Tour Barlavento Algarvio
In this route by the Barlavento you will discover an Algarve of contrasts: the countryside versus the cities and urban landscape.
We suggest that you start by visiting Portimão and scroll through the narrow streets of the old neighborhood of fishermen that characterizes the history of this city until you discover the Church of Our Lady of Conception, the Jesuit College and the Chapel of Saint Joseph. In the Historic Center the architecture of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century is dominant, with houses that reveal wrought iron balconies and walls covered in tiles. Portimão is, therefore, a city that evokes past times but at the same time that becomes a modern tourist town. Finally, visit the Santa Catarina Fortress, built in the 17th and 18th centuries to protect the port of Portimão.
After leaving Portimão, head to Lagos, city of great historic prestige and deeply linked to the sea, where, in the 15th century, men of Infante D. Henrique departed in caravels, opening the way to great discoveries. Among the numerous sites that you can visit in Lagos, do not miss the Santo António Church and the exquisiteness of the gilded work present and its beautiful tiles. Don’t miss the Castle of Governors and the churches of São Sebastião and of Santa Maria da Misericórdia.
This tour would never be complete without a passage by the village of Sagres, the most southwestern point of the Algarve, near the São Vicente Cape. This was the place chosen by Infante D. Henrique for the edification of the Sailing School, where the countless expeditions of discoveries were idealized, making this one of the most mythical places and with greater historic importance of the Algarve.
Continue to the center of Algarve until you reach Monchique and discover a mountain town characteristic and undeniably from Algarve. Spend a moment at Caldas de Monchique, with thermal waters of healing properties, recognized since the time of the Romans. From here, make your way up to Foia, the highest point of the Algarve, in the Monchique Mountains. It has 902 meters of altitude and offers an extraordinary view over the whole region.
Continuing by the Algarve inland, move down to Silves, where the present and the past mingle in harmony. Among the attractions of Silves, the castle truly stands out and recalls the grandeur of the Muslim art, reflecting all the splendor that the Islamic civilization has achieved in the Algarve.
