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.

The city of Lagos, Portugal has had a very long and chequered history. Thanks to its large natural harbour the area has been settled and inhabited for many thousands of years, starting with the Phoenicians, then the Carthaginians, then of course the Romans and following them the Moors. Due to its important geographical location and harbour it acted as the capital of the Algarve region for about two hundred years between the 16th and the 18th century until it was severely damaged during the 1755 earthquake which caused the government to move its seat to nearby Faro.

Present day Lagos

With the many and wonderful things that it has to offer

Lagos

Nowadays, Lagos is one of the Algarve’s most popular holiday destinations for travelers, attracting the younger crowd especially, whether they’re students, professionals and backpackers. They all come here for the stunning beaches, the picturesque coves and the great all-around weather.

In fact the spectacular weather is one of Lagos’ main features, the region sees low precipitation and warm temperatures all throughout the year, with hot and sunny summers, but not too hot thanks to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, and with mild winters with very moderate rainfall.

Regardless of the time of year that you choose to visit Lagos in, and the fact that it is a rather small city, you will find quite a few things to see and do while on your stay there.

Starting with probably the city’s main attraction, its beaches, you can find plenty of beaches which vary in size and shape, from long and sandy beaches to small beaches hidden behind cliffs. The Praia da Batata for instance is an great beach and it is located right across the main road in Lagos. This beach is overlooked by a great cliff which features a cove which is accessible only by boat and a very narrow and hidden mud slope which is marked with a rope pegged at its top. Now keep in mind that while this is truly beautiful scenery, it can be rather dangerous so pay close attention to your footing. Lagos is also home to one of the best known beaches in the entire region, the Meia Praia which is a huge beach that you can find on the other side of the Marina, featuring a plethora of bars and other like-minded establishments.

As far as the city itself is concerned, walking around it will offer the visitor a particular type of experience as most of the city center is populated with traditional architecture and painted using regional colors. The harbour is very animated in the morning so if you happen to wake up early yhou shouldn’t miss it or the fish market either, truly interesting spot.

Lagos - Bone Chapel

Lagos is also home to a Bone Chapel, an interesting particularity of the region, a couple more of these being present in Faro and Alcantarilha. The Lagos Capela dos Ossos is part of the Igreja do Sao Sebastiano and while rather small, compared to the others in the region, when you visit it you can also visit the bell tower of the church and the view from there is definitely worth the admission price.

This has been just a quick look travel guide at what Lagos, Portugal has to offer, rest assured that there are many other things that you can do while on your trip there, you’ll surely not get bored.

Lagos Related Link List

Car Hire In Lagos

Quality and low cost car hire services in Lagos, Portugal.

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Algarve Transfer from Faro Airport

Low rates for Faro Airport Transfers to anywhere in the Algarve, Portugal and Andalucia, Spain.

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