Parque Natural da Arrábida — Attraction in Sesimbra

Interesting park. It does not have dedicated entrance, it is simply the whole area of mountains and coast to the west from Setubal. As said in other reviews, there is a quarry inside, so a bit strange. I recommend the drive on the road through the hills with nice views (and spots to park for a while), even though the convent (monastery) is closed to public normally. But it can be very hot here. For example Lisbon had maybe even a bit colder temperature than it was here (39 C), while it was nice pleasant by the sea down there. Beware that the road from Setubal to access the beaches is one-way road during the day (not whole road, only from the first beach) and that it is problematic with parking, you have to go long way (or maybe pay, but I don't know how much), I would therefore recommend the more wild, with less accessories, beach, which is on the west, with the museum of oceanography. It was nice and less...

It is beautiful of course. Lovely beaches and trees. Nice roads. However, we didn't manage to do any particular walking because of the off-putting info on the internet. Lots of people complain that paths are either overgrown with brambles and you risk catching ticks OR run mostly along the roads which is no fun.

There is a surprising lack of designated paths if you check the official list of path on the website of the municipality of Setúbal. I know places in Portugal which are much smaller in terms of the overall area with more paths. The municipality of Setúbal needs to up their game and make it a more attractive and safe place to walk. Create more circular paths which could also run across the lovely vineyards so people can appreciate the beauty of this...

What can I say about Arrábida? I grew up in it. My grandparents had a vineyard in the park. As a child I never thought that other children did not get to walk through the woods, unsupervised, with half a dozen dogs for entire afternoons. Or spend entire days at the beaches. Having moved away for many years, and now returned, I run and bike Arrábida park every day. Even today, I was mountain biking along the windmill ridge back from the castle of Palmela and came across some people (professional archaeologists on city payroll) digging. It turns out that there are the ruins of a roman settlement right there! Suddendly, I could make out the stone walls and turrets. It was like a movie. I am...