The best things to do in Cascais in November

Praia de Carcavelos hosts another edition of Cascais Capítulo Perfeito powered by Billabong, the prestigious international surfing competition dedicated exclusively to the search for the finest waves and barrels on the Portuguese coast. The one-day event gathers 20 specialists in the discipline — 12 international athletes, 4 Portuguese male surfers and 4 female surfers — in a mobile waiting format between 1 November and 15 December, awaiting the green light from ideal meteorological and maritime forecasts.

Spring is long gone, summer is over, autumn is halfway through and winter is already all we can think about. Maria Guedes’s final market of the year takes place on 21 and 22 November in its usual home – FIARTIL, of course – with dozens of fashion, homeware and lifestyle brands. There’s also the customary entertainment, food and drink. The winter edition is made for Christmas, with plenty of gift ideas, warming drinks and even a gift-wrapping station.

The Lords of the Sound Symphony Orchestra brings The Lord of the Rings in Concert to Portugal, a two-hour musical journey through the cinematic universe of Peter Jackson. The setlist traces Howard Shore’s iconic Oscar-winning compositions, recreating live the epic atmosphere of Middle-earth — from the luminous acoustic melodies of the Shire and the ethereal themes of the elves to the dramatic, monumental passages of Mordor.

Cristóbal Toral spent his childhood working the land with his father, a charcoal burner, in Antequera, Andalusia. A group of local hunters happened to discover the drawings he made in his spare time – an episode that changed his life and led him to study art. Today, he is considered a key figure in contemporary Spanish realism – and his work can be seen at Centro Cultural de Cascais until 17 January 2027. Curated by Marisa Oropesa, the artist’s wife, the exhibition Cartografia do Tempo – Uma Eterna Viagem, the first in Portugal dedicated to Toral’s work, brings together 44 pieces, mainly painting and sculpture.

Pedra Amarela Campo Base, set within the Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais, hosts the activity O Trilho das Abelhas on 21 November. The initiative invites participants along an educational trail to identify the botanical species most sought after by these insects to gather nectar and pollen, wrapping up with a guided visit to the local apiary to highlight their crucial role in pollination and preserving biodiversity.

This production is a tribute to the world of musical theatre performed entirely live. The Auditório Carlos Avilez, in Estoril, hosts the show bringing together iconic numbers from timeless classics of the New York stage, including repertoire from The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, Evita, My Fair Lady and Les Misérables.

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.

Coinciding with As Meninas Exemplares, Casa das Histórias Paula Rego’s long-term exhibition O Exilado: da criação à conservação is dedicated to the technical study and restoration of a work – a process that usually takes place far from visitors’ eyes. The work in question is the painting-collage O Exilado (Um velho exilado sonhando a sua juventude), from 1962-63, shown for the first time in Portugal and accompanied by images and behind-the-scenes explanations of the research and conservation process. The study revealed hidden collages, compositional changes and layers of materials that help shed new light on the Portuguese artist’s creative process.