Lagos
Henry the Navigator's port town, framed by the spectacular sea cliffs of Ponta da Piedade and a lively old quarter inside medieval walls.
Lagos sits at the western end of the Algarve, where the coast begins to curve northward towards the Atlantic. It is a town of around 32,000 people with a history that far outweighs its modest size. In the 15th century, Lagos served as the launching point for Portugal's Age of Discoveries. Prince Henry the Navigator used its natural harbour to assemble and provision the caravels that would explore the West African coast, and it was from here that Gil Eanes sailed in 1434 to become the first European to round Cape Bojador, breaking the navigational barrier that had confined European seafaring to known waters.
The town's involvement in the early Atlantic slave trade is also part of its story. The Mercado de Escravos on Praca da Republica, now a museum, marks the site of Europe's first slave market, opened in 1444. The building documents this chapter with sober exhibits and archaeological finds from the period. Nearby, the 17th-century Forte da Ponta da Bandeira guards the harbour entrance and contains a small chapel decorated with azulejo tiles depicting scenes of the sea.
Lagos was largely rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, which destroyed much of the town along with its earlier fortifications. The Igreja de Santo Antonio, rebuilt shortly after, is one of the finest Baroque churches in the Algarve, its interior covered floor to ceiling in gilded woodwork depicting saints, angels and hunting scenes. The Museu Municipal Dr. Jose Formosinho adjoins the church and holds an eclectic collection spanning Roman mosaics, sacred art and a notable assembly of oddities gathered by its founding collector. The town walls, partly medieval and partly reconstructed, still enclose a compact old quarter of narrow cobbled streets now lined with restaurants, bars and independent shops.
The coastline around Lagos is among the most dramatic in Portugal. The Ponta da Piedade headland, south of town, is a labyrinth of sandstone cliffs, sea caves, grottos and rock arches sculpted by the Atlantic over millennia. Boat trips from the marina thread through these formations at water level, ducking beneath arches and into caves where the water glows an improbable shade of turquoise. West of town, Meia Praia stretches for four kilometres along the bay, a broad sandy beach backed by dunes. In the other direction, Praia de Dona Ana and Praia do Camilo are smaller cove beaches framed by ochre cliffs, reached by steep staircases cut into the rock.
Lagos has a lively year-round atmosphere that distinguishes it from the more seasonal resort towns. The marina, completed in 1994, hosts sailing regattas and is a common stopping point for yachts crossing between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. A farmers' market operates on the first Saturday of each month. The town is connected by rail to Faro in roughly 90 minutes and by road via the A22 motorway. Lagos functions as both a working Portuguese town and a popular base for visitors, a balance it maintains more successfully than many of its neighbours.
Highlights
- Ponta da Piedade sea cliffs, grottoes and boat trips through the rock formations
- Age of Discoveries heritage including the Mercado de Escravos slave market museum
- Igreja de Santo Antonio with its outstanding Baroque gilded interior