1. Festival Do Orgao do Algarve (Organ Festival of the Algarve)

The festival is taking place between 03.11.2017 – 25.11.2017. It follows eight succesfull years in faro and has been expaded across the regios. This year, the festival will take place across four counties: Portimao, Faro, Tavira and Loulé.

You should’t miss this as you will enjoy many concerts and for sure you will have lot of fun.

2. St. Martin’s fair in Portimao

 The fair has taken place every year since 1662 and it is considered the most ancient event and also the most popular in the city.

Visitors will have the chance to browse through 84 stalls where you can find anything from food, clothes, shoes,household item, toys and so on.

Also this year a novelty it will be the exhibition of new and used cars, which represents nine car brands in the Algarve. The show will take place at Portimao Arena, locaed in the grounds of the Parque de Feiras e Exposicoes, from 15:00 to 23:00, each day until 18.11.2017.

3. Christmas and New Year’s Eve

Christmas celebration in Portugal traditionally start on December 8^th (“The day of “Our Lady of the Conception”) and end of 12^th night.

Christmas itself is celebrated on Christmas Eve night.

Did you ever imagined spending Christmas sorounded by decorations but somewhere where the weather is still warm? Algarve is the perfect answer.

New Year celebration can become very expensive but did you thought that you can get more with less money?

You can watch the firework displays on the river front in Lagos and get a view of Portimao’s display as well.

Many open air concerts will take place in Albufeira and all the bars and clubs across the Algarve will stay open until the early hours so everyone can celebrate.

If you need a car we suggest you to hire a car from Lagos Car Hire as they have very good prices and lots of discounts up to 30% this time of the year.

Hope we helped you with some ideas for this autumn and winter and we wish you to enjoy your time in Algarve.

Starlit walks through the cultural region of Portimao is just what the Municipality has thought of as a way to celebrate the coming of summer. And not just any walks, but cultural routes along the city of Portimao and Alvor, preservers of a vast and varied cultural heritage.

The Algarve is a region where Europe and the Orient blend in an architectural mixture of beauty and eclectic style. Although the Algarve was reconquered by the Portuguese Crown centuries ago, the Islamic legacy is still present in culture, cuisine and mainly in the millenary architecture that still stands tall.

For Alvor, the organized walks have been scheduled to take place on June 19th and August 21st. The meeting place is… romantic, if a bit creepy: near the local cemetery, at 9 in the evening. Places like the hermitage of Sao Pedro, the church, castle and the Ethnographic Museum are counted among the points of interest in the itinerary.

In Portimao, the walk will take place on July 17th, also starting at 9 in the evening at the Manuel Teixeira Gomes Square. Here, the itinerary includes walks through the Manuel Teixeira Gomes House, the Bivar Gardens and the square of the Town Hall.

The awesome thing about these walks is that they are entirely free. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can just turn up and tag along, because places are limited so your presence must be previously confirmed.
For your prolonged stay in the Algarve, you may like to book a vehicle with Lagos car hire or benefit from transport from Faro airport transfers.

If the charm of Spain and Portugal attract you, be it through customs or especially music, there are quite a few music festivals and events that you should take into consideration. For instance, in Portimao, you can take part in Música Mundi: Tango and many more. If you wish to be lulled by the gentle and sad Fado rhythm of the Portuguese guitar, there are recitals by João Cuña almost every day in Faro Museum.

Portimao is also host of some quality classical music recitals: the Lagos Music Academy Chamber Orchestra comes on tour on the 21st of June, to give just an example.

All throughout the Algarve, there are markets with fun and artifacts and much joy: Lagoa, Lagos, Faro, Loule, Albufeira, Quarteira and Tavira are just a few of the cities hosting them.

If you thought the Portuguese were not fun people, you’ll change your mind when you find out they actually organize Festa do Frango no Churrasco – which basically celebrates the exquisite flavor of chicken barbecue and turns the whole cooking activity into a true ritual!

In August, Olhos de Agua hosts a traditional Sardine Festival, as ever since time immemorial, most of the Algarve cities thriving today used to be fishermen villages. The same town organizes a great folkloric festivity with even more music, food and fun.

Albufeira dresses in festive clothing on August 14th with the Festa da Nossa Senhora da Orada (the festival of Our Lady of the Oracle), who is patron saint of the fishermen, which is at the same time a religious and a popular celebration.

Last but not least, let’s not forget that Europeans love sports and the Portuguese are not an exception to this rule. All throughout the summer, in June, July and August, you will have the chance to see sporting events and activities on the beach, culminating with August 20th, when Albufeira pays homage to sports with a great fireworks display.

Could we make our invitation to Portugal clearer?

The Algarve is for the most part regarded as an excellent seaside attraction, so it’s probably not surprising that aquatic activities rank first among the popular activities available in this part of Portugal.

Surfing and Scuba-diving are our first suggestion of things to do, especially if you are a sports fan. You can find excellent schools in Lagoa, Lagos, Alvor, Albufeira or Portimao, to give just a few examples.

The Atlantic Ocean is home to an impressive marine life, so whale and dolphin watching is another great experience you shouldn’t miss. Boat trips in Alvor, Faro, Lagos and many other places should also make your list.

Bulldog Buggies are also an unexpected choice and provide an awesome off-road safari experience. Explore the valleys and hills, the winding tracks and the riverbeds of the Algarve building unforgettable memories while riding these funny and practical vehicles.

Horseback riding is a popular outdoors activity for a great deal of people. Real Picadeiro is just one of the places where you can come close to these magnificent and gentle animals.

Apart from spectacular sightseeing during the long walks around the Algarve seashore, you can also visit the Lagos Zoo (Parque Zoologico de Lagos), where you can admire exotic animals and spend quality time with your friends or family. Needless to say, this is an amazingly gratifying experience for children, who will be thrilled to know they can even pat some of the tenants of the happy Portuguese Zoo. All in all, this will surely be a great day outdoors, taking in the sun and fun of the Algarve.

Next in our Top 10 Summer Activities in the Algarve, we will examine some enjoyable things to do for the less adventurous of you. For instance, you can treat yourself to a day or a whole holiday of pampering in an exotic spa. Aromatherapy, massage or skin treatments are in store for you, as well as swimming pools and gyms, and the offer is plentiful.

Algarve is also one of the capitals of golf, housing the best golf courses in the world, such as: Millenium, Pinhal, Morgado, O’Connor, Vale do Lobo and many others, so there is an entire industry centered around golf club hire and golf transfers. So if golf is on your list of new things to try out, the Algarve is the place for you.

For the truly intellectual ones, who long for a cultural excursion, we recommend visits to the museums and castles in the Algarve. Suggestions: Museu de Portimao and the ancient Fortress at Sagres.

We hope our Top 10 Summer Activities in the Algarve will help you get an idea of all the amazing places you can see and things you can do here!

The fishing village of Alvor can be found in the municipality of Portimao. Alvor is considered a civil parish in the region of the Algarve in Portugal and with a population of about five thousand people which inhabit an area of a bit over fifteen square kilometers, it is small, quaint and quiet.

Alvor… and what it has to offer

Alvor

Largo da Ribeiro - Alvor

Alvor has a particular place in the history of the region and of the country because this is where King Joao II died in 1495, however the history of the place goes back much further than that though, the settlement being founded back in 436 by the Carthaginians.

Just like the rest of the region that it is situated in, Alvor was once under Moorish rule and this lead to it featuring that particular type of Moorish architecture that one can see all throughout the Algarve, however most of those buildings were simply washed away because of the earthquake and tsunami that destroyed Lisbon in 1755.

The place has since recovered, obviously, but despite it being a rather well known tourist destination and undergoing rather steady development, you will not see any high-rise hotels or apartment complexes in Alvor. Instead of this rather common sight, you will be glad to see that the charm of the old town is not lost at all, there are still narrow cobbled streets and most of the modern buildings are low-rise.

Besides the town itself, Alvor’s main features are the riverfront and its main beach, the Praia de Alvor. The riverfront is arguably the town’s most idyllic setting, it is fully paved and lined with palm trees and alongside it you can find many beach bars and at its end, near the lifeboat station you will find several restaurants that will tempt you with the wonderful aromas of freshly barbecued fish.

The Praia de Alvor is a nice and long sandy beach featuring dunes at its back. At the eastern end of the sandy area is characterized by some large rock formations, this place is known as the Praia de Tres Irmaos. In this part of town you will find quite a few hotels but despite this you will almost always find plenty of room on the beach, even during the height of the summer season.

You should take your time to explore the city a fair bit as well, its network of streets housing a plethora of varied eating and drinking establishments; you can find many types of restaurants, traditional Portuguese ones of course, but also Indian, Chinese and Italian as well, and when it comes to bars you’ll find quite a few Irish bars dotting the landscape.

Considering its size and atmosphere, Alvor is a great place to visit if you have children, it is an ideal resort for families offering lots of relaxation, bu there’s also a water park nearby in Lagoa, fishing and boat trips as well as other things such as small grocery shops which are ideal for daily needs of you or your children.

When visiting Alvor you also have to constantly keep in mind that you are just a few minutes drive away from either Lagos or Portimao, so if you’re looking for a bit of variety during your trip you can always take a bus or hire a transfer that will take you to those places.

Related links for Alvor – Portugal

Alvor Portugal

Find out some more about the town of Alvor.

Portugal Car Hire

Get cheap and quality Portugal car hire services.

Cheap Portugal Car Rental Services

Low Cost Portugal Car Rental services

Alvor, Algarve – Travel Guide