Santa Luzia Harbour

Market

Santa Luzia bills itself as the capital do polvo, the octopus capital of Portugal, and the claim is well founded. This small fishing village, which sits on the Ria Formosa lagoon between Tavira and the sea, has specialised in octopus fishing for generations. The harbour is lined with small boats, each carrying stacks of the clay pots that are used to trap octopus on the seabed, a method unchanged for centuries.

The technique is deceptively simple. Unbaited clay pots are lowered to the seabed, where octopuses adopt them as lairs. The pots are hauled after a day or two, and the octopuses inside are caught without struggle. The method is selective and sustainable, causing minimal disturbance to the seabed, and the octopuses caught this way are considered superior to those taken by trawl or net.

The waterfront restaurants in Santa Luzia serve octopus in every conceivable preparation: grilled, roasted, fried, in rice, in salad, in stew and as carpaccio. Polvo a lagareiro, octopus roasted with olive oil and garlic on a bed of potatoes, is the signature dish, and the best versions are genuinely exceptional. Prices are modest by resort standards, and the quality is consistently high across the half-dozen establishments that face the harbour.

Santa Luzia is also a departure point for boat trips to the Ilha de Tavira, the barrier island that protects this stretch of the lagoon from the open Atlantic. The island's beach, several kilometres of white sand backed by dunes, is reached by a short ferry crossing from the village. The combination of an octopus lunch and an afternoon on the island makes Santa Luzia one of the most rewarding day trips in the eastern Algarve.