For being a comparatively small nation, Portugal sure has a wide range of locations which are must-visits. Just like the cities of Lisbon and Porto; the fairytale-esque castles in Sintra; the terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley; and the gorgeous cliffs and coastlines of the Algarve.
Should you’re trying to plan a beachy getaway in Portugal’s southern Algarve area, there are various cities you might select base your self in – like Faro or Albufeira or Portimão. However my however my private choose is Lagos.
The little city of Lagos (pronounced “LAH-goash“) is often thought to be the prettiest within the Algarve, being recognized for its historic city middle, lovely seashores, and entry to among the most dramatic elements of the southern coast.
Should you’re solely going to go to the Algarve for a short while, then Lagos is the place you wish to be.
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When to go to Lagos, Portugal
The Algarve area of Portugal has a Mediterranean local weather, that means it experiences sizzling and dry summers and gentle winters. The Algarve may be very sunny (Lagos will get 300 days of solar per 12 months on common), which is why it such a well-liked seaside vacation spot.
Excessive season in Lagos and the Algarve runs from late June via August. That is when it is the most popular and busiest – and I personally wouldn’t go to right now of 12 months!
I really visited the Algarve in March, when it was low season. This was good for me, because it meant cooler temperatures, a really quiet city, and cheaper costs. I had no bother discovering lodging or going to eating places sans reservations in March.
BUT, I might say the BEST instances to go to Lagos are in all probability late April-Could and September-early October if you need good climate and fewer crowds, however nonetheless loads of issues to do. There have been some locations nonetheless not open and a few excursions not working once I went in March. (However in case you love low season journey, then November-March is it in Lagos!)
Prime 10 issues to do in Lagos
Lagos is small – the entire municipality solely has a inhabitants of about 30,000, and you’ll simply get round the primary metropolis middle on foot.
I spent 3 days in Lagos on my first go to, and had no bother preserving busy. Listed below are all of the issues I like to recommend doing in Lagos, based mostly alone journey there:
1. Discover Lagos Outdated City
The historic middle of Lagos is small and charming, with white-washed buildings and cobbled streets. And whereas there are hills, they are not practically as brutal as those you will discover in Lisbon or Porto.
You may simply see all of the highlights of Lagos in only a couple hours. The principle issues I like to recommend doing embrace:
- Visiting the Markthalle seafood market close to the marina.
- Looking for fascinating avenue artwork and fairly squares.
- Admiring among the outdated structure just like the Porta de São Gonçalo, Castelo de Lagos, and Forte da Ponta da Bandeira (although be aware the “citadel” and “fort” right here aren’t essentially the most thrilling issues to truly go to).
- Watching a sundown from Miradouro Praia da Batata.
Lagos Outdated City can also be the middle of eating and nightlife, and it comes alive within the evenings as everybody heads out for drinks and dinner.
I like to recommend beginning with drinks at Bon Vivant, which has a rooftop tiki bar. Then you possibly can seize dinner at one among these spots:
- Cantinho Algarvio (good native meals)
- Tasca Jota Lagos (tapas-style)
- Nah Nah Bah (unimaginable burgers)
- Empanadas & Co. (all types of tasty empanadas)
- The Inexperienced Room (fairly good Tex-Mex)
2. Go to the Museu de Lagos
Whilst you’re in Lagos Outdated City, do not miss moving into Igreja de Santo António, a stupendous Baroque church housing a museum devoted to artwork, archaeology, and the historical past of Lagos.
The Museu de Lagos was based in 1930 by its patron Dr. José Formosinho, and is housed in an annex of the church. And with an entry charge of solely €3, it is value a go to in case you’re all for studying extra concerning the historical past of Lagos and seeing elements of the church (together with the unimaginable Baroque altar, pictured above).
3. See the Mercado de Escravos
Whilst you’re exploring Lagos, it is also value visiting the Mercado de Escravos, a museum devoted to the historical past of slavery in Lagos and Portugal as an entire. It is situated on the positioning of the town’s former slave market, which was the primary slave market in Europe, relationship again to 1444.
I am actually glad that this museum exists (the subjects of slavery and colonialism are very entwined with the historical past of Portugal, in any case), and on the floor it appears to be like like a tidy little museum with some artifacts and multimedia reveals. Nonetheless, to me the museum felt very random and disjointed, and the message received misplaced a bit within the presentation.
However with an entry charge of only a couple euros, it is value trying out this museum for your self.
4. Stroll from Praia da Batata to Praia dos Estudantes at low tide
Lagos is thought for its dramatic rocky seashores, and some of the distinctive issues to do is to stroll via the rock tunnels connecting the town seashores at low tide.
The most well-liked seaside in Lagos known as Praia da Batata (which, sure, interprets to “Potato Seaside”), and it is mainly only a few steps from the town middle. At low tide (which varies from day after day; take a look at a tide table here), you possibly can stroll from this seaside to different smaller seashores which are linked by rock tunnels.
At low tide (and I don’t recommend attempting this at excessive tide), you possibly can stroll to Praia dos Estudantes, the place you possibly can admire the Ponte do Antigo Forte do Pinhão, a tall stone bridge.
Simply bear in mind that the cliffs across the seashores listed here are fairly brittle, and rock falls are potential.
5. Admire the Lagos Marina
Only a quick stroll from the middle of Lagos is the marina. That is the place many boat excursions depart from, but it surely’s value strolling round even in case you’re not going out on the water.
It is a picturesque place for a stroll to admire the boats, and is lined with a lot of eating places, too. And, proper throughout the road from the marina (throughout a really cool pedestrian bridge), you may also discover the Mercado Municipal/Markthalle, a fish market the place recent native seafood is on the market.
It is also a brief stroll to the boardwalks and sand at Duna Seaside, which is a large sandy seaside simply exterior of central Lagos.
6. Have a seaside day at Praia de Dona Ana
Though Lagos is filled with attractive seashores, Praia de Dona Ana is among the greatest for a correct seaside day.
It is a big seaside, so there’s loads of room to place a towel down and calm down. The seaside is a couple of 20-minute stroll from Lagos Outdated City. There’s additionally a free car parking zone on the entrance to the seaside, however in case you’re driving, you will wish to get there early to discover a house.
Another nice seashores in Lagos embrace:
- Praia do Camilo
- Praia do Pinhão
- Praia de São Roque
7. Boat cruise out to Ponte da Piedade
Among the best issues to do Lagos is to take a ship cruise out to Ponte da Piedade, which is a headland just below 2 miles from the middle of Lagos recognized for its dramatic cliffs, grottos, and sea arches.
Boat journeys out to Ponte da Piedade depart from the marina close to the practice station, and are very inexpensive. You may take a 75-minute sightseeing boat tour for lower than $25, which can embrace crusing via some sea arches and into some very cool grottos. (I booked this boat tour and beloved it.)
It is a must-do in Lagos, and a ship tour is the best solution to go to Ponte da Piedade. I like to recommend going within the morning for among the greatest gentle.
You too can ebook a guided kayaking tour to the identical space in case you go to through the summer season months. These excursions are a bit longer, and often embrace kayaking and time to swim.
8. Hike out to Ponte da Piedade
One other solution to go to Ponte da Piedade is by mountaineering. The hike is simply a few miles from central Lagos, and provides you fully completely different views than you see from the water.
There was a winding strolling path that stretched from the tip of Lagos city alongside the sting of the cliffs all the best way out to Ponte da Piedade. Erosion and landslides have made this path unsafe, nevertheless – and elements of it are literally fully washed out now.
However fortunately they have been engaged on making this stroll simple to do as soon as once more with the assistance of a picket boardwalk system.
You may both stroll or take a taxi from central Lagos to the “Ponta da Piedade Walkway Entry” (that is the way it’s marked on Google Maps), which is simply past the parking space for Praia de Dona Ana seaside. The boardwalk will lead you all the best way out to Ponte da Piedade
One detour you must take off the boardwalk is the steps all the way down to Praia do Camilo, which is arguably the prettiest seaside alongside this coast. There are loads of steps to get all the way down to the small seaside, but it surely’s undoubtedly value seeing.
The stroll from the beginning of the boardwalk to Praia do Camilo is barely about 10-Quarter-hour, after which it is one other Quarter-hour alongside the boardwalk to Ponta da Piedade.
Whenever you get to Ponta da Piedade, there are a number of completely different spots to view the grottos and sea arches from above, and you may also climb down into the grottos through a stone staircase. Undoubtedly enable a while to discover!
There’s one other boardwalk that follows the coast to the west from the Ponta da Piedade lighthouse, too. You may stroll out to the Miradouro da Praia do Canavial in one other 20 minutes or so, stopping for extra nice views alongside the best way.
9. Eat Portuguese meals
Whereas Lagos is filled with eating places catering to vacationers with nearly each kind of delicacies you possibly can think about, there are additionally nice native eating places the place you possibly can strive genuine Portuguese meals.
Cantinho Algarvio is a pleasant spot for Portuguese meals, together with Don Sebastião. Each eating places supply in style Portuguese dishes with a coastal aptitude.
In relation to sweets, pastel de nata (custard tart) is the most well-liked dessert in Portugal. You’ll find this at most bakeries all through Lagos.
10. Take a day journey
Though there’s a lot to do in Lagos, you should not miss exploring the Algarve area additional on a day journey when you have the time. Prepare tickets are low cost, and plenty of different cities within the Algarve could be reached in lower than an hour.
You can go to Portimão (20 minutes by practice), and possibly ebook a tour from there to the well-known Benagil Sea Cave. You are able to do a 2-hour boat tour, or a kayak tour to this placing cave – although be aware that the kayak tour is the one one that may can help you go to the seaside contained in the cave.
Or in case you’ve had sufficient of seashores, you might take a practice to Silves (40 minutes by practice), which is an inland city on the Arade River that was the traditional capital of the Algarve through the centuries of Muslim rule. Discover cobbled streets and go to the purple sandstone Castelo de Silves.
Should you resolve to lease a automotive in your Algarve journey, another choice is to drive out to Sagres on the excessive western tip of the Algarve. This rugged tip of land is particularly well-known for browsing. (There are additionally guided journeys out there to Sagres, like this half-day trip or this full-day trip.)
And listed here are another day journey choices/actions you possibly can strive from Lagos:
Learn how to get to Lagos
Driving to Lagos might be the most-recommended choice, because it means you possibly can fly into any metropolis in Portugal. The drive from Lisbon to Lagos is about 3 hours, whereas it is only a 1-hour drive from Faro.
I didn’t lease a automotive for my journey to Lagos, nevertheless (I really have never rented a car in Portugal!), so I opted to take the practice to Lagos.
You may fly into Faro and take the practice to Lagos from there (the native practice from Faro to Lagos takes about 2 hours, with a practice change in Tunes), or you possibly can journey by practice to Lagos from Lisbon (complete journey time of about 4 hours, with one practice change in Tunes).
The practice takes a bit longer than driving, however practice journey is my most popular approach of touring round Europe. It is a lot much less irritating than airplane journey, and it is a lot kinder on the atmosphere, too.
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You may use Omio to search for train tickets to Lagos (I paid lower than $40 for a roundtrip practice ticket between Lisbon and Lagos).
When you arrive in Lagos, the practice station is a brief stroll or Uber trip from the outdated a part of city (as a result of sure, there are taxis and Ubers there).
The place to remain in Lagos, Portugal
Lagos is a small city, but it surely’s additionally a well-liked vacationer vacation spot, that means there are many lodging choices.
After I visited in March (within the low season, bear in mind), I had no bother discovering very inexpensive choices a pair weeks earlier than my journey. But when you are going to be visiting throughout excessive season, you will undoubtedly wish to ebook effectively prematurely.
The place I stayed in Lagos:
I stayed on the Baluarte da Vila Apartments, which is an house resort inside strolling distance to all the primary sights in Lagos. The residences are massive (mine was 3 flooring and included a rooftop terrace!), and the constructing has a pleasant pool and a pair lounge areas.
This was a pleasant choice for me since I used to be visiting throughout off-season, and it was simpler for me to have some meals (primarily breakfast) in my house moderately than looking for an open restaurant. The worth was additionally nice!
The one draw back is that the Baluarte da Vila Flats are on the high of a hill, so that you do must stroll again as much as it everytime you exit.
Read reviews on TripAdvisor | Book a room here
Different good resort choices in Lagos embrace:
From its historic Outdated City to its proximity to among the most gorgeous coastlines in Portugal, Lagos is unquestionably value placing in your journey bucket listing!
Have you ever ever been to Lagos? If not, would you wish to go?
