Lagos

Lagos is the most captivating town in the western Algarve, combining a preserved historic centre, cliffs among the most dramatic in Europe and beaches that regularly rank among the continent's finest. Founded by the Phoenicians, developed by the Moors and later the departure point for Henry the Navigator's African expeditions in the fifteenth century, Lagos has maintained a distinct identity that Albufeira's package-resort strips have never managed to replicate.

The town's primary attraction is Ponta da Piedade, a limestone headland 2 km south of the old town: an intricate network of arches, towers, sea caves and marine stacks carved by the Atlantic into a golden and ochre rock face. The view from the clifftop walking paths is one of the most photographed in Portugal; below, kayak and boat tours enter the caves and reach hidden beaches reachable only from the sea. A short walk east, Praia da Dona Ana is a cliff-framed cove whose combination of turquoise water, golden sand and ochre walls makes it one of Portugal's most recognisable postcards. Praia do Camilo, a little further east, is reached only via a long wooden staircase cut into the cliff — intimate and breathtaking.

Lagos's old town deserves several hours of exploration: the cobbled lanes around Praça Gil Eanes, the nineteenth-century covered market where the morning fish catch is sold, the Forte da Ponta da Bandeira guarding the harbour mouth, and the Igreja de Santo António with its baroque azulejo and gilded interior. The working fishing port, busy at dawn, contrasts with the evening energy of the Rua Soeiro da Costa and its bars full of surfers and travelling regulars.

The area around Lagos also concentrates the western Algarve's best surf spots: Praia do Camilo for beginners on quiet days, Praia da Luz and Burgau for intermediate conditions, and the Vicentine coast (20-30 km north) for experienced surfers seeking consistent Atlantic swell year-round.