summer house in Cascais. He and a group of friends also organized the construction of a road from Cascais to Oeiras, effectively linking Cascais to Lisbon, and also promoted other improvements to the town. As a result of these improvement, King Luís I decided to make Cascais into his summer residence and, from 1870 to 1908, the Portuguese royal family from the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha spent part of the summer in Cascais to enjoy the sea, turning the quiet fishing village into a cosmopolitan address. Thanks to King Luís, the citadel was equipped with the country's first electric lights in 1878. Cascais also benefited from the construction of a better road to Sintra, a bullfight ring, a sports club, and improvements to basic infrastructure for the population. Many noble families built impressive mansions in an eclectic style commonly referred to as summer architecture, many of which are still to be seen in the town centre and environs. The first railway arrived in 1889. Another important step in the development of the area was made in the first half of the 20th century with the building of a casino and infrastructure in neighbouring Estoril. In 1882 Cascais installed one of the first tide gauges in Europe in order to assist with navigation into the port of Lisbon. In 1896, King Carlos I, a lover of all maritime activities, installed in the citadel the first oceanographic laboratory in Portugal. The King himself led a total of 12 scientific expeditions to the coast; these ended in 1908 after his assassination in Lisbon. Due to Portugal's neutrality in World War II and the town's elegance and royal past, Cascais became home to many of the exiled royal families of Europe, including those of Spain (House of Bourbon), Italy (House of Savoy), Hungary and Bulgaria. Their stories are told at the Exiles Memorial Centre. Nowadays, Cascais and its surroundings are a popular vacation spot for the Portuguese as well as for the international jet set and regular foreign tourists, all of them drawn by its fine beaches. The town hosts many international events, including sailing and surfing. In 2018 it was the European Youth Capital. Geography Cascais is situated on the western edge of the Tagus estuary, between the Sintra mountains and the Atlantic Ocean; the territory occupied by the municipality is limited in the north by the municipality of Sintra, south and