Praia do Meco

The Meco is the beach that Lisbon keeps for itself: a long sweep of open Atlantic sand south of the Tagus, backed by dunes and pinewoods, with a bohemian village behind it and a naturist tradition that began in the 1970s, when travellers camped here long before there was any road worth the name.

Freedoms of the Meco

Officially the Praia do Moinho de Baixo, the Meco stretches for some four kilometres of fine sand between the Lagoa de Albufeira and the great cliffs of Cape Espichel. The northern stretch, closest to the famous beach bar, is where families settle; at the southern end, beyond a big dune, lies the Rio da Prata, one of the first officially recognised naturist beaches in Portugal — a discreet and easy-going corner that has kept its character for fifty years. The fishers still haul their nets ashore in the old almadrava style on some days, and the coastal path towards the cape passes dunes and seabird country all the way to the sanctuary of Cape Espichel, within the older parish of Sesimbra’s castle.

What to see

• The wide sands and dunes of the Meco proper
• The Rio da Prata naturist beach beyond the dune
• The beach bar and surf scene
• The coastal walking route to Cape Espichel
• The pinewoods around the Aldeia do Meco

Practical information

The Meco lies about 40 kilometres south of Lisbon, near Sesimbra. Access is by its own road from Alfarim; parking fills early on summer weekends. The sea is powerful and the beach shelves steeply at high tide — swim with care, and watch children closely.

Image credit: Praia do Meco by F nando — CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.