The ancient seafaring town of Lagos dating back before the 12th century when the Moors where finally ejected by the Portuguese king Dom Afonso 111, in the 15th century ships were built for voyages of discovery into the unknown world, retains all the beauty of those days of the Romans and Moors, and is today a vibrant youthful town with many interesting features with a relaxed charm all of it’s own.
A centuries old fortress stands guard over the entrance to the river watching the fishermen unload their boats and is also the entrance to the magnificent marina besides the long flat promenade of Avenida dos Descobrimentos.
The old city walls surround the old town some of them dating back to the 15/16th century it is possible to walk around the full length of these old walls. At the northwest corner of the walls stands the slave market this was first market to trade in African slaves in Europe
Adjacent to the slave market is the Church of Santo Antonio in Rua General Alberto Carlos da Silveira, go into the museum first and view the Roman artefacts and the freakish zoological specimens, you will them emerge into the stunning church, commonly known as the Golden Church your will be amazed.
Beaches
There are ten different beaches to choose from in the town of Lagos, with a wide variety of types from very long open beaches stretching for kilometres to small coves protected from the winds, some of the main beaches are:
Meia Praia
A 5 kms beautiful beach of golden sand around the edge of the bay all the way from the marina to the river estuary at Alvor, this is a very open beach with no natural shade.
Dona Ana
One of the most beautiful beaches in the Algarve with wonderful rock formation created by the sea over the years and still changed each year by the winter tides. The beach is accessed by steep steps from the road, and is flanked north and south by cliffs that give protection from the westerly winds. There are other smaller beaches off the road from Dona Ana on the way to Ponta Piedade.
Porto de Mos
Situated between Lagos and Praia de Luz again a large stretch of golden sand flanked by cliffs which give shade from the sun in the hot days of summer.
Getting There
Many of the low cost airline serve the International Airport of Faro or Lisbon from the regional airports of the UK and many European cities, therefore a wide choice of time and place to travel to ensure a cost effective flight, these days most of the owner of apartments and villas allow flexible change over dates to their clients.
Lagos is situated approx 80 kilometres from the International Airport of Faro, and is well served by the A22 motorway link most of the way (approx 70 of the 80 Kilometres) and takes approx 1 hour by car. There are numours ways to travel to Lagos either hire car, taxi from the airport (approx 80 Euros) or there are many low cost transport companies served with mini buses (book able in advance) with a return fare of approx 30 Euros. The town is also served with a direct train from Faro to Lagos on a regular basis year round.