First the blue sea and its gently lapping waves. Then fine, golden sands framed by cliffs and rocks. The cosmopolitan atmosphere of an international tourism destination. This is the Algarve of beach holidays in the sun.

Portimão and its municipality have more to offer though. A rich heritage of historical monuments. The eternal natural beauty of the 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.

The shore line of the municipality stretches between two important wetland areas: the Ria de Alvor to the east and the estuary of the River Arade to the west, places where the wave-battered rocky coast gives way to peaceful water and banks of fine sand and mud. In the Ria do Alvor, a recognised wild life sanctuary, you can appreciate the peaceful way of life of those who live from the great wealth offered by the tides: fish farming, salt-pans, shellfish picking and non-industrial fishing are the livelihood of the local communities. In its turn, the River Arade was for many years a vital communication route between the coast and the inland regions, providing an outlet for essential goods such as cork and playing host to the Algarve’s most important fishing port.

Nowadays the river is navigated above all by fishermen and tour operators, forming part of the municipality’s tourist supply. But Portimão’s most famous and distinctive feature is the beautiful scenery of its jagged and intensely coloured rocky coastline, along which, nestling amongst the cliffs, are many welcoming beaches of golden sand. The varied supply of shops and water sports such as windsurfing, sailing, diving or deep-sea sports fishing, have made the municipality’s beaches even more valuable as highly attractive tourist destinations.

Proof of a human presence in the locality since the Neolithic period is furnished by the extensive burial grounds at Alcalar and Monte Canelas and by other archaeological finds scattered across the municipality. The recent discovery at Vila Velha de Alvor of what are probably the remains of a village dating from the 2nd or 3rd century B.C. and the archaeological and maritime artefacts recovered from the Arade river and the coastal areas of the municipality throw new light on the importance of the region during the period when Atlantic trade routes with the Mediterranean and North Africa were developing, following the emergence of Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian factories.

Although theories that variously identify Portimão with Portus Hannibalis, Portus Magnus and Porcimunt remain controversial, there can be no doubt about the Roman presence in the city and the surrounding municipality. Amphorae, coins, fish-salting tanks, bronze objects, cisterns, sundry building materials, the remains of buildings at Vale de Arrancada, Montemar, Baralha and above all the major "villa" site at Abicada bear eloquent witness to this fact.

In material terms, the Moorish heritage is restricted to occasional finds of pottery and coins. But the Moorish influence endures in the distinctive shape of chimneys and water wheels, in small chapels and buildings made of the mixture of clay, rubble, sand and lime known as "taipa", in the region's agriculture and in some of the types of vegetation to be found.

Modern Portimão came into being in the reign of King Afonso V (1143) with the granting of certain privileges to a settlement which would come to be called Vila Nova de Portimão and around which a ring of defensive walls would later be built. Portimão was ideally placed to enjoy the fruits of the boom in international trade stimulated by the great Portuguese voyages of discovery and prospered as a haven for ships plying the African coast.

The earthquake of 1755 destroyed much of the town and prompted an economic decline that was reversed only towards the end of the 19th century by the return of trade, exports of dried fruit, milling, fishing and the fish-canning industry, activities which would continue into the 20th century. Portimão was made a city in 1924 by the then President of the Republic, the writer Manuel Teixeira Gomes, himself a native son of Portimão.

In the last three decades tourism has been the motor driving Portimão's economy and the city can now claim to be the second most populous in the Algarve. The white contour of a church on a hilltop. Narrow streets of the old fishermen and tradesmen quarter. Some aspects that identify the character of this city, old of many centuries. The presence of the sea, the immense beach known by the name of Praia da Rocha.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Our Lady of the Conception)
Situated on a hilltop, this church has for centuries been a distinctive feature of the city skyline. First built in the 15th century, it was rebuilt in the 18th and extensively renovated in the 19th. Of the original structure all that remains is a fine gothic doorway with decorated capitals, a gargoyle and buttresses. The interior consists of three naves. On the high altar is an impressive carved and gilded retable with baroque decoration. Among the various statues, that of St. Peter the Apostle (16th century) stands out, along with four crucifixes made of ivory and lignum vitae. There are fonts in the Manueline style (16th century) and an ashlar of glazed tiles of diverse origin (17th century).

Old Town
All that is left of medieval Portimão are a few stretches of the city walls now hidden by houses. The old town is dominated by the architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: houses on two storeys, with wrought iron balconies and ornate stonework around windows and doors, decorated with balustrades of stone and ceramics and walls covered with tiles. The old palace of the Viscounts of Bívar (18th century), a building of fine classical lines, is now home to the municipal council.
To savour the spirit of Portimão, there is nothing better than to sit in the shade of the trees in the Manuel Bívar gardens and forget about time, to watch the fishing boats and pleasure craft motor past and to walk through streets and squares that exude the ambience of an active, hard-working town which has succeeded in keeping pace with progress.

Jesuit College
This austere and majestic edifice was built on the orders of Diogo Gonçalves, a nobleman who made his fortune in the Far East and is buried in a tomb made of various marble colour types, inside the church. Construction work continued from 1660 to 1707 and the church needed major repairs after the earthquake of 1755.
The façade is made up of three sections. The section corresponding to the church is higher than the other two and has a curved pediment. The right-hand section has a Manueline doorway (16th century). The church, which is the biggest in the Algarve, consists of a single nave, like a large hall, and is typical of its kind. The high altar and lateral altars contain gilded carvings (beginning of the 18th century) which are of interest for their profuse decoration, with a Renaissance statue of the Virgin and Child (16th century) and others dating from the 17th/18th centuries. The side altars contain a statue of Nossa Senhora da Piedade (Our Lady of Piety) and a crucifixion of Senhor Jesus dos Milagres (Lord Jesus of Miracles) (17th century). At the head of the nave, in a glass-fronted alcove, is a large-scale statue of Senhor dos Aflitos (The Lord of the Afflicted).

Monastery of São Francisco (St. Francis)
Built in the 16th century, the monastery was severely damaged in 1755 and again in a fire in 1884. Now abandoned, the church, cloister and chapter house nonetheless display some interesting architectural features.

Chapel of São José (St. Joseph)
This building, with its plain façade and curved pediment, is located in the old part of the city, opposite the naval shipyards and the "Largo da Barca", which was where the ferry across the river would dock in the days before the bridge was built.

Praia da Rocha
Fine golden sands as far as the eye can see. Calm turquoise waters. Ochre cliffs and rocks sculpted into fantastical shapes. Such is the natural beauty of Praia da Rocha, a place which inspires visitors today as it has always done.
Discovered by tourism at the end of the 19th century, it was for decades the favoured resort of well-to-do families from Portimão, the Algarve and Andalusia in summer, and of the English in winter. The Hotel da Bela Vista, with its Belle Époque architecture and decoration, dates from this period.
In the 50s and 60s Praia da Rocha began to draw an increasingly international clientele and these days it is a cosmopolitan tourism centre and a byword throughout Europe for sun, sea and sand.

Fortress of Santa Catarina de Ribamar (St. Catherine of Ribamar)
Along with the fort of St. John of Arade, across the water in Ferragudo, this fortification constituted Portimão's defences against raiding corsairs and pirates.
Built in the 17th/18th centuries in an excellent strategic position, it affords splendid views of the sea, river, beaches and cliffs. A great place to be at sunset.
Inside is an old chapel dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria.

Alvor
This town's long history is clear from the discovery on Vila Velha hill, overlooking the Ria de Alvor, of a Neolithic village retaining traces of subsequent Roman occupation. During the period of Moorish rule, Alvor was a thriving port. The ramparts defending it were the scene of violent fighting when the Portuguese army led by King Sancho I conquered it in 1189, with the help of Crusaders en route to the Holy Land. Retaken by the Moors in 1191, it was only returned to Christian dominion in 1250, at the time of the campaigns that resulted in the conquest of the whole of the Algarve.
The town walls were rebuilt in 1300 and Alvor was made a town by King João II, who died there in 1495. It shared in the prosperity of the 15th and 16th centuries, but was laid low by the earthquake of 1755. The old town was never to regain its former splendour.
Alvor retains much of the charm of a picturesque fishing village, with streets of white houses and colourful boats which, after a day at sea, congregate around the old fishing market.

Main Church

Built in the 16th century, this church was rebuilt in the 18th century. The profusely decorated main doorway - one of the most beautiful in the Algarve - and the side door are in the Manueline style. The columns supporting the three naves are also part of the original structure, as are the fonts and the triumphal arch of the altar. The carved retable on the high altar, with its impressive life-size statue of the Lord Jesus, is from a later period (18th century). There is also a fine panel depicting the Saviour. The sacristy that adjoins the church is a former Moorish marabout retreat, since adapted to it new role.
This small, but nonetheless important church also contains polychrome tiles with two 18th century figurative panels - the Washing of the Feet and the Last Supper - several statues and a number of tombs.
From the churchyard there is an excellent view of the Ria de Alvor, the town and the encircling sea.

Castle
The caste has long disappeared but for two stretches of wall that were once part of the fortress and now have houses built against them.

Marabout Chapels of São João and São Pedro (St. John and St. Peter)
Cubic structures with spherical cupolas that testify to the Moorish influence, these chapels evoke the holy places, where Moslems would bury the religious ascetics known as marabouts.

Abicada
A Roman archaeological site at the confluence of two rivers. There is a 1st/4th century villa with several rooms and a peristyle decorated with coloured mosaics bearing geometric patterns and stylised designs.

Alcalar
An important Neolithic/Chacolithic burial ground (2,000/1,600 B.C) with graves of several types, from megalithic chambers to tombs with false cupolas and side alcoves. There is another burial ground nearby at Monte Canelas.

Mexilhoeira Grande
An old village traditionally sustained by agriculture and by the resources of the Ria de Alvor.

The Ria de Alvor
To one side the sea, to the other the liquid mirror of the vast estuary stretching inland, and between them a long, broad dune. This beautiful setting is the chosen nesting place of dozens of species of migratory bird. The salt marshes also support an interesting variety of animal life, while the local fishermen still use traditional techniques to catch fish and gather shellfish. To explore this almost unknown facet of the Algarve by the diffuse light of dawn is to discover a world of total calm and make memories that will last forever. (Boats can be hired at Alvor).

The Arade Estuary
For thousands of years, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, Normans and Crusaders sailed up the river towards the city of Silves, intent on trade or conquest. Visitors today can take the same course in a boat hired from Portimão. The shady groves along the banks make good places to stop off and relax, as does the island of Nossa Senhora do Rosário (Our Lady of the Rosary), where the ruins of an old chapel are still to be seen.

The Pleasures of Sun and Sea
Praia da Rocha may be the most famous resort in the area, but the beaches that extend all the way to Alvor have their own particular appeal.

Vau
A charming beach flanked by cliffs. Its charming atmosphere, iodine-rich waters and fascinating rock formations make it popular with families.

João de Arens
A small stretch of sand set among cliffs, rocks and islands, it is associated with a fearless shepherd immortalised by the writer Manuel Teixeira Gomes, a native of Portimão, in his book "Agosto Azul" (Blue August).

Tres lrmãos and Prainha
A series of tiny beaches separated by outcrops of ochre rock in which the sea has worn tunnels that offer an unusual means of access.

Alvor
A long beach that extends as far as the eye can see, until it reaches the Ria de Alvor estuary. An international tourism centre.