The first such-event organized in August 2012 offered privileged access to culturally and historically valuable chapels, thus allowing for a very real, very original acoustic sound to be heard by our human ears.

This year as well the festival will be using the venues of the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Grasa of Sagres Fortress and the Emrida de Guadalupe in Vila do Bispo, both of which are recognized as important Portuguese heritage sites. However, this year’s event will also add to its list of venues the courtyard of the Centro Cultural de Lagos from the end of July through to the end of August.

The music will be performed by a variety of internationally acclaimed specialist on authentic instruments of several historical periods such as: viola de gamba, recorders, flutes, ancient cornets and clarinets are only some of the examples, plus period song and dance will be added in to complete the theme and atmosphere.

The concerts that make up the Sons Antigos a Sul Music Festival are part of a larger and international string of events meant to celebrate the European Year of the Citizen. The events celebrate twenty years of the Maastricht Treaty and particularly honor three hundred years since the Treaty of Utrecht from 1713 which united many of the European nations that now make up the European Union. The goal of the larger event is to show the rich and complex relationships between the cultures of all of these diverse countries.

In regards to the Portuguese concerts, attending these will be free of charge however, you will have to pay a small fee to enter the monuments, but that is to be expected if you were to visit them anyway, and those fees are only nominal.

Tavira Castle

The current castle was built in the 13^th century after the Christina re-conquest of the region, it used to be a Moorish stronghold before that moment, and you can easily understand why once you get there. The stunning panoramic views that it offers of the surrounding countryside means that the defenders in the fortress could see enemy troop movements from afar, nowadays however the place features a wonderful garden inside with shaded benches, how the times have changed.

Roman Ruins in Vilamoura

Vilamoura is the location of a very well-preserved Roman Site with a dedicated Museum meant to privde a great insight into the area’s Roman past. Vilamoura actually started as a Roman fishing town and you can still see the ruins of the baths in which the mariners would bathe.

Roman Ruins in Faro

Staying in the Roman era, Faro is one of the central destinations for Roman-related ruins and history to be found in the Algarve. The old part of the city is actually still surrounded by the Roman walls which date to sometime around the 9^th century, however by that time the town would’ve already been occupied by the Moors so that’s a bit odd and interesting at the same time.

Actually most of the Roman ruins in the region aren’t exactly in Faro, but in Estoi, which is a smaller town located at eleven kilometers from Faro. This is where you can find Roman ruins dating from the first and second centuries AD with thermal baths, columns, mosaics, and a very well-preserved villa.

Keep some Algarve car rental services in mind when visiting the Algarve.

The town is located at just five kilometers from Cabo de Sao Vicente and is has the distinction of being the country’s most southwesterly point, and implicitly Europe’s as well. This is and has been a place of particular meaning for both the Portuguese as well as others. It is said that this is where Henry the Navigator founded his school of seamanship during the 15^th century which assembled Portugal’s major geographers, cartographers and astronomers to put their heads together. However there aren’t very many signs left that would suggest this was anything physical or stable, more likely this was a place where the various experts would meet on various occasions, without a proper purpose.

Sagres lies on a very rocky plateau which ends rather abruptly at the coast in the shape of steep cliffs of up to 150 meters in height.

Tourism hasn’t yet gotten such a solid foothold in Sagres – event though you will surely find hotels and private guest houses both in and around the town – but it is nowhere near comparable with the tourist infrastructure in the resorts further east on the coast. This might be due both to the town’s extreme location, as well as its very raw climate, but there are many out there who love that.

Fortaleza de Sagres

This fortress is located on a narrow promontory that reaches out into the sea, the spot having been important to the Romans who called it Promontorium Sacrum – or the Sacred Promontory because they thought it to be the home of the gods. The fortress that you’ll see today is still a major focal point in the history of Portuguese discovery and conquest of the 15^th and 16^th centuries.

The fortress features a few other related attractions such as the Windrose, the Igreja Matriz de Sao Clemente and there’s also a Visitor Center.

But the main Sagres tourist attraction that people come here for, is the very raw nature, and what better way to experience everything that this place has to offer than with the help of some Algarve car rental services.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima

This site is by far one of the most famous Marian shrines in the entire world. The main building is the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima, whose construction started on the 13^th of May 1928, a wonderful Neoclassical church that was later consecrated on October 7^th 1953.

The central spire is a slender construction that rises sixty-five meters and the church itself is flanked by monumental colonnades which overlook a very large open plaza. The center of the plaza is dominated by the Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which was built in 1932, being situated over a spring that according to the shrine, has been ‘the instrument of many graces’.

The basilica has fifteen altars dedicated to the fifteen mysteries of the rosary and it also houses the tombs of the young visionaries.

The other mains stop at Fatima is the Chapel of Apparitions, an open-air chapel built on the original site of the appearances, which is open year-round for regular services and can even  be virtually visited via high-res webcam.

The Convento de Cristo in Tomar

The Convent of the Order of Christ was built in 1160 by the Knights Templar in order to defend the very volatile Muslim-Christian border at that time.

This is quite a unique monastic fortress, first of all because it is a monastic fortress and then because its construction was an on-going project for somewhere close to five centuries, which turned the initial Templar stronghold into a gallery of Portuguese architectural styles.

There are many things to see here, actually everything is interesting however we’ll just mention a couple, starting with the portal of the church which was designed about 1530 and richly decorated in the typical Manueline style.

To the left of the portal you’ll find the 16^th century rectangular Manueline nave, which replaced the older Gothic nave, and a large interior arch links the Romanesque round church to the Manueline nave.

We could talk about these religious destinations in much more detail and we probably will do so in the future, but keep in mind that you can see them for yourself with the help of some Algarve car rental services.

The settlement that is today known as Silves, has always been an important one in the region because thanks to its positioning, it lay at the entrance to the inland areas of the Algarve. Going there now, you can’t really see it, because the river is now too silted up to allow large vessels to travel it, but in centuries past, that was not an issue.

Any Silves guide is pretty much obliged to mention the most prominent monument in the city, namely the Castelo de Silves. This is now the best preserved castle in the region and it towers above the town alongside the nearby Cathedral. Being a fortress it was built on an overlooking hill, obviously so the views from the battlements are quite spectacular. The castle features eleven towers, two of them being barbicans, and its thick walls still enclose an area of about twelve hundred thousand square meters. Four of the towers were rebuilt during the 14^th and 15 centuries and as such feature Gothic doorways.

The defensive walls and towers which protected Silves have disappeared long ago, however one of the four gates still remains up, the Torreao da Porta da Cidade – the interior of the tower features two rooms and annexes in which you can now find the Municipal Library.

The earlier mentioned Cathedral is the Se de Silves one of the few remaining Gothic monument in the Algarve; it features ancient tombs and a network of old and narrow, cobbled streets will take you down into town from here.

One other both important and interesting monument that you must visit while here is the Cross of Portugal. This is a three meter tall limestone cross which dates back to sometime during the 15^th or 16^th century, you can find it to the right of the roundabout that takes you to the castle at the eastern end of the river front. This brings into discussion the method of transportation that you will be using while in Silves, and while you can reach Silves by using some Silves transfer from Faro Airport, you can also enjoy more of it and its surroundings with the help of Silves car hire services, but it all depends on what it is that you need from your transportation during your stay. For those who will have a car at their disposal during their trip, they should know that Silves has made some serious improvements to its road layout, so that the city maintains its picturesque quality while also allowing people to move around it at a decent clip.

The local town square, the Praca do Municipio features a lot of greenery, an unexpected amount for a town center actually. There are gardens, flowers and palms as well as a paved river front. The nearby swimming pool has a fitness area and an outdoor ‘play area’ for adults. The weather is definitely nice enough to encourage activities in the sun light.

Silves is a very relaxed city indeed, a great place to visit and enjoy the weather and local culture, especially when considering the large number of cafes and restaurants which offer outside seating. Simply walking around town will offer you a great experience since many old buildings have survived, these were built by rich merchants and are still in use, even if under different management.

The local gastronomy is definitely a major part of any trip to the Algarve, and visiting in Silves is no different. The city offers a good selection of places to enjoy some very tasty local dishes as well as wines.

The surroundings are just as interesting and in case you tire a bit from exploring the city, you can look into the option of boat trips to and from Portimao.

There are obviously many things to see and do while in Silves, much more than we can talk about in this article, rest assured that you will surely have a booked schedule once you’re there.

What started as a quiet and very elegant resort back in the 1930s only started to develop at a major rate once cheaper flights started to be offered in the 1970s, which in turn spurred on a boom in apartments being built, and steadily and surely Praia da Rocha became the region’s second-largest resort town.

There are basically two types of travelers in the world: those who haven’t been to the Algarve yet, and those who return there year after year, but what exactly makes the latter do this?

It may have to do with the fact that the Algarve sees only about seventeen days of rainfall each year, or more specifically to Praia da Rocha, maybe it’s the two kilometer beach that is home to both wonderfully soft sands as well as rock formations, after all Praia da Rocha means “rock beach”.

Portimao guide - Praia da Rocha

Almost as the beach is vast, the main town avenue runs along the top of it and is chock full of restaurants, cafes and shops and you can bet that during the night it simply comes to life thanks to the plethora of bars and clubs that one can choose from.

At the avenue’s end you will find the Fortress of Santa Catarina de Ribamar, this fortress was part of neighboring Portimao’s defences meant to protect the city from corsair and pirate raids during the 17th and 18th centuries.

In terms of accommodations, Praia da Rocha offers mostly hotels and many-many apartment-blocks – because of the earlier mentioned building boom of the ’70s – however you won’t feel crammed in because the buildings are well spaced and they are well positioned in regards to access to the local amenities.

Praia da Rocha is the ideal destination for those who want a quintessential Algarve experience, not a traditional one. It’s a great place if you’re interested in sunbathing, great restaurants and many places to party during the night. The only place that it doesn’t shine as strong is in the shopping category, but you can always rent a car and head into Portimao to visit the main shopping centre there.