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Lagos
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Once a quiet little town,
LAGOS
is now a thriving fishing port and market centre as well as being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Algarve. Within walking distances of some superb beaches, the town is also an interesting historical centre. It was a favoured residence of Henry the Navigator, who used Lagos as a base for the new African trade - the richest of which was in slaves. Europe's first
slave market
was built here in 1441 in the arches of the
Customs House
which still stands in the Praca da Republica near the waterfront. In this same square is the
Church of Santa Maria
, from whose whimsical Manueline windows the youthful Dom Sebastiao is said to have roused his troops before the ill-fated Moroccan expedition of 1578 - he was to perish at Alcacer-Quibir with almost the entire Portuguese nobility. He's commemorated in the centre of Lagos by a fantastically dreadful statue. On the waterfront and to the rear of the town are the remains of Lagos' once impregnable fortifications, devastated by the Great Earthquake. One rare and beautiful church which did survive for restoration was the
Igreja de Santo Antonio
; decorated around 1715, its gilt and carved interior is wildly obsessive, every inch filled with a private fantasy of cherubic youths struggling with animals and fish.
To the
east
of Lagos is a splendid sweep of sand -
Meia Prais
- where there's space even at the height of summer, while the promontory
south
is fringed by extravagantly eroded cliff faces that shelter a series of tiny
cove beaches
. All are within easy walking distance of the old town, but the headland is now cut up by campsites, hotels, roads and a multitude of tracks, and the beaches all tend to be overcrowded. Of these
Praia de Dona Ana
is considered the most picturesque, though its crowds make the smaller coves of
Praia do Pinhao
, down a track just opposite the fire station, and
Praia Camilo
, a little further along, just as appealing. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Portugal,
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