
The fairy-tale town of Sintra, with its majestic palaces, pastel mansions, cobbled streets and stalls of handmade ceramics is just 15 minutes’ drive away.
After watching the Fábrica da Nata chefs piping custard into their pastel de natas through the shop window, we grab a box of six, £7.50, to savour in the gardens of the Palace of Monserrate (Fabricadanata.pt).
Here, maze-like paths, waterfalls, streams and an enchanting false ruin entwined with a huge rubber tree prove mighty fun to explore (Parquesdesintra.pt).
It’s also less crowded than Sintra’s other pretty palaces.
Equally close to Penha Longa is the gorgeous beach town of Cascais.
A stroll through leafy Marechal Carmona Park, with its resident roosters, peacocks and terrapins, leads us to the hidden beach of Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães, where we share the quiet bay with just one other paddling toddler.
Later, we wander through the mosaic-tiled streets, dipping into shops like Youth, with its spectacular array of on-trend trinkets, before demolishing a lemon and poppyseed doughnut from Scoop ’n Dough, £4, without realising it’s vegan – it’s that good (Scoopndough.pt).
We end up chasing waves on the town’s Ribeira Beach, fuelled by pineapple and mint ice cream from Capricciosa, £3 for two scoops (Capricciosa.com.pt).
As sun starts to set, we hit buzzy Cantina Clandestina for tapas served alongside an excellent soundtrack (Tabernaclandestina.pt).
There simply isn’t a bad dish on this menu, and zero need for a kids’ one, as we all feast on bruschetta with burrata, tomato, basil and pesto, crispy shrimps with avocado cream and mango salsa and black pork cheeks with potato gratin, from £6.70 a dish.
A jug of sangria, £11, is also a winner, and free shots of port (and juice for the little ones) arrive with the bill. Saúde!
Beach happy
We spend another day building sandcastles and flying a kite on the wild expanse of Guincho’s golden sands, which is a haven for surfers.
Parking is just a Euro for four hours off-season – bargain!
Later, back in Cascais, we stumble upon an antiques market set around a vintage carousel in Jardim Visconde da Luz.
It runs every Wednesday with tables piled high with homeware and jewellery, and I buy a chic silver dolphin bottle opener for £13 from a local couple.
Penha Longa sits nestled within a pine forest, and one morning I sneak off to the spa next to the 14th-century monastery for a signature massage with citrus-infused oils, £118 for 80 minutes.
Soon, it’s my turn to take over parenting duties, though, and we cheer my husband Andy home from his round of golf on the Championship course, before tucking into delicious smashed steak sandwiches stuffed with caramelised onion and brie, £18.50, in glass-fronted Arola, which overlooks the 18th hole.
As far as family holidays go, this one has proved to be a hole in one.
FYI
Family rooms cost from £357 B&B (Ritzcarlton.com)
Return flights to Lisbon cost from £71 (Easyjet.com).
Plan your trip at Visitcascais.com.