Mr & Mrs Smith

We wanted to try the local restaurants, but arrived late on the first night and ate in the hotel – we had a such a superb steak dish that we decided to eat in for each of the other nights. The perfectly steamed sea bream with lightly creamed spinach was perhaps the best fish meal I've ever had – so all credit to the excellent chef Hugo Silva.

Hotel Farol was amazing. We hired segways and bikes, and travelled up the coast. From Cascais north there are extensive bike paths for almost 20 km. Dom Manolo (+351 214 831 126) in the high street does amazing bacalhau and grilled chicken.

Farol Design Hotel is a lovely hotel. I'd go back in a hearbeat. When you are booking it's worth getting one of the rooms with a balcony we didn't and while the room was nice, I was jealous of the people sat watching the sun go down on their baclcony. The restaurant is good. Make sure you get one of their armagnac sots, it is delicious. You can get sandwiches poolside and, although it's not on the menu, they do a great steak sandwich. The quiche is tasty too (I ordered that by accident but was glad I did). The pool is seawater too – worth noting if you're not a fan. Walk round the marina and look at the boats – there are lots of restaurants there if you fancy eating somewhere other than the hotel and there is a little beach right in Cascais that we only found on the last day, but which is very pretty.

Not many restaurants in Cascais itself. But when the trains are so good and regular into Lisbon, why limit ourselves to Cascais? Best restaurant we went to in Lisbon was La Travessa. 10 mins' walk from the train station Cais de Dol. In an old convent. Belgian owner. Absolutely gorgeous.