Ericeira and Mafra, a royal palace and a surfing village.

An hour north-west of Lisbon, Mafra and Ericeira are two outings in one. Mafra is an inland town dominated by an 18th-century palace-convent, so big it can be seen from the road, with a Rococo library and a former royal hunting reserve full of deer. Ericeira, 10 km away, is a fishing village of white and blue houses on the cliff that has become the surf capital of the Lisbon coast. They can be seen together in a day; with two, you add a surf lesson and an afternoon on the beach.

How do you get there from Lisbon?

By car, about 50 km on the A8 and A21, with tolls: a little under an hour to Ericeira and about 40 minutes to Mafra. Without a car, bus 2751 of Carris Metropolitana leaves from Campo Grande, in northern Lisbon, with metro on the yellow and green lines, stops in Mafra and ends at the Ericeira terminal. Allow an hour or a little more, depending on traffic, and check the timetables on its website before setting out.

If you fly from Spain, you land in Lisbon. You can hire a car at the airport, which has the A8 close at hand, or take the metro to Campo Grande and catch the bus there.

What to see in a day?

Start at Mafra, which opens at 9:30. The palace, the convent and the basilica share a single façade; the visit goes through the royal rooms and the friars' infirmary and ends at the library, a wooden gallery lined with old books which is what everyone comes to see. Note: it is closed on Tuesdays. If you have energy left, the Tapada Nacional de Mafra, the royal reserve, is 5 km away: waymarked paths among cork oaks and pines, with deer and fallow deer.

After lunch, go down to Ericeira. The centre can be walked in an hour: Praça da República, the chapel of Santo António and the viewpoint at Largo das Ribas, above the fishermen's beach. To the south are the Furnas rocks, with fish restaurants; to the north, the road to Ribeira d'Ilhas, the beach with the most famous wave in the world surfing reserve. Look out from the cliff at sunset.

Surf or beach?

Ericeira is a World Surfing Reserve and there are waves almost all year. To learn, the schools in the village take each group to whichever beach is best that day; Surf Riders, in the centre, gives group lessons from €40. For a quiet beach with children, Foz do Lizandro, 3 km to the south, has a calm-water ria beside the sea.

Where to eat and sleep?

Fish on the rocks at Esplanada Furnas, which opens every day; or Onda D'Mar, on Avenida São Sebastião, with rice dishes and a wider menu. To sleep, the Vila Galé Ericeira is on the beach, with pools and a children's club; the Ericeira Camping has bungalows and pitches without booking, ten minutes' walk from the centre.

When should you go?

Spring, summer and early autumn for the beach and the village. The big waves arrive in autumn and winter, and in autumn there are activities to listen to the deer rut at the Tapada. In July and August Ericeira fills with surfers and, at weekends, with Lisboners: arrive early.