Living, buying and investing in Cascais

Cascais at a glance for expat buyers

Cascais is the most expat-dense municipality in Greater Lisbon — about 30 minutes west of Lisbon by train, on the Atlantic coast, with a year-round international population. Around 214,000 people live in the municipality, and one in three central-Cascais property transactions in 2024 involved a foreign buyer (Idealista 2024). Average asking prices reached approximately €5,780 per square metre in early 2026, comparable to central Lisbon but with significantly more space, gardens, and direct beach access. Cascais sits in a unique price bracket: more expensive per m² than most of Lisbon, but you get villas with private pools rather than 5th-floor apartments. The municipality stretches from Carcavelos (the entry-point suburb with a major beach and surf school) through Estoril (former royal retreat, casino, golf), Cascais Centro (the historic fishing town now an international resort), to Quinta da Marinha and Guincho (the high-end villa zones with golf courses). The Marginal coast road and the Cascais-Lisbon train line keep the entire municipality 25-45 minutes from central Lisbon, Sintra and the airport.