• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Countries Portugal Algarve

Discover The History And Beauty Of Portugal’s Algarve

Paul Lewis by Paul Lewis
Apr 01, 2015
in Algarve, Portugal, Retirement/Living, Travel
0
Retire To Algarve
214
SHARES
3.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

This Former End Of The World Could Be The Start Of Your Dream Retirement Overseas

I remember with nostalgia the first cleaning woman we employed in the Algarve, more than 30 years ago. She arrived for work carrying a black umbrella against the sun, riding a donkey side-saddle.

Modes of transport have changed quite a bit since then, of course, with new roads and bridges sprouting up everywhere, so that today you are seldom much more than an hour’s drive from anywhere in this region of Portugal.

Heading westward, a four-lane highway now whisks visitors past the busy port town of Portimâo, with its excellent dockside restaurants serving freshly grilled sardines, to the old African slave market at Lagos, which gave its name to Nigeria’s principal city. Then on to the cape that runs out into the Atlantic at Sagres, Europe’s most southwesterly point. For the ancient Greeks it was the end of the known world, for the Romans the Sacred Promontory where the gods came down to earth.

Here Portugal’s Prince Henry the Navigator founded his famous sailing school, sending explorers westward to the New World and south round Africa to bring back spices from the east. Today tourists roam these perilous cliffs, listening to the ocean roaring through subterranean caves beneath their feet.

Travelling eastward, the same road skirts the Foia mountain, which, by shielding the Algarve from Northern Europe’s cold and rain, explains its warm and sunny climate.

Turn off and drive up to the summit, with its NATO radar station and spectacular views along the coast as far as Spain or north to Lisbon on a clear day. En route, you pass the delicious fresh-water springs at Caldas de Monchique and then the village of Monchique itself where Portuguese missionaries once came for rest and recuperation after years in the humid climes of India, China, and Africa.

Descending, the road runs through Silves where a mighty red stone Moorish castle dominates its surroundings before reaching the potteries at Porches, which offers a different taste of authentic Algarvian culture. Albufeira is the town the Beatles ruined when they invaded in the 1970s, bringing the waterslides and other tourist gimmickry that still damage this area today.

Farther east are the ruins of the often overlooked Roman villa at Milreu with its spectacular heated bathrooms, decorated with mosaics of wide-eyed fish frolicking in the foam. Then, at Estoi, a few minutes’ drive away, stands a remarkable Italianate Renaissance Bishop’s Palace, quite unlike any other Algarve building, now transformed into a Pousada, part of a recently privatized historic hotel chain.

Faro, the last big city before the Spanish border and the Algarve’s administrative center, has a bustling commercial exterior. But at its heart is a small, quiet medieval town, entered through imposing gates and with twisting cobbled streets surrounding a gothic cathedral. Raided by English privateers in the 16th century, the cathedral’s important library was hauled back to become a cornerstone of Oxford University’s Bodleian Library.

At Faro, the Algarve’s coastline changes. The rugged shoreline that began at Sagres with its combination of steep cliffs and secret, sandy coves gives way here to a flatter landscape marked by broad beaches protected by small offshore islets. The steady Atlantic winds, known as the barlavento, that blow over the Algarve’s west, often so strong they keep the land barren and treeless, give way here to gentler, warmer winds called the sotavento.

Along the Algarvian back roads, you may still stumble upon a gaily painted gypsy cart drawn by a donkey. But they are fewer and fewer. The gypsies used to be dealers in hand-made embroidered tablecloths and the local firewater, called Medronho. But these days they mostly sell pirated music and film CDs.

Paul Lewis

 

Continue Reading: Living And Investing Options In Belize, Ecuador, Panama, And The Dominican Republic

Tags: 'retire to europe''Travel In Europe'expats in europeexpats in portugalliving in Europeliving in portugalPaul LewisRetire To AlgarveRetire To Portugaltravel in algarvetravel in portugal
Share86Tweet54
Previous Post

Living And Investing Options In Belize, Ecuador, Panama, And The Dominican Republic

Next Post

“The Sound Of Music” Turns 50

Paul Lewis

Paul Lewis

Paul Lewis is a graduate of Oxford University who has been a professional journalist all his life. He regularly contributes to Live and Invest Overseas, covering Portugal and other locations across the global.

Related Posts

Male dentist treating female patient
Health Care

The World’s 7 Best Countries For Dental Tourism

by Live And Invest Overseas
May 9, 2022
0

What Is Dental Tourism? Dental tourism means a patient travels overseas for dental treatment. This is often combined with a...

Read more
3 Popular Seaside Towns In Mexico Within Driving Distance Of The States

3 Popular Seaside Towns In Mexico Within Driving Distance Of The States

May 4, 2022
And old yellow school bus on a dirt road in Belize

Tales From The LIOS Archives—Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day

April 28, 2022
The Best Places To Live Abroad And Launch A New Life

The Best Places To Live Abroad And Launch A New Life

April 27, 2022
The Eiffel tower in Paris from a tiny street

While Away Your Days In Paris

April 26, 2022
A view of Cinta Costera in Panama City, Panama

One Of The Greatest Melting Pots

April 25, 2022
A view of Paris with the Seine River and the Eiffel tower in the background on a sunny afternoon

My Paris Bucket List: 7 Things To Do In The City Of Light

April 24, 2022
Next Post
“The Sound Of Music” Turns 50

“The Sound Of Music” Turns 50

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

Get Your Free Portugal Report Today!

​​Simply enter your email address below and we'll send you our ​FREE REPORT — Portugal: The World’s #1 Retirement Haven.

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2022

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

The World’s Best Places To Be In 2022?

Discover Them Here…

WANT TO RETIRE OVERSEAS?

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll immediately send you a free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE in style overseas. Each day you’ll learn about the best opportunities for international living, retiring overseas, offshore diversification and asset protection, and investing in real estate around the world.

Get Your Free ​Portugal Report Today!
 

​​Learn more about ​​PORTUGAL ​​​and other countries in our free, daily Overseas Opportunity Letter​​​​​​​​​. Simply enter your email address below and we’ll send you our FREE REPORT — Portugal — The World’s Number #1 Retirement Haven