5 tips and many reasons to travel to the Algarve – the southernmost part of Portugal. Part 4 – what to do in Algarve.
What else to do in the Algarve from Algarve, Portugal travelogue with tips for good experience in 4 parts. This is a no AI content.
We continue with the Algarve travelogue. In the first part, I told you how to get there and where to stay. In the second part, I told whether it is possible to go to the beach there and what to expect from the beaches there. In part three, I elaborated on my favorite topic-f food and wine.
Now I will tell what else you can do in Algarve, what cities to visit and where to eat.
What else can you do in Algarve?
Algarve offers many attractions and sights. That is why it is such an interesting destination – not only for beach and sea, but also for cultural and historical heritage, beautiful nature, gourmet and wine tourism.
Visit a winery
Since I already mentioned Portuguese wine, there are quite a few wineries to visit in the Algarve region, we chose Quita dos Vales because we were drawn to its mix of winemaking and art. Once you get there, you are surrounded by sculptures of stylized fat ballerinas, elephants, hippos, bulls, all kinds of patterned figures.
You can see it here.
Unfortunately, we didn’t like the tasting there, we didn’t try the best wine they are capable of, but we bought 2 remarkable bottles of medalist red wine. We were only offered bread with a little olive oil to go with the wine, and in fact we were told there would be an appetizer, but we didn’t expect it to be just bread, given that such good cheese is made in the region.
On our tours of the Greek wineries in Naosa, or in Gerovassiliou to Thessaloniki, the tastings were more substantial and really well paired with local food.
Read more about Naousa in Wine tourism in the region of Naousa, Northern Greece and about Gerovassiliou- Gerovassiliou Winery – art, wine and good food, Epanomi, Greece.
Our host Joao, who told us about the cellar, was a very nice entertainer and thanks to him we had a good time.
It’s worth getting on a yaught or catamaran.
So, you can go around the coastline. We chose an option that was highly rated on the internet – a catamaran tour of the cliffs Benagil with a barbecue on a small beach.
We had a great time. It’s quite windy on the deck above, but you always have the option of going down and having a drink at the bar. You just look at the sights through the windows.
The Benagil Rocks are indeed impressive, but there are similar ones all along the coastline. The unpleasant thing is that, besides you, many other people have rushed to look at them – with boats, with catamarans, with large luxury yachts, with kayaks, with subs. It’s not as romantic as it looks in the pictures.
You can get impressions here.
The BBQ lunch was very tasty, another proof that the Portuguese are very good at BBQ. It included sausages, steaks, shrimp, sardines, beer as much as as you could take in the heat.
On board the yacht, in addition to telling us about the natural sights we were passing by, we were periodically treated to fruits, desserts and drinks.
Visit various towns in Algarve.
They are very charming, they have both a youthful spirit and stately historical remains and picturesque old buildings.
Very characteristic of the old parts of the towns are the small white limestone pavements, which give a great charm.
Here are some of the towns we saw.
Lagos (Lagos or Lagosh)
We stayed there and we don’t regret it. The town is very beautiful, pleasant, with a nice coastal strip and many wonderful restaurants and bars.
In the central parts there are always street musicians who gather quite an audience and add artistry.
There are nice beaches around Lagos, there is an old fort in the city, even museums. In fact, the slave trade was quite strong in Portugal, something can be learned about the great geographical discoveries.
Where to eat in Lagos?
One of the good restaurants, straight on the touristic path in the center of Lagos is Dom Henrique.
We stumbled upon it by chance since nowhere else we could be accommodated on a Saturday night without a reservation.
Don Sebastiao, which is considered fine dining and is also recommended by the Michelin guide.
Arribale I already mentioned it with their infamous grill.
Check it out in this post:
A very nice place for breakfast is Black and White in the old part of town, where they put you in a list and you wait your turn, but it’s worth the wait.
Another place for a delicious breakfast with farm products is Favo, which is on the promenade.
For snacks, cocktails, coffee and breakfast, I recommend the rooftop terrace of one of the most colorful souvenir shops in the old town of Lagos – Mar d’Estorias.
For good wine with a very tasty combination with food and snacks, you can go to the Italian Cuccio e Scartuccio in the center.
Silves (Silves)
There is a castle and an old cathedral there. The charming Café Ingles is also worth a visit
See also the fortress here.
And some more pleasant views from Silves.
Sagres (Sagres)
Apart from visiting the old fortress, learning more about its history, it is most worth going there for the view of the ocean, because it is the most south-west point of Europe. When you look from the cliffs to the ocean, it’s like you’re at the end of the world. The waves of the Atlantic crash with immense power beneath you and you can’t stop looking and listening to it, mesmerized by its charm.
See some footage and video from there.
The footage shows surfers’ beach where the waves are the biggest.
One of the most colorful places to eat we visited on this trip was the Landry Lounge in Sagres.
It’s really a public laundromat, but with a very groovy vibe, a hipster twist, a youthful spirit. The food is Asian style very expertly made. It’s definitely worth a trip there.
See it here.
There is certainly much more to be written, there are still many places to see and experiences left for which there is no time left. We were 8 nights, I even thought it was a lot, but actually we didn’t feel like leaving and we were already making plans when we will come back.
At the same time, we see that the area itself has developed a lot in recent years, due to the great interest especially from British tourists who are attracted by the warm but not too hot climate. Lots of properties are being bought, big construction is going on, it’s not clear how everything will look like years from now.
So, I recommend visiting the Algarve sooner, and if you have to repeat it later.
How to get to all these places?
Just follow the pin in the map.
How to book your stay?
You can book your stay right here. For your convenience, I have added a booking.com box, which refers directly to their site. I guarantee you’re going to use all your genius discounts and privileges they would offer to you and I will get a modest commission. Just enter the dates of your trip, the place, then hit the Search button and voila.
Booking.com
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