The best things to do in Cascais in July

With one of the most ambitious editions in the festival's history, Ageas CoolJazz promises to be a mandatory stop for Portuguese music lovers. The lineup features the former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, alongside Jamiroquai, Franz Ferdinand, Loyle Carner, and Chet Faker. It is practically begging you to visit Cascais more than once—the concerts run from July 14th to 31st, and there are even DJ sets to enjoy.

Millennium Estoril Open returns to Clube de Ténis do Estoril from 18 to 26 July, for an 11th edition that swaps spring for summer. Portugal’s biggest tennis tournament is adjusting to the ATP Tour’s post-Wimbledon calendar and arrives with clay courts, seven top-40 players, names such as Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz and Stan Wawrinka, plus Portuguese players Nuno Borges and Jaime Faria in the main draw. But the Estoril Open is about more than tennis: expect more shade, more seats at Court Cascais, night sessions, entertainment areas, a Fun Center for younger fans, a Food Court with more than 14 brands and a gastronomic programme at the Slice Lounge. Tickets are on sale – though most have already gone – and several sessions are sold out.

In July, Cinema Cruzeiro presents a cycle entirely dedicated to animated cinema, bringing together four great references from different eras every Monday of the month. The journey through the genre includes the comic and classic lines of The Pink Panther episodes (1964-65), the dark stop-motion fantasy of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), the irreverence of Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), and the French production The Triplets of Belleville (2003).

The hotel Evolution, located practically on top of Poça beach, is hosting the Evolution Party Season, a lineup that extends until September to liven up warm afternoons and evenings. The calendar blends music, gastronomy, and cocktails, highlighting themed parties such as the Sunset Rewind 80's & 90's (July 4th), the Sunset Sip & Smash (July 17th), and the Sunset Arraial & Tribal (August 8th), serving as a social meeting point for both guests and the local community.

At the Exhibition Gallery of the Palácio da Cidadela de Cascais, the show "Abeng – Sinal de Resistência: O Arquivo de Tony Russell" brings together the archive of Jamaican photographer Tony Russell, now based in Figueira da Foz. With more than 70 photographs organised into thematic sections, the exhibition explores Russell’s work in Jamaica during independence and the Cold War, as well as in Venezuela’s Andean region, while also tracing the journey of his archive to Portugal. The body of work, which includes portraits of historical figures such as Bob Marley, Elizabeth II and Fidel Castro, is the result of decades of work shaped by radical choices and often challenging circumstances.

The centennial of Marilyn Monroe's birth coincides with the 70th anniversary of the release of Elvis Presley's first album and first movie. These major milestones are the perfect excuse for the Centro Cultural de Cascais to host "Becoming Marilyn & Becoming Elvis", an exhibition that showcases the superstars as youths, just before fame hit. The photographs in this exhibition, which come from the prestigious American MUUS Collection, were taken by André de Dienes and Alfred Wertheimer, who captured the cinema diva and the king of rock 'n' roll, respectively, on the threshold of stardom. They can be seen until September 6th.

The Exemplary Girls was written by the Countess of Ségur in 1858. The children's book by the Russian author—who wrote this and many other adventures about well-born girls who behave terribly—now lends its name to the new exhibition at Casa das Histórias Paula Rego. Curated by Catarina Alfaro, it features the female figure, both in childhood and adulthood, as the protagonist and presents, for instance, the hand-coloured lithographs The Salmon-Coloured Dress and Communion, inspired by poems by Adília Lopes. The exhibition, which is open until the end of January 2027, also includes works from the "Jane Eyre" (2001-2002) and "Pendle Witches" (1996) series, influenced respectively by the work of Charlotte Brontë and Blake Morrison, as well as the six prints of "Female Genital Mutilation", a 2009 series that denounces practices of gender-based violence affecting girls in various parts of the world.