TOP 10 LAGOS ATTRACTIONS AND THINGS TO DO

THE MUST-SEE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS AND TOP ACTIVITIES IN LAGOS, ALGARVE, PORTUGAL

Ponta da Piedade

This headland with a series of magnificent rock formations is one of the highlights of the entire Algarve region, and therefore the most visited sight in Lagos. From the clifftop, from the scenic boardwalk or by the sea at the bottom of a long staircase, you have breathtaking views of the natural wonder, sculpted for thousands of years by the wind and the waves. For close-up views, many go on kayak or boat tours, which allow access to hidden caves and grottoes. This is also a stunning sunset spot, when the light gives the ocher rocks an extra yellow or golden tone.

St. Anthony Church and Lagos Museum

A plain church from outside hides a rich interior that’s considered one of Portugal’s finest examples of gilded woodwork. The golden carvings mix with blue-and-white tile panels and a beautifully painted ceiling, while in the former sacristy is a museum dedicated to the art, history and culture of Lagos. Its collection of pieces goes back thousands of years, from the city’s first Celtic and Phoenician settlers to the 20th century (it includes prehistoric standing stones, Roman mosaics and tiles).

Slave Market

When Prince Henry the Navigator sent his men to map the coast of Africa in the hope of finding a maritime route to Asia, he ended up opening the way to European exploration and global trade. At first, the traded goods were spices, silk and gold, but after their colonization of the “new world,” Europeans realized that the slave trade would also be profitable. The Portuguese took Africans to Lagos and sold them to other European empires or sent them to Brazil. The building where these transactions took place is now a small museum, with displays in Portuguese and English explaining the trade routes, how the slaves were taken across the Atlantic in appalling conditions, how there were slave uprisings in as early as the 1500s, and how Lagos grew as a major port.

Lagos Castle

When Lagos became the capital of the Algarve region, a castle was built as the governor’s residence. It was connected to the town walls (whose origins go back to Roman times), and was defended by the Ponta da Bandeira fortress in front. Only a tiny section of the walls and the castle still stand. They’ve been restored over the years, and a gateway between two watchtowers (known as “São Gonçalo Gate”) is one of the entrances to the Old Town. What’s left of the castle became a hospital and isn’t open as a tourist attraction, but you may admire a Manueline (Portuguese Gothic) window from outside. It’s said that it was from this window that King Sebastião spoke to the assembled nobility in 1578, before joining Portuguese, Spanish, German and Dutch troops on a disastrous crusade to Christianize North Africa (he ended up killed in El-Ksar el Kebir in Morocco). The landscaped area around the castle has a statue of Gil Eanes, the local explorer who was the first European to navigate past Cape Bojador, a major breakthrough in discovering a maritime route to the East.

Ponta da Bandeira Fortress

The port of Lagos was protected by two major fortresses in the 16th and 17th centuries, and this was one of them. The other was completely destroyed by the great earthquake of 1755, but Ponta da Bandeira was soon restored. It preserves a small chapel covered in 17th-century tiles, and shows temporary and permanent exhibitions related to the history of Lagos. From the top, visitors can admire a view over the neighboring beaches.

photos credits:

• Mercado dos escravos – https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercado_de_Escravos
• Igreja de Santo António – lagosportugaltourism.com
• ponta da piedade – lagosportugaltourism.com
• Castelo de Lagos – https://www.feriasemportugal.com/castelo-dos-governadores-lagos