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Lagos Holiday & Sightseeing Guide

January 10, 2008 |

A trip to Lagos
The ancient maritime town of Lagos is situated in the southern part of Algarve, in Portugal. This important tourist destination boasts more than 2,000 years of history and features a lovely port and a stunning restored sea fort. Lagos presents visitors a number of architectural signs, particularly churches and statues, and a museum. A series of superb beaches just outside the town attract mostly European tourists who can access Lagos from Faro International Airport.

Flights to Lagos
Faro International Airport (FAO) is located about 4.4 miles to the west of Faro and about 50 miles east of Lagos. If you are looking for a cheap flight to Lagos try Thomas Cook. Commonly used by tourists on vacation in the Algarve, this airport serves the entire coastal region of Portugal’s southern-most province and is one of the foremost low cost hub airports in Europe. Faro Airport has a modern terminal building that receives thousands of passengers every year and handles flights to and from numerous European destinations.

Many bus routes offer daily services from the airport to the EVA Bus Terminal in Faro’s city centre. From here, it lasts about 1 hour 45 minutes to get to Lagos. Just 200 yards away is the CP Railway Station from where the journey to Lagos takes between 1 hour 30 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes.

Lagos


Sightseeing in Lagos
The first sight offered visitors to Lagos is the recently constructed charming harbour with the 17th century fort of Ponta da Bandeira that guards the entrance and provides a splendid vista on the town, the harbour and the beach. The church of St Anthony of Lisbon, dating from 1715, was one of the few buildings that survived the great earthquake of 1755. Attached is a tiny museum showcasing somewhat peculiar regional items.

Lagos is also the location where the first slaves were transported to Europe, and the site of an old slave market opened in 1444 is considered to be the continent’s first black slave market. Another must-see is the nearby village of Sagres and its spectacular towering sheer cliffs which are most common to the Algarve. To the west of Lagos, the former fishing village of Praia da Luz has catered to the calmer side of the tourist trade.

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Fun by night – eating, drinking and partying
Eating out is one of the big events in Lagos. Visitors can choose between the traditional taverns and adegas serving proper Algarvian cooking and the more sophisticated restaurants for international cuisine. The main offerings are simple grilled fish dishes but the soups, pork dishes and particularly the famous chicken piri-piri are at least as mouth-watering.

The centre of the city comes alive in the evenings when buskers and street performers pull the crowds and several unique bars and vigorous dance clubs start to fill up, specifically around the delightful Rua 25 de Abril.

Fun by day – shopping and activities
Lagos is home to a couple of mega supermarkets offering local wares as well as products from across the EU. A more personal alternative is the multitude of small local vendors like butchers, bakeries, the fish market and numerous outdoor markets that present the quality and freshness of their goods.

An established scuba diving centre organises regular excursions to underwater shipwrecks and caves, while deep sea fishing trips and other boat tours depart from Lagos’ marina.


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