The distance from Lisbon to Vila Franca de Xira is 33 km and can be walked in approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes. 

This first day takes place in the incomparable beauty of the Tagus estuary, which is characterized by its many mouchões or islets and the various tributaries and arms of the river which form the river banks. The riverside landscape is mostly made up of tilled floodplains and small villages where the natural eco-system of the varied traditional fauna and flora is maintained. The hillsides give the landscape a natural frame, with centuries-old olive trees, old rural villas, farms, churches, chapels and fountains interspersed among residential settlements. This leg features both exclusively pedestrian and mixed sections.