Travellers to Lisbon often make a day of visiting Sintra, where windswept cliffs mark Europe’s edge before the endless ocean. Yet between Lisbon and Sintra lies Cascais, a gem often overlooked. This seaside town holds a striking piece of architecture: the Casa das Histórias, designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura to honour the life and work of Portuguese artist Paula Rego. The “Red House,” as it’s known, embodies Souto de Moura’s subtle homage to place, a sensibility deeply influenced by his close mentor and friend, Álvaro Siza.

The Casa’s deceptively simple rectangular footprint rests precisely on the site of a former tennis court, preserving much of the native trees around it. Against the vibrant red façade, these twisted trees form a natural ornament to the building, anchoring it in the landscape. Its two distinctive red chimneys are deliberate nods to Portugal’s architectural heritage, mirroring the grand white spires of Sintra Palace’s kitchens—a blend of the monumental and the domestic that Souto de Moura translates into a gallery and a café below.

Beyond the Casa, Cascais offers quiet streets, a coastline untouched by crowds, and a western cliffside where locals watch the sun bleed from orange to red, then purple, until it fades into the wind-swept waves, disappearing without a trace.