Paderne features a 12^th century castle, and is one of the castles depicted on the national flag of the country. The castle isn’t exactly in the village, but it’s just a little way out of the village and is easily accessible by car. The castle is usually lit up at night and can be seen from the A22 motorway.

Taking a rental car on the road toward the castle will have you find a natural spring set in a square, a rather odd discovery but nonetheless interesting, and one cannot wonder how come Paderne is overlooked by tourists. The thing is that the spring is still sued today by people in the surrounding areas coming here to collect drinking water and there’s also a public laundry here with about 18 stone thoughts, scrubbing boards and tiled floors in a wooden enclosure. The river then continues on toward a park area.

Water is a great theme in the region, with locals from Paderne and nearby Alfontes battling each other every July in a competition of mini water sports, all of which ends with a massive barbecue and beer.

The village also features a still-intact Roman bridge, which was restored back in the 1860s and today it’s classified as an ancient monument.

There’s a church that sits at the village centre in a rather small square and it’s well worth the visit because it dates back to the 15^th century. The carvings on the inside stem from the 17^th-18^th century and are part of the priceless heritage of the church.

The village is composed of a number of narrow back streets, many of which are up a hill and some are one-way or no entry actually. The place has a solid selection of cafes, bars and restaurants that will satisfy many food craving.

This year’s Loule carnival will be socio-politically themed, “Troikered – The big circus” is its theme and the main Jose da Costa Mealha avenue will be the main staging ground for the floats and fun.

The Loule carnival is one of the oldest such events in Portugal and last year it saw somewhere around sixty thousand visitors during its three days. This year’s carnival will feature seventeen floats and hundreds of dancers and entertainers from samba schools and much more of course.

As has been the case with previous years, the revenue from the ticket sales will be donated to a local charity, so everything stays in Loule. The tickets will cost 2 Euro per person per day to gain access to the main avenue where the parade will start in each of the days from 3PM.

The public is encouraged to get into the spirit of the carnival and to either make or rent fancy dress costumes from the Loule town hall collection. Renting costs are just twelve Euros per costume from a store situated in Loule’s historic city centre that will be open in each of the carnival days, except for the 12^th.

But of course it wouldn’t be a carnival with just a parade every day, so the town hall has also organized several themed balls and parties alongside sporting and cultural events all throughout the municipality, so that as many people as possible can get involved in the fun. For instance, at 10PM on the 9^th of February, the NERA building will host a carnival party with live music and the theme will be ‘Wonderland’ as envisioned in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” – tickets priced at 5 Euro per person.

So if you’re already in the region, use some Algarve car rental services to get a rental car and head on there to see what the whole thing is like.

Especially the South-Western corner of the Algarve is very popular with surfing enthusiasts from Europe and all across the world, because it is very similar to surfing a peninsula. The over twenty beaches in the region are all within maximum a half an hour drive of each other or your accommodation and they feature reefs, points, bowling beach breaks, not to mention warm blue waters.

The Algarve is a great destination both for those who are already experienced surfers as well as for those who want to start, with the summer months actually being ideal for a visitor to attend some surfing school courses.

The extra advantage offered by these surfing schools or surf camps is that they know the area extremely well, and as you might expect they’ll know where and when to go for the best surfing experience possible. It can take a while, even for experienced surfers, to learn on one’s own how the local breaks work best with the tides, wind and whatnot, and that is time that comes out of your holiday, not to mention money that you’ll be spending on fuel for the Algarve rental car that you’ll most likely be employing.

On the other hand, beginners with zero experience who have always wanted to learn how to surf will benefit tremendously from the courses offered in these types of schools. Getting the basics down quickly, such as getting on the board safely, surely and quickly, with the right equipments and in safe and controlled conditions, are all crucial to a beginner enjoying this thrilling activity.