Lagos guide
Even if the city of Lagos Portugal is a small one, it is nonetheless one of the most popular of the Algarve resorts. Pronounced Lagoosh, the city is located at about an hour drive from Faro and can thus easily reached with the help of some Lagos transfer from Faro Airport services. Why you should go there is another matter, one which we’ll talk about starting now.
There are many things to see and do while in Lagos, however one of the main attractions is the ‘Old Town’. You’ll notice that pretty much every one of the Algarve cities, towns and resorts feature some type of ‘old town’ because this region has been inhabited for the longest of times, thanks to its wonderful characteristics having been kept relatively constant for the past two thousand years or so.
One should set aside an entire day just to roam around the fascinating old town thanks to the abundance of historical sites and intricate architecture. The old town is totally pedestrianized and this aids in this goal of actually walking it in detail. Also there are a plethora of outdoor restaurants and coffee shops to enjoy a great meal and a drink in, and of course there the boutique shops which can always eat up a solid chunk of the day by themselves.
The Igreja de Santo Antonio and Town Museum
While the church is rather plain on the outside, it offers quite a different experience on the inside. The interior of the church virtually explodes with the brilliance of gilded ornate wood carvings which are deft-fully contrasted with the colourful painted stucco dome ceilings. The gilded work features a lot of cherubs and the blue and white tile panels create a type of wainscoting around the walls.
The museum offers a bit of history to go with the wonderful imagery, exhibiting archaeological findings, religious robes and coins that date back to 300 AD.
The Slave Market
Lagos guide - Lagos Ponta da Bandeira Fort
This is part of the darker part of the countries past, it wasn’t all great discoveries. This is what once was Europe’s first slave market, however nowadays that reputation is replaced by it serving as an art gallery presenting a rotation of local artists from the entire region.
The city feature some wonderful natural sights as well, the cliffs and the grottos come to mind. There are surely several grotto tours that you’ll find but they offer more or less the same thing. You’ll get into a small fishing boat and you’ll get to see the distinctive and magnificent cliffs in a new light, since otherwise you could just walk or climb them. Your guide will take you to see a lot of interesting rock formations as well show you caves and even some secluded beaches that can be found surrounding the town.
We talked about walking or climbing the cliffs, well this itself can be one of the things that you can do on your trip to Lagos, the dramatic vistas that you’ll see are worthy the effort.
However being in the Algarve, you are most likely interested in spending at least part of your holiday lounging on one of the fabled beaches of the region, and Lagos has no shortage of opportunities to offer in this respect.
Lagos Guide - Praia da batata beach
Praia da Batata Beach
This beach is the closest beach to Lagos city centre and it is known locally as the “town beach”. As you arrive to the beach you are met with the magnificent sight of a fortress, Forte Ponta da Bandeira, which was historically used to guard Lagos by protecting the river mouth from attack. You can also rent sunbeds on the beach and also you can enjoy wather sports like kayak tours on the sea, diving and many other sports.
Praia Porto do Mos
This beach is located at the end of the town and it’s both wide and long, while also surrounded by cliffs and features the background of crashing surf. It’s a great beach to visit for those who enjoy beach and water related activities, whether it’s body surfing or tossing around a Frisbee. The length of the beach also makes it a great place for a really long walk on the beach.
Lagos
Praia Dona Ana
This is surely amongst the most popular beaches in the area, being very crowded at almost all times. The cliffs are very nearby and this offers a bit more shade than other beaches in the area, and there’s also a very long staircase which connects the beach to the rest of the town and there are also some restaurants positioned here.
Praia do Camilo
This secluded little beach is not exactly secret, just not extremely popular with tourists, and if you get here at around 8 AM you may just have it all to yourself for about an hour or so till other sunseekers arrive. The waters here are crystal clear and the cliff formations create a wonderful panorama.
You can see these and many more with the help of some Lagos car hire services.
