Category Archives: Algarve Cities
Visiting the Algarve during spring and summer breaks
Visiting the Algarve during spring and summer breaks offers you pretty much unrivalled holiday opportunities for entertainment, culture, great food and drink and of course sun, sea and sand.
The sun drenched Atlantic coastline is famous for its wild beauty, featuring miles upon miles of sundrenched beaches, it is for many a great spring and summer destination. In fact most of the Algarve visitors will simply prefer to laze on the soft sands of sheltered coves, soaking up the sun and enjoying a swim or two, in the crystal clear waters of the coast.
Castro Marim basic guide
Situated at the eastern edge of the Algarve, Castro Marim is the last town before the Spanish border, and approaching it one will see its majestic castle almost calling to visitors.
The town is surrounded and imbued in rich history, having been long associated with the Knights Templar. Castro Marim organizes a very large monthly market, on the second Saturday of every month – this is where you can find a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as hams, local cheeses and honey, not to mention there’s also an antiques market held on the same days in Vila Real St. Antonio.
Algarve history travel guide 3
Continuing our Algarve history travel guide we’ll head to the small and quirky town of Olhao where two of its oldest quarters feature some very exotic white cubist housing, quite unique in Europe. Similar dwellings can be found in North Africa, however the ones in Portugal feature some unusual modifications in the form of verandas and roof terraces.
Quick Carvoeiro guide
Today we’ll try to give you a bit of a Carvoeiro guide, since this is one Algarve destination that we haven’t talked about pretty much till now.
The small fishing village of Carvoiero used to survive on the tuna fishing industry and its sole claim to fame was that in 1554, off Cape Carvoeiro a major naval battle toop place in which a Portuguese flotilla destroyed the fleet of a Turkish corsair.
Algarve history travel guide 2
In today’s look at the Algarve history travel guide, we’ll continue on from Cacela Velha where we last left off and head westwards toward the now privately owned for of Sao Joao da Barra in Cabanas, which is now a bed and breakfast. Then you can see the Forte de Rato in Tavira which became landlocked by the shifting sands of the Atlantic coast before it was actually finished.
Tavira is described by many to be the prettiest city in the Algarve, and while that may or may not be a disputed notion, what cannot be disputed is its history, having been home to Phoenicians, Romans, Moors and then to many various Northern European settlers.
Algarve food and drink – Wine
Surely we talked about Algarve wine only a few days ago, but in that article we took a generalized look at the history and some geographical influences that make Algarve wine what it is, today we’ll look at it more from the point of view of its impact on the traditional culture of the place, especially the culinary culture.
Benefiting from the Mediterranean climate, traditional grape varieties, low level of acidity and lots and lots of sun, result in some very high alcohol drinks and as such the wines and brandies of the Algarve have become a very important part of the entire region’s gastronomic traditions.
