One of the widest sand beaches in Europe, stretching for kilometres along the Atlantic coast. The central beach is backed by the promenade and the casino, with beach clubs, sun loungers, and all the infrastructure of a busy Portuguese resort. The sand is pale and fine, the sea generally calm enough for swimming through the summer months.
Waves increase toward the Buarcos end to the north, where the beach narrows and the Atlantic asserts itself more forcefully. In July and August the central beach fills with Portuguese families; in winter it is almost entirely empty, vast and windswept, and quietly magnificent.