Quinta da Ombria

The Finnish Ponto Group is prepping a major development for the rural are of Querenca called the Quinta da Ombria Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort.

The project is now in the development phase and at the current time the master plan will see it include a luxury hotel and spa, 400 villas and apartments as well as an 18-hole golf course. The project for this new development has been no less than two decades in the making, but now it is lead by Helder Martins, the PSD candidate for the Loule Camara presidency. The total investment reaches 200 million Euros and the project has just received the building licenses but work has not yet started. The large span of time that it has spent in development have seen it suffer several modification because of environmental setbacks, namely from various environmental and conservation groups that made a complaint to the European Commission.

Estimates show that the development will create three hundred jobs.

Vale do Freixo

The Vale do Freixo Golf & Country Estate will also be located in a predominantly rural area, this time in Benafim.

The estate is estimated to host 1,722 toursit beds, most or all of which being destined for the high end consumer. The development represent an investment close to two hundred million Euros and will include a hotel with spa, contress centre, sport and leisure areas and will employ almost eitht thousand people during the construction phase, and around a thousand jobs once the job is completed and business is underway.

The project is developed by a consortium company called United Investments Portugal or UIP. They are made up of the IFA Hotels & Resorts international group which has also developed the luxury Sheraton Pine Cliffs Resort.

This project however is still more than a year till a draft is ready and then it will have to be submitted for an environmental impact assessment.

It is reminiscent to a certain extend with the much more famous Brasilian carnivals, with people from all over the region coming to Loule to watch the procession and join in with the festivities in the center streets. In fact the city centre is closed off for the duration of the festivities, entrance to the area costing a few Euros.

The Loule carnival theme for 2013 has just been announced – the theme will once again focus on the ongoing financial woes that the country is going through, the title being “Stuck with the Troika – what a circus”.

This year the Carnival will be held on the 9, 10 and 12 February and it will go along the main Jose da Costa Mealha Avenue.

2013’s theme will continue the satire that visitors have become accustomed with, and the parade will start at 3Pm on each of the three days and will include seventeen decorated floats, as well as entertainers, samba dancers from the various samba schools and stilt walkers.

Complementing the parade, the Loule Town Hall has also announced that it will be organizing several themed balls and parties, as well as other sporting and cultural events all throughout the municipality.

This year especially the organizers are looking to highlight the Carnival not only from the tradition point of view among the local population, but also for its massive touristic component. The Carnival is after all one of the most important events in the region during the winter low season, and considering what we reported just yesterday, it is vitally important for the local economy.

Tickets for the main avenue will cost two Euros per person per day.

Keep in mind that you can visit the Carnival if even you’re not in Loule with the help of our Algarve car rental services.

We’ve talked about, and most likely we’ll continue to talk about the wonderful weather, beaches and culture of the Algarve in the future, but today we’ll focus on things that are less obvious, although just as popular once you get there.

Boat trips

Considering the size of the coastline and the weather, one should think these are a given but you’d be amazed how many people just think of the beach as their main go-to activity – or lack of activity. You can take a variety of pleasure boat trips from many of the resorts and towns on the coast. This way you can get to see some of the wonderful cliffs and hidden beaches and grottos.

Fishing trips

Yet again, those who are interested in fishing will head for the Algarve for this reason, rather than the beaches and great weather – although the weather helps with their pass-time as well. This is a region rife with big game fishing, and Portimao hosts daily fishing trips between June and September.

Check out a colorful Algarve market

Across the entire region there are regular market days and times being held. They all depend on the town or village that you’re in or near to because there is something quite wonderful about seeing one of these markets live. There are even tourist markets held in some places, such as the one held in Loule on Saturday mornings.

Golf

The Algarve is one of the best destination for golfing enthusiasts of all ages and experience level. The large number of sunny days combined with the large number of top-notch golf courses makes the region a Paradise for golf players.

This has been just a quick introduction to what the Algarve really is, for more information check out the rest of the website and don’t forget to consider our Algarve car rental services when you’re planning a trip to the region.

Each region of the country has its own calendar of more or less unique festivities, whether religious or not so religious. These types of events tend to normally showcase all manner of traditional culture, processions, fireworks and such, but there are also many of them that are deeply rooted into the modern.

Those interested in the religious aspect of the region may want to schedule their Algarve holiday to coincide with such a celebration, such as the Festa das Chouriças em Sao Luis. This festival takes place in late January in Querenca, it is the day of the patron saint of animals which is rather paradoxically celebrated with a smoked sausage auction and cultural fair. We should note that all the proceeds of the auction are donated to charity.

One important religious event in the Algarve is a two-part festival held in Loule in mid-April. The first part of the festival takes place when the 16^th century statue of the city’s patron saint is brought down from Ermita do Alto do Cerro to the Church of Sao Francisco.

The second part of the festival takes place two weeks later when the statue is returned to its resting place

There are other types of Algarve festivals and events of course, which we’ll talk about in a future article, till then keep in mind that you can visit these locations and many others with the help of our Algarve car rental services.

This rather interesting town is located at about sixteen kilometers north of Faro and its main feature is the landmark church of Nossa Senhora da Piedare – interesting enough, as opposed to pretty much all other towns in the region, this church is a modern building with a dome shape that makes it look a bit like a space ship. A bit larger than many other Algarve resorts and towns, Loulé offers all the amenities that you may expect including many shops, banks, art galleries and many other, we’ll try to cover as many of them in this short Loulé guide.

Loulé is well-known in the region for hosting each a Saturday morning a gypsy market, located at the end of Rua da nossa Senhora da Piedade, in fact there are special trips that are available from many Algarve resort in order to get here, however you can also employ some Loulé transfer from Faro Airport and get here straight from the airport.

While the city is relatively big, when compared to most other Algarve destinations, the part of town that will offer interesting places to visit will be rather small, however it would be a good idea to get a map if you’re on your your first visit, the street layout makes it rather easy to turn down the wrong street and walk much further than you’d want.

The main church of the city, Igreja de S. Clemente can be found in a small town square, alongside a small but peaceful garden, the Garden of Sulks – Jardim dos Amuados – which is an ancient Arab cemetery.

From the back of the church you can follow Rua Martic where once you turn left you’ll arrive at the market building which is great to visit in the mornings as the produce selection is quite excellent, especially for those who are into fresh fruit and vegetables.

The Loulé castle can be found just a bit of distance down the road from the market. It was built sometime between the 13th and 14th centuries, and uses as foundation the old Roman settlement. The castle itself doesn’t exist per se, there are three remaining grey stone towers that are well preserved as well as the archway and the living quarters of the castle garrison.

Going past the castle you will eventually find the Convent of Espirito Santo which also houses the municipal art gallery.

These are the major historical sights that you may want to visit while in Loulé, however there are obviously other things to see and do while in the city. The winding network of cobbled streets and alleys is populated with a plethora of cafes and shops all of which want to attract your business.

Loule carnival dancer

Loulé carnival is very famous in Algarve where a great festival is taking several days at the beginning of each year that happen usually in the month of February .  Those who employ some Loulé car hire services, but also pedestrians, will notice that the main street, Jose da Costa Mealha Avenida is usually busy with cars as well as people going about their daily lives while on either side of the central gardens you can take a while to rest on benches under trees and kiosk which can help refresh you after walking the street’s length.

Loulé is also very well-known in the region for being the host of one of the biggest events in the region, definitely one of the biggest in Loulé. The Loulé Carnival takes place in the month of February and lasts for three days, the third one being Shrove Tuesday.
The carnival is a colorful affair made up of music, dancing and just a general partying atmosphere which is very reminiscent of Brazilian carnivals. Just as it is with the carnivals in Brazil people from all across the region to see the processions and join in with the party in the streets.

As we mentioned earlier this couldn’t be a total guide of the city, but hopefully it did offer you enough of a general idea about the place, so that you can decide whether or not you’ll want to visit there.