The village is located on top of a hill and overs some great views over both the river and Portimao, so amateur photographers might want to give it a look just for this reason alone. The place is also the site of several archaeological finds, so those interested in the local culture and history shouldn’t miss it.

Those who are fans of seafood will thoroughly enjoy the Algarve, for certain, but Mexilhoeira’s past is deeply steeped in oysters, clams and mussels which are harvested from the mud flaps in the marshland below it. Entering the village will have you climbing a gentle slope with bronze statues of well-known locals greeting you on your way up.

The village has a very strong community spirit built up around its roots, and this is publicly demonstrated by the many tiled benches on which people rest that can be found outside one of the smaller village chapels. A large church graces the top of the village, its surroundings too feature seating areas which are usually occupied by locals chatting in the late afternoons. From this point in the village you can also snap some great panoramas of the river and the coast but don’t forget to take note of the 18^th century church doorways.

The village is small but it has quite a few good restaurants offering some great traditional fare for lower prices than Portimao. There are also several bars dotted around the place and there’s a mini market as well.

You might also want to consider visiting it for the local temperature because the village is a little cooler in the summer thanks to a breeze coming from the coast and settling throughout its narrow roads and one-way streets.

With some Algarve car rental services you can easily check the place out on a day-trip or more.

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.