During the Second World War, the region was the centre of spies and diplomatic secrecy, situations that provided the region with a cosmopolitan atmosphere and sophistication.
Owing to the vision of Fausto Cardoso de Figueiredo and his business partner Augusto Carreira de Sousa, it became an international tourist destination both during and after the Second World War.

In July 1940, Edward, Duke of Windsor (former Edward VIII of the United Kingdom) and his wife, Wallis Simpson, moved to Estoril, where they lived at first in the home of Ricardo de Espírito Santo, a Portuguese banker with both British and German contacts.

During that time, several dignitaries and exiles came to Estoril: Miklós Horthy, the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (lived and died in exile after the Second World War); the Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (father of Juan Carlos I of Spain) and the King resided in the territory, as did Umberto II of Italy and Carol II of Romania.

It was also in this location that former Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar had a summer house.
It was Salazar who ordered the construction of the E.N.6 motorway, more commonly referred to as the Avenida Marginal, in order for him to quickly travel by car between Cascais and Lisbon (until then the accessway was nothing more than a dirt road, where traffic could only circulate at low velocities and make frequent stops).
The roadway permitted the dictator to travel rapidly, and with fewer stops, it was not possible for him to be recognized easily in transit.

Complementing the jet-set community that prospered in the region, Casino Estoril, Europe's largest casino, was founded in 1958.
During the Second World War, the region was the centre of spies and diplomatic secrecy, situations that provided the region with a cosmopolitan atmosphere and sophistication. Owing to the vision of Fausto Cardoso de Figueiredo and his business partner Augusto Carreira de Sousa, it became an international tourist destination both during and after the Second World War.
In July 1940, Edward, Duke of Windsor (former Edward VIII of the United Kingdom) and his wife, Wallis Simpson, moved to Estoril, where they lived at first in the home of Ricardo de Espírito Santo, a Portuguese banker with both British and German contacts.
During that time, several dignitaries and exiles came to Estoril: Miklós Horthy, the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (lived and died in exile after the Second World War); the Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (father of Juan Carlos I of Spain) and the King resided in the territory, as did Umberto II of Italy and Carol II of Romania.
It was also in this location that former Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar had a summer house. It was Salazar who ordered the construction of the E.N.6 motorway, more commonly referred to as the Avenida Marginal, in order for him to quickly travel by car between Cascais and Lisbon (until then the accessway was nothing more than a dirt road, where traffic could only circulate at low velocities and make frequent stops). The roadway permitted the dictator to travel rapidly, and with fewer stops, it was not possible for him to be recognized easily in transit.
Complementing the jet-set community that prospered in the region, Casino Estoril, Europe's largest casino, was founded in 1958.
Portuguese Riviera