Lagos
Definitely worth a visit for a good choice of restaurants. Enclosed
within 5th-century walls are the magnificent churches of São
Sebastião (Renaissance portais and 17th-18th century tiles),
Santa Maria of Misericórida (16th-19th centuries), Santo António
(Baroque) and the very old São João Hermitage (8th-9th
centuries). Other points of interest: Regional Museum, Governors'
Palace, Forte do Pau da Bandeira and the Old Slave Market. There is
a charming marina. Amongst the beautiful houses on the slope stand
the mother-church (Manuelina), Misericórdia Church (with a
Baroque retable) and the Senhor do Pé da Cruz Hermitage (17th
century). Nearby look for the famous thermal spas of Monchique and
Fóia (902 m high), overlooking the hills and the ocean. There
is a market here on the first Saturday of each month.
Portimão
Portimão and its municipality have much to offer. A rich heritage
of historical monuments. The eternal natural beauty of Ria de Alvor.
The charm of cultivated fields, of slopes covered with pine trees
and wild flowers. The allure of walking up into the hills and looking
down on the Algarve from a new perspective. In this fishermen's town,
visit the mother-church (14th century, rebuilt in the 18th century),
the Colégio Church (17th century), and the Town Hall. In the
suburbs, the renowned Praia da Rocha beach (with its Santa Catarina
de Ribamar Fortress), and the Roman ruins of Abicada. Popular crafts
- Wicker and cane baskets, hats, mats and baskets made of palm leaves
and twisted "esparto" grasses, lace and embroidery, copper
utensils, domestic and decorative earthenware: these are among the
unassuming treasures that the craftsmen and women of Portimão
and its municipality continue to make using traditional materials,
motifs and techniques. Stained-glass windows and porcelain ornaments
are evidence of more craft recent trends and of an unfailing desire
to work by hand to make things of beauty.
Sagres
It was here that five centuries ago Prince Henry set up a school of
navigation, which played a crucial role in the Portuguese Discoveries.
Apart from the Nossa Senhora da Graça Hermitage, you can visit
the magnificent Fortress (originally built in the 14th century, and
later altered) and the 15th-century Rosados-Ventos (a 43 m-diameter
compass rose). Nearby, on the extreme southwestern tip of the European
continent is Cabo de São Vicente (Romans' Promontorium Sacrum),
opening on to a vast horizon of sea and sky.
Silves
Stones of different times and cultures overlap in this town: the castle,
with its famous water cistern and walls, is of Arab origin; the Gothic
Cathedral (having undergone several restoration works) was built on
the site of an ancient mosque; the 12th-century bridge was built where
formerly stood a Roman bridge. The Cross of Portugal also deserves
special mention (16th-century religious sculpture), as well as the
following examples of Manueline motifs: the Nossa Senhora dos Mártires
Hermitage and the Misericórdia Church.
Monchique
It lies in the saddle created by the two high hills, Foia and Picota,
the former reaching to 902 metres above sea level. Rustic village
with small dark doorways containing various artisan trades and cobbled
streets.. There is a very neglected 17th Century Franciscan monastery
overlooking the town from which a visitor has a panoramic view over
the beautiful countryside.
The surrounding area flourishes on the production of cattle, pigs,
cork and wood. Another important local product is the popular "medronho",
the name of a strong schnapps type of drink made from distilling
the fruit from arbutus bushes.
Between Monchique and the town of Portimão is the village
of Caldas de Monchique that was developed in Roman times as a Spa.
Here a visitor can try the curing elements of the sulphur smelling
hot spring water that emerges at a constant temperature of 32ºC.
WORTH A VISIT!
