Wherever you look, the colours of the mountains and sea are always with you, creating the impression of a water-colour dotted with highlights of gold, green and blue. The region is an extensive and pleasant one, with a Mediterranean climate, marked by the smell of the sea at low tide and the scent of wild flowers.

A stroll through the tangled web of narrow streets, alleys and steps to be found away from the coast is the best way of getting to know this part of the region. But you can also easily lose yourself in the vastness of the coastal strip. Here the backdrop is composed of some of Europe's most beautiful beaches, from where you can admire the rocky coastline and the playful shadows they cast on the sand.

After the enchantment of the landscape, you can discover the aromas and flavours of the traditional Algarve cuisine. The menu may consist of fish and shellfish, with such dishes as caldeirada de peixe (fish-stew) or cataplana de amêijoas (clams steamed in a copper pan), or you can enjoy the traditional mountain food of stewed chickpeas and cabbage. The range of choices will also include the famous regional delicacies, such as figs, almonds, carobs and the brandy made from the locally grown medronho (arbutus-berry), distilled up in the hills in old copper stills.

 

As you travel across the Algarve, amidst its hills and plains filled with places of great ecological interest, rich in biodiversity and ecosystems, you will feel as though you are passing through an area full of different traditions, unchanged for many centuries. The handicraft is skilfully manufactured by the local craftsmen, who make use of longstanding, ancestral techniques and produce an excellent range of pottery, woven baskets, copper and brass articles, or other pieces made of linen and jute.

Only a step away from the tranquil peace of the inland region is the excitement of the Algarve nightlife. Bars, discos, marinas and casinos guarantee visitors the very best kind of merrymaking.

 

The region's built heritage is something you cannot afford to miss. The architecture of the whitewashed houses, with their brightly-coloured mouldings and remarkably beautiful chimneys, the church belfries and the museums, all reveal particular memories of the ancestors of the Algarve people and help to make this such a special destination.

Also to be recommended is the range of outdoor sports that are available, whether you're playing golf on lush green courses or enjoying some physical exercise at some of the region's excellent facilities, whether you're on the coast or perhaps up in the hills, where, after the rigours of winter and even before the first signs of spring, the land is covered in a pinkish white blanket, produced by the blossom of the almond-trees scattered across the horizon.

This is the true portrait of an Algarve that you'll find waiting for you, all year round.

 

 

In the Algarve, your holidays will take on a historical flavour. All around the region, you will find the chance to discover some of the charms and secrets of Portugal's history, which time has not yet managed to erase. Spending your holidays in the Algarve also provides an opportunity for travelling in time, finding numerous testimonies to the different peoples and cultures that have come together throughout the history of this region. From traces of the Roman presence to evidence of the long legacy of Muslim times, from the Christian reconquest to the epic period of the Portuguese discoveries, you will find all kinds of reasons for rediscovering the signs of a quite distinctive historical past.

The evidence of the human settlement of the Algarve dates back to time immemorial. Examples of this presence are to be found in the Neolithic remains from many thousands of years ago and the more recent, but no less interesting, Roman archaeological sites, now open to visitors. Any trip into the region's past and its valuable history should also include a visit to the various archaeological museums, displaying a vast heritage that lies waiting to be discovered. As the home to a range of ancient civilisations, the Algarve was also visited by many other peoples, inevitably brought to the region by the immense sea that bathes its shores.

More than five centuries of Moorish influences left their indelible imprint upon the region, beginning with its actual name: Al-Gharb, meaning The West. The long Moorish occupation of the territory, which lasted from the 8th to the 13th century, is still to be noted in the names of the towns and villages, in the region's agriculture, in the architecture of the monuments, the lacework patterns of the balconies, roof terraces and chimneys, or the whitewashed houses still to be seen in many Algarve villages. At that time, Silves was the central focus of the region because of its strategic geographical location.

 

In the mid-13th century, the Algarve was the last part of Portugal to be reconquered from Muslim rule. After a long period of forward pushes and backward retreats, the Christian reconquest enjoyed the valuable collaboration of the Knights of the Order of St. James, led by Dom Paio Peres Correia. The result was that, in the reign of Dom Afonso III, the Arab presence in the Algarve was brought to an end and the region was joined to the kingdom of Portugal. Besides Silves, the cities of Tavira and Faro, the present-day capital of the Algarve, were definitively conquered from the Moors. This marked the foundation of the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves.

Later, in the early 15th century, the beginning of the Portuguese maritime expansion brought a new lease of life to the Algarve and its people. Since then, Lagos and Sagres have remained forever linked to Prince Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese Discoveries. Even today, at the headland known as the Ponta de Sagres, a giant stone finger can be seen pointing towards the Atlantic Ocean in a clear allusion to the courage of the Algarve navigators, such as Gil Eanes, who set sail across the seas in search of new worlds to give to the world.

 

Many marks of this remote past, which is still very much present in the soul of the Algarve's inhabitants, are to be found scattered all around the region. Paying a visit to Aljezur, Lagos, Silves, Faro, Tavira, Castro Marim and Alcoutim means discovering the grandeur of Portuguese history, its people and their traditions, in each museum, church, fort and castle of the region.

Facts & Figures

 

With an area of 4,995Km2 and a resident population of 395,218 inhabitants, spread throughout 16 municipalities, the Algarve is located at Europe's westernmost tip, in the south of Portugal. It has an average population density of roughly 80 inhabitants per Km2 and an entirely Atlantic coastline that measures roughly 150Km in length.
It is subdivided into three main areas, each of which contains some extraordinarily beautiful landscapes

The coastal area is where most of the region's economic activity is concentrated. In terms of landscape, the Algarve coast is very diversified, varying between abrupt and jagged coastlines, extensive sandy beaches, inlets formed by lagoons, marshland areas and various formations of sand dunes. The predominant rocks are essentially of the sedimentary type (as is the case with the arenites and conglomerates). Morphologically, the coastal area has a low altitude and mainly consists of plains, divided into fields and meadows.

The "Barrocal" area marks the transition between the coast and the mountains, consisting of limestone and schist. This area is also known as the "beira-serra" (literally the mountain edge) and is where most of the agricultural produce of the Algarve originates from.

 

The hills occupy 50% of the territory and are essentially formed from schist and some granitic rocks (in this latter case, in Monchique, where there is an outcrop of nepheline syenite). The main ranges of hills are the Serra de Espinhaço de Cão, Serra de Monchique (where Foia, the highest point in the Algarve is to be found, at an altitude of 900 metres) and the Serra do Caldeirão or the Serra do Mú.

The Algarve's geographical position gives it some special bioclimatic features. Although situated by the Atlantic Ocean, it has a temperate climate with Mediterranean characteristics, more than 3,000 hours of sunlight per year and a low annual average rainfall.

 

The most important sector of activity is the tertiary sector retail and services.