Christopher Columbus, so they say, pulled a fast one. According to the people of Cascais, he didn't discover America at all. The credit should go instead to one Afonso Sanches, a local fisherman by trade, who set sail from these shores on a voyage of discovery 10 years before Columbus even cast off.
Cascais stretches out with leisurely finesse along the shoreline of western Portugal's spectacular coast. Because it's only 30 kilometres from Lisbon, many national celebrities have homes or pieds-à-terre in this once-sleepy fishing town. Members of the Portuguese royal family, who sojourned here during its heyday more than a century ago, originally transformed this fabulously placed, authentically picturesque Atlantic village into a desirable destination.
That Cascais has managed to maintain its calm and uncorrupted demeanour is something of a mystery, but it has done so with impeccable style. From John Malkovich and Peter O'Toole to Victoria Beckham and Bryan Adams, Cascais draws those in pursuit of chic calm. Because it's set in the protected region of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, a staggering 145km in area, the town is safeguarded from the cement invasion visible on the Algarve. The opening of a new museum dedicated to the Lisbon-born artist Paula Rego has only added to its appeal. True to its name, her Casa das Histórias is a veritable house of stories. The Portuguese artist is widely celebrated for her sometimes macabre, strangely moving works, many of which can be seen here for the first time. It's a place to glide, meditate and marvel.
Cascais itself combines a historic town centre and a magnificent strip of coast along the Atlantic, Guincho. Its marina, once a busy fishing port and the town's source of livelihood, is today home to a menagerie of luxurious yachts and racing boats. Masts file elegantly together in the harbour by the 16th-century citadel, originally built to protect the town and later to become the summer residence of King Luís II. You'll probably also find several sailing boats being prepped out of water for the noteworthy competitions that Cascais hosts, including the Audi Med Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. If you don't have your own boat, you can pay a visit to the local club and enjoy a jaunt out to sea. At the citadel's feet is evidence of a continuing fishing community, with labyrinths of nets and lobster pots piled prettily together.
The palm-brushed area of Guincho leads away from the main town and is renowned for fabulous hotels and decadent restaurants. Rarely have I been so delighted to arrive somewhere as I was at the Senhora da Guia. I don't know about you, but being addressed with servility leaves me uncomfortable and embarrassed. So it's nice to be greeted by the smile and handshake of the manager, Francisco Franco Afonso, so mellow he could be at home. But do not be deceived. While the Senhora da Guia is relaxed, the hotel function is far from lost. In this exquisitely pretty boutique establishment, each staff member knows your name. And that you're vegan, have a peanut allergy, come from Ireland but live in Doha.
The Senhora da Guia's rooms (each is unique) are shared out over three converted Portuguese-style villas. They're characteristically elegant buildings, with green ivy clambering up the saffron walls towards quintessentially Portuguese tile roofs. The whole place manages to find a balance between comfort and luxury. The living room is unrepressively splendid - deep, comfy sofas and armchairs and a proper fireplace. It gives out onto the terrace, where meals can be taken overlooking the gardens and sea. "This is home away from home," Francisco says. He's not wrong.
Drive along the Estrada do Guincho, where the corniche is a stunning series of beaches. Surfers ride the swells and, when it's a bit blowy, wind- and kitesurfers take to these waters long celebrated by aqua sports enthusiasts. Swimmers also enjoy the cool waves, although the currents here are infamous, as the shipwrecks in the local maritime museum testify.
While the main Guincho strip attracts a fair few sunworshippers in the summer months, there are also a handful of hidden bays where you'll be able to sunbathe in seclusion. An insider's tip is the Abano beach tucked down a track a couple of kilometres down the Estrada do Guincho. Flaxen sands, sapphire waters, sculpted rocks and, best of all, not a soul in sight.
Extravagant ocean views are the Hotel Fortaleza do Guincho's speciality, a former fortress whose 17th-century walls straddle the Atlantic cliffs. Queen Rania of Jordan, among others, was reeled in by the glorious views. Europe's most westerly point, Cabo da Roca, with its fabled lighthouse, is visible from the hotel's bedrooms. There is a distinctly medieval theme here and, what's more, a Michelin-star restaurant with Antoine Westermann as consultant chef.
"We attract gourmet travellers," says Petra Sauer, the general manager. "Our signature dishes include sea bass and, of course, fois gras."
Dining in splendour is a Cascais forte. The Porto Santa Maria restaurant - you'll find it in the 2009 Michelin guide - is perched over the dunes overlooking Crismina beach with the billowing ocean beneath. It has welcomed many a celebrity, including Bill Clinton, to guzzle on house specialities including blue mussels, goose barnacles, oysters, turbot, sea bass and lobster, topped off with a decadent serving of bavarois or the vanilla soufflé - best take a soothing stroll on the sands below afterwards.
Better still, take to one of Cascais's golf courses - there are seven to choose from. The Oitavos Dunes 18-hole course glistens amid umbrella pines and sandy hillocks. Designed by Arthur Hills and ranked within Golf Magazine's Top 100 courses in the world, the course has hosted professional tournaments aplenty since its 2001 opening. It was here that the Spanish golf star Pablo Martin enjoyed his first win as an amateur at a major event in 2007.
The Oitavos hotel, which opened last year, is an extraordinary place, kind of space-age in a prolific way, and as mammoth and modernist as it is luminescent and airy. The exterior is almost entirely glass while the interior sings out themes of light and space. Open plan is key here, and the corridors measure a staggering six metres across. The colours are muted greys and serene blues, and the rooms and suites are capacious with smooth, minimalist lines. There's also a generously sized desk if you need to get some work done.
"The main focus is nature and the ocean," Madalena Sacchetti, a PR manager at the hotel, says. "And it's relaxed. You can feel comfortable here but in five-star luxury." The Oitavos is cleverly constructed in the shape of a "Y", so every room enjoys views of the sea and miles of natural landscape. Snap up a sought-after corner room: the L-shaped balcony proffers fabulous vistas of the extensive golf course and the beguiling Atlantic laid against the horizon.
The elegant spa is what pampering wishlists are made for. Both indoor and outdoor pools have heated seawater, the sauna and Turkish baths are divine, and the massages are paradisiacal - I floated away after mine as though I'd spent a week on a yoga retreat.
"We always use verbena, which calms and relaxes," says Rita Rosado, the spa manager, smiling placidly. "The themes here are colour, natural light and the ocean."
Another golf option is proffered by the Quinta da Marinha resort. Designed by the famed Robert Trent Jones Sr, the 18-hole course stretches for nearly six kilometres with only the ocean and untainted countryside for company. A stable of horses awaits those with equestrian inclinations, while vast grounds lend to peaceful walking. Add deluxe accommodation, an assortment of pools and spa treatments, and a clubhouse with a newly opened restaurant located just next to the Dom Carlos hunting lodge and there's little to complain about.
For a little more life, go into town and enjoy the ambience of the pavement cafes and restaurants of Cascais and the resort of Estoril (the border between the two was imperceptible to me). Capricciosa, a restaurant overlooking one of the mini bays dotting the town's shores, serves up divine Italian food. The famed Santini Gelati shop is heaven for those in search of opulent ice cream, while the Pastelaria Garret is the place for sumptuous pastries. The historic, plush Hotel Palácio is a fabulous Art Deco building providing regal service. On Her Majesty's Secret Service was shot here, and many a monarch has occupied the suites. It's right next to the newly opened thermal spa, Termas Estoril, a treasure trove of hydrology treatments, administered by a clinical team. Here you can get anything from clay cataplasm therapy to nasal irrigation to hydromassages.
Back to the Columbus conundrum. Heed local legend and the 1492 plot thickens. When Sanches returned with his crew, half-dead yet glowing with pride, Columbus read the nautical log and set off on his own voyage of (re)discovery, grabbing all the glory. Today, it's hard to imagine such skulduggery amid all this very European refinement.
If you go
The flight
Return flights with Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com) from Abu Dhabi to Lisbon via Frankfurt cost from Dh3,970, including taxes.
The stay
Double rooms cost from €149 (Dh780) at Senhora da Guia hotel (www.senhoradaguia.com; 00 351 21 486 9239); €277 (Dh1,455) at the Oitavos Hotel (www.theoitavos.com; 00 351 21 486 0020); €160 (Dh840) at Fortaleza do Guincho (www.guinchotel.pt; 00 351 21 487 04 91); and €255 (Dh1,331) at Quinta da Marinha (www.quintamarinha.com; 00 351 214 860 100). All prices are per night and include taxes.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Read more about the coronavirus
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Credit Score explained
What is a credit score?
In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.
Why is it important?
Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.
How is it calculated?
The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.
How can I improve my score?
By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.
How do I know if my score is low or high?
By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.
How much does it cost?
A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners