What treats await outside Lisbon?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

The coastal town of Cascais is a (bargain) 40-minute train ride from central Lisbon (Alamy)

Q A friend and I have a week in Lisbon, staying in an Airbnb in the centre, beginning on 7 January. What is the best day trip we could make from the city? We both enjoy walking.

Louise E

A Your timing is perfect. The Christmas and new year rush finishes on Sunday 6 January, at which point crowds melt away from airports and fine European cities such as Lisbon. So I hope you have found some good-value flights as well as accommodation. Lisbon airport is extremely close to the city, and outside rush hour the Aerobus takes only 15-20 minutes and serves most locations – check before you board for the right one to your destination.

The most tempting day-trip from Lisbon is by rail along the north shore of the Tagus, out to the Atlantic at Estoril and Cascais – adjacent resorts which together constitute the closest that Lisbon has to Brighton and Hove, only rather warmer and with lower prices.

Estoril feels like a throwback to holiday glamour in the 1930s, while Cascais is chic but with a wild side. From Cais do Sodré station, trains to Cascais take 40 minutes or less (calling four minutes earlier at Estoril). The fare is €2.25 each way.

For some adventurous walking you can go one step beyond – to the end of mainland Europe. Take bus 403 from Cascais bus station to the village of Azoia, and follow the road to the rocky cape, presided over by a lighthouse on the edge of a towering cliff.

A needle pays tribute to this being the “Ponto Mais Ocidental do Continente Europeu”, but the view says it all: landmass collides with ocean in spectacular fashion. And close by is the Boca do Inferno, enabling you to combine the end of the world with the mouth of hell.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder