For being a comparatively small nation, Portugal sure has a wide range of locations which might be 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.
When you’re seeking to plan a beachy getaway in Portugal’s southern Algarve area, there are numerous cities you would select base your self in – like Faro or Albufeira or Portimão. However my however my private decide is Lagos.
The little city of Lagos (pronounced “LAH-goash“) is normally considered the prettiest within the Algarve, being recognized for its historic city middle, lovely seashores, and entry to a few of the most dramatic elements of the southern coast.
When you’re solely going to go to the Algarve for a short while, then Lagos is the place you need 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 delicate winters. The Algarve could be very sunny (Lagos will get 300 days of solar per yr on common), which is why it such a preferred seaside vacation spot.
Excessive season in Lagos and the Algarve runs from late June by August. That is when it is the most well liked and busiest – and I personally wouldn’t go to at the moment of yr!
I really visited the Algarve in March, when it was low season. This was excellent 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 would say the BEST instances to go to Lagos are most likely late April-Might 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 after I went in March. (However in the event you love low season journey, then November-March is it in Lagos!)
High 10 issues to do in Lagos
Lagos is small – the entire municipality solely has a inhabitants of about 30,000, and you may 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 here are all of the issues I like to recommend doing in Lagos, based mostly alone journey there:
1. Discover Lagos Previous City
The historic middle of Lagos is small and charming, with white-washed buildings and cobbled streets. And whereas there are hills, they don’t seem to be almost as brutal as those you may discover in Lisbon or Porto.
You possibly can simply see all of the highlights of Lagos in only a couple hours. The primary issues I like to recommend doing embody:
- Visiting the Markthalle seafood market close to the marina.
- Searching for fascinating road artwork and fairly squares.
- Admiring a few of the previous structure just like the Porta de São Gonçalo, Castelo de Lagos, and Forte da Ponta da Bandeira (although observe the “fort” and “fort” right here aren’t probably the most thrilling issues to truly go to).
- Watching a sundown from Miradouro Praia da Batata.
Lagos Previous 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 may seize dinner at one in all 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 Previous City, do not miss entering into Igreja de Santo António, a fantastic 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 price of solely €3, it is price a go to in the event you’re concerned with 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 price 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 seems to be like a tidy little museum with some artifacts and multimedia reveals. Nevertheless, to me the museum felt very random and disjointed, and the message acquired misplaced a bit within the presentation.
However with an entry price of only a couple euros, it is price testing 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 by the rock tunnels connecting the town seashores at low tide.
The most well-liked seaside in Lagos is known as Praia da Batata (which, sure, interprets to “Potato Seashore”), and it is principally only a few steps from the town middle. At low tide (which varies from everyday; take a look at a tide table here), you may stroll from this seaside to different smaller seashores which might be related by rock tunnels.
At low tide (and I don’t counsel attempting this at excessive tide), you may stroll to Praia dos Estudantes, the place you may 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 doable.
5. Admire the Lagos Marina
Only a brief stroll from the middle of Lagos is the marina. That is the place many boat excursions depart from, but it surely’s price strolling round even in the event you’re not going out on the water.
It is a picturesque place for a stroll to admire the boats, and is lined with plenty 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 Seashore, which is a large sandy seaside simply exterior of central Lagos.
6. Have a seaside day at Praia de Dona Ana
Though Lagos is stuffed with attractive seashores, Praia de Dona Ana is without doubt one of the greatest for a correct seaside day.
It is a big seaside, so there’s loads of room to place a towel down and chill out. The seaside is a few 20-minute stroll from Lagos Previous City. There may be additionally a free parking zone on the entrance to the seaside, however in the event you’re driving, you may need to get there early to discover a area.
Another nice seashores in Lagos embody:
- Praia do Camilo
- Praia do Pinhão
- Praia de São Roque
7. Boat cruise out to Ponte da Piedade
Among the finest 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 reasonably priced. You possibly can take a 75-minute sightseeing boat tour for lower than $25, which is able to embody crusing by some sea arches and into some very cool grottos. (I booked this boat tour and liked it.)
This can be a must-do in Lagos, and a ship tour is the simplest option to go to Ponte da Piedade. I like to recommend going within the morning for a few of the greatest gentle.
You can too e book a guided kayaking tour to the identical space in the event you go to through the summer season months. These excursions are a bit longer, and normally embody kayaking and time to swim.
8. Hike out to Ponte da Piedade
One other option to go to Ponte da Piedade is by mountaineering. The hike is simply a few miles from central Lagos, and provides you utterly completely different views than you see from the water.
There was once a winding strolling path that stretched from the top 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, nonetheless – and elements of it are literally utterly washed out now.
However fortunately they have been engaged on making this stroll straightforward to do as soon as once more with the assistance of a picket boardwalk system.
You possibly can 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 a whole lot of steps to get all the way down to the small seaside, but it surely’s positively price seeing.
The stroll from the beginning of the boardwalk to Praia do Camilo is simply 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 by way of 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 possibly can 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 stuffed with eating places catering to vacationers with nearly each sort of delicacies you may think about, there are additionally nice native eating places the place you may 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 terms of sweets, pastel de nata (custard tart) is the preferred dessert in Portugal. You’ll find this at most bakeries all through Lagos.
10. Take a day journey
Though there’s loads to do in Lagos, you should not miss exploring the Algarve area additional on a day journey when you have the time. Practice tickets are low-cost, and lots of different cities within the Algarve may be reached in lower than an hour.
You may go to Portimão (20 minutes by practice), and possibly e book 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 observe that the kayak tour is the one one that may will let you go to the seaside contained in the cave.
Or in the event you’ve had sufficient of seashores, you would 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 pink sandstone Castelo de Silves.
When you resolve to hire 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 may strive from Lagos:
How you can get to Lagos
Driving to Lagos might be the most-recommended choice, because it means you may 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 hire a automotive for my journey to Lagos, nonetheless (I really have never rented a car in Portugal!), so I opted to take the practice to Lagos.
You possibly can 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 may 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 well-liked means of touring round Europe. It is a lot much less annoying than airplane journey, and it is a lot kinder on the atmosphere, too.
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You possibly can 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 journey from the previous 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 preferred vacationer vacation spot, that means there are many lodging choices.
Once I visited in March (within the low season, keep in mind), I had no bother discovering very reasonably priced choices a pair weeks earlier than my journey. But when you are going to be visiting throughout excessive season, you may positively need to e book effectively upfront.
The place I stayed in Lagos:
I stayed on the Baluarte da Vila Apartments, which is an condominium lodge inside strolling distance to all the primary sights in Lagos. The residences are giant (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 condominium moderately than looking for an open restaurant. The worth was additionally nice!
The one draw back is that the Baluarte da Vila Residences are on the high of a hill, so that you do need to stroll again as much as it everytime you exit.
Read reviews on TripAdvisor | Book a room here
Different good lodge choices in Lagos embody:
From its historic Previous City to its proximity to a few of the most gorgeous coastlines in Portugal, Lagos is certainly price placing in your journey bucket listing!
Have you ever ever been to Lagos? If not, would you wish to go?
