Pestana Dom João II (Algarve)

The southernmost region of Portugal, the Algarve, is without a doubt the best-known to visitors to the country from overseas thanks to its popularity as one of Europe’s main holiday destinations. Certainly the Algarve’s attractions are many, and not least its enviable climate with sunshine virtually year-round.

The region is probably most famous for its beaches and its numerous golf courses. The Algarve has around 100 miles of coastline, stretching from the border with Spain in the east right across the south of the country to Cape St Vincent in the west (this is the most south-westerly point in Europe), and then north for about 30 miles up to the border with the Alentejo region. And it’s a wonderful coastline with a mixture of extensive beaches of fine golden sand, small sandy coves and, in places, dramatic cliff-faces and rock formations. Inevitably, since the sixties and seventies there has been a lot of development centred on the main resorts such as Albufeira, Praia da Rocha and Vilamoura with the construction of hotels, apartments, marinas and so on, but in the extreme east and west of the Algarve coast, smaller towns – Tavira and Sagres as examples - while still offering the same glorious beaches remain almost untouched by the frenetic activity of the tourist centres.

The Algarve is not, however, just about beaches and golf. Inland the region is largely rural – hilly, and in places mountainous – and many of the picturesque little towns and villages in the interior appear to have changed little over the centuries and still retain their quiet, unhurried and relaxed way of life. Like the rest of the Iberian Peninsulathe Algarve became part of the Roman empire in the second century BC (there are important Roman remains on the coast in Lagos), but the longest occupation of the region was by the Moors who named the region Al-Gharb and who were finally expelled in 1250, completing the reconquest of Portugal. As in Andalusia in Spain,he archtectural legacy of the Moorish occupation is much in evidence throughout the region.

The principal, and by far the largest, city of the Algarve is Faro. Practically every visitor arrives here thanks to flights into its airport from all over Europe, but very few actually stay in Faro. But it’s an elegant coastal city with a medieval wall and many monuments, museums and churches and it definitely deserves a visit. Away from the coast two particularly attractive towns are Monchique, up in the hills about 20 miles from the resort of Portimao, and Loulé, an active market town a short drive inland from Vilamoura.

Apart from high-quality ‘international cuisine’ stemming from the tourism so important to this region, there are plenty of delicious local dishes available throughout the Algarve. Pork and chicken are the main ingredients for meat dishes, notably ‘Cataplana’ (pork with lots of clams and garlic) and ‘chicken piri-piri’ ranging from mild to very hot and spicy. But fish and seafood reign supreme here; grilled sardines are excellent on the Algarve coast and available practically everywhere while swordfish, bass, bream, squid, clams, lobsters and prawns are all of the highest quality and fresh as can be. Wines from all over Portugal are freely available, but the local wines from Lagos, Tavira and Lagoa are all good and the region produces several local varieties of liqueur.