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Praia do Guincho (
Praia do Guincho (English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
: Guincho Beach) is an Atlantic beach located on Portugal's Estoril
Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...
coast, 5 km from the town of Cascais
Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Port ...
, and is located in the municipality of Cascais, more precisely in the parishes of Cascais e Estoril
Cascais e Estoril is a civil parish in the municipality of Cascais, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Cascais and Estoril
Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Muni ...
and Alcabideche
Alcabideche () is a parish located in the Portuguese municipality of Cascais
Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 in ...
, in the District of Lisbon
Lisbon District () is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the current Setúbal District.
...
. Guincho is situated close to several small villages, including Areia, Charneca, Figueira do Guincho and Biscaia.
The beach, which has a shoreline of approximately 800 metres, has preferred surfing conditions and is popular for surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...
, windsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...
, and kitesurfing
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...
. Strong northern winds are predominant during summer time (June–August) as well as smaller north-west swells, making this beach ideal for windsurfing and kitesurfing. During winter (especially December), the predominant winds are from the east, and swells increase in size, making it a perfect spot for surfing, with multiple beach-breaks providing powerful lefts and rights. There are also several surfcamps and surfschools in the area that provide accommodation and services including rentals, repairs and surfing classes. However, Guincho is situated on the western edge of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park
The Sintra-Cascais Natural Park is a park on the Portuguese Riviera, one of the 13 Conservation areas of Portugal, Natural Parks of Portugal. While only established in 1994 as a Natural Park by the Portuguese Government, it has been protected sin ...
and this designation has protected the beach from excessive tourism development, as has the fact that the waves and wind mean it is not suitable as a beach for swimming and sunbathing, particularly for people with young children.
This beach was featured in the pre-titles sequence of the James Bond film
James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Niv ...
''On Her Majesty's Secret Service On Her Majesty's Secret Service may refer to:
* ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (novel), a 1963 James Bond novel by Ian Fleming
* ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (film), a 1969 film adaptation of the novel by Peter R. Hunt
** ''On Her Maj ...
'', wherein James Bond rescues Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo
Contessa may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Entertainment
* ''Contessa'' (film), a 2018 Indian film
* ''Contessa'' (TV series), a 2018 Philippine television series
* The Contessa, a character in the game show '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?''
* T ...
from a suicide attempt and foils off two attackers in the surf; the beach still looks as it did in 1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
. More recently, the beach served as location for the shooting of the film ''This Side of Resurrection
''This Side of Resurrection'' () is a Portuguese independent drama film written and directed by Joaquim Sapinho. It was produced by the independent production company Rosa Filmes and had its world premiere at the 2011 edition of the Toronto Inte ...
'', directed by Joaquim Sapinho
Joaquim Sapinho (born 1965 at Sabugal, Portugal) is a Portuguese film director. Founder of production company Rosa Filmes, he is considered to be part of ''The School of Reis'' film family.
Career
Joaquim Sapinho was a student at the Portugue ...
.
In the '90s, Guincho was one of the locations for the windsurfing world cup. Today, several sporting events are held at Guincho regularly, including the Portuguese National Surfing and BodyBoarding Championships.
Access
The beach is easy to access with lots of parking options available nearby. The closest parking is paid, located on the north end of the beach and has a path leading straight onto the beach and the local beach bar. Free parking options are also available on the southern end of the beach, but require two to five minutes of walking. Some paid parkings are disabled and become free during winter season. During tourist season, cars frequently park along the main road.See also
*Cresmina Dune
The Cresmina Dune extends over 66 hectares and is a part of the Guincho-Oitavos dune system, located on the edge of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park near Cascais in Portugal. This dune system is considered fairly unique because, as a result of the ...
References