All of Lisbon's most popular beaches are in Costa da Caparica. On the south side of the river (so, technically not Lisbon) Costa da Caparica is a huge stretch of beaches. The seaside bars and restaurants attract hundreds of people over weekends or even at the end of a sunny day Many of the houses and apartments of Costa da Caparica are only occupied during the Summer and weekends, but it still has a great quality of life throughout the whole year. The many great surf spots nearby mean this neighbourhood is perfect if you're counting on doing some surfing throughout the year. Do remember that Costa isn't that close to many of Lisbon's universities, though - so if you have to go into class everyday, you might spend a lot of time travelling back and forth. The only campus in Caparica is Universidade Nova's Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (Applied Sciences and Technology). To get to Lisbon from Costa da Caparica you can take a bus, trains or ferries. If you don't have your own car or bike, transportation takes about 40 minutes to one hour from Costa to Lisbon. If you have your own car - avoid the rush hour! Traffic jams over the bridge are legendary.