Caldas de Monchique
This little Spa town, approximately 12km on the route up from our home, sits in a ravine surrounded by thick woodland within the Serra de Monchique, a range of hills that form a barrier between the Algarve and the neighbouring region of Alentejo to the north. Caldas has been a celebrated spa since Roman times and still retains an old world charm. A casino dating back from the nineteenth century still stands in the main square, serving now as an excellent handicraft centre, surrounded by lovely fading nineteenth-century buildings.

Today the tradition of the town continues with the recently renovated Monchique Spa, Termas de Monchique with gardens, sauna, pool, Jacuzzi, Turkish bath facilities, situated just below the square on the edge of a ravine. Caldas remains an active and pretty town where the visitor can sample the spa water for a modest fee. The emerging bicarbonate water at 32ºC is rich in sodium and fluorides, used in the treatment of respitory, digestive complaints and skeletal-muscular ailments. Climbing up from the spa, one can follow the course of the stream to sit under giant eucalyptus trees and contemplate the peace and scenery.

Luckily Caldas remains an active spa rather than simply being quaint and is well worth a visit.

Monchique
Further on up the road you will come to Monchique, where the houses display many of the traditional features of the architecture in the Algarve with whitewashed walls, carved stonework and stripes of colour around doors & windows. There are narrow streets that wind up the steep hillside, revealing fresh and green views at every turn with beautiful flowers and fruit trees. An opportunity to discover an aspect of the Algarve unlike any other.

Monchique is best visited on foot with a walk trough the steep streets of the town centre is rewarded with the views of magnificent hills, glimpsed between houses, and moments of calm in unsuspected corners. The town itself with a few exceptions has had little changes by the 20th Century invasion of tourism. It lies between two high hills, Foia and Picota, the former reaching to 902 metres above sea level. The 10,000 inhabitants of this town have retained its rustic atmosphere with steep cobbled streets and small dark doorways housing various artisan trades. There is a much neglected 17th~Century Franciscan monastery which overlooks the town from which a visitor enjoys a panoramic view over the beautiful countryside. The 16th Century Parish Church has excellent examples of Manueline craftsmanship around its doorway. The surrounding area flourishes on the production of cattle, pigs, cork and wood.

Another important local product is the popular "medronho", which is the name of a strong schnapps style of drink made from distilling the fruit from locally grown Arbutus bushes. We went to the Sausage fair in Monchique, which was fantastic, full of colourful Portuguese locals, music, craft stalls and yes the `medronho` which we dutifully tried and found very good too !

Silves
A visit to the Algarve really isn't complete without spending some time exploring Silves only a mere 12km east from our home on the EN124. Silves a very picturesque and historic town on the banks of the Arade River with the Castle and Cathedral on the hill above... it is truly an enchanting town with orange and lemon trees lining the streets. Within the town there are cobbled streets, cafés and shops, some beautiful buildings from the times when Silves was a rich merchant town and remnants of the old town walls, including the tower which now houses the municipal library.

Silves is a town full of history and a visit to the castle which is the largest and best preserved in the Algarve is in our opinion an absolute must. There is parking near the castle, but it can get congested so it may be easier to park at the bottom of the road. The Cathedral of Silves `Sé de Silves` one of the Algarve’s few remaining gothic monuments with ancient tombs, sits alongside the castle and a network of narrow, cobbled streets take you down into the town. Another impressive sight is the Cross of Portugal 'Cruz de Portugal' a 3m tall limestone cross dating from the 15th or 16th century. There is also a regional history museum the Municipal Archaeological Museum` Musueu Municipal de Arquelógia` Silves has a very attractive central square, Praça do Municipio, with palms and flowers, beautiful gardens, and a newly paved river front which leads you to the swimming pool.

The municipal market building is on the main street opposite the river, and along this same street are numerous cafés with outside seating offering lovely river views.  Silves is the perfect place to visit - very relaxed and with history in abundance. Although the castle sits on the hill, it is still right in the heart of Silves, with the Cathedral right next door and cafés and houses around and in between the cobbled lanes. If you are planning to visit us in August then the Medieval Festival from the 9th -15th August 2007 is something to plan for and takes place in the historic centre of the town.

There are some boat trips from Portimão to Silves along the Rio Arade, which gives you a short time of an hour in Silves before returning whilst the tide is still high enough for the boats to make the return journey. However we're sure that once you are there, an hour will just not be long enough to explore this beautiful and historic town.

Lagos
Heading west, Lagos is a fantastic town in the Western Algarve 30 mins drive on the A22. It’s a town that can certainly be enjoyed by all age groups. It is full of historical interest with it's origins dating as far back as 2000 years BC when it was known as Lacobriga. It has always had a seafaring connection and was originally visited by Phoenicians and Carthaginians and then, during the 15th century, was the base for the 'voyages of the Discoveries' instigated by Henry the Navigator when trade with Africa brought a great deal of wealth into the town. Then there is the older part of Lagos which is still circled by the city walls that were constructed during the 16th century when it was the residence of the governors of the Algarve and the fort, Ponta da Bandeira ,by Batata beach is  part of the 17th century fortifications that were added to protect the town. Behind it is the Porta de São Gonçalo (St.Gonçalo’s gate) with a watchtower on either side and just to the right of this is the Governors' Castle ( of Arab construction) - this area looks particularly spectacular at night when the floodlights are on.

Access to the old town is easy through entrances in the wall. The main shopping and tourist area is closed to vehicles, so you can browse and take in the sights at your leisure. Once inside, you'll find a market and neat, well-supplied shops specializing in silver filigree, copper, leather, a good selection of wines, great breads and delicious pastries. There is also a wide variety of restaurants for all tastes. The great earthquake destroyed or damaged many of the historic buildings, but left unscathed one that you absolutely should not miss. It's one of Portugal's national treasures, the military chapel of Santo Antonio.

One of the most formidable milestones in the quest for a sea passage to the Orient was Cape Bojador, a headland on the bulge of Africa that struck terror in the hearts of medieval seafarers. It was an awesome promontory because of the myths and legend surrounding it, and because of the very real and treacherous winds and currents that made it difficult for sailing ships of the day to both round it and return. The first European captain to accomplish this feat was Gil Eanes, Lagos' most famous son. He did so in 1495 at the behest of Henry the Navigator after many other sailors had failed. Both Prince Henry and Gil Eanes are justly commemorated with statues. Prince Henry’s statue presides over the Praca da Republica while Gil Eanes’s statue is in front of the town walls a little farther along to the west. Lagos also has a third statue, one of the boy-king, Sebastiao, who precipitated the demise of the Aviz dynasty in the 16th century by sailing from Lagos to a disastrous defeat in Morocco. Just before they set sail, Sebastian, then aged 21, is said to have given a final pep-talk to his troops from a small Manueline-style window, which you can see, fairly high up, in a corner of the town walls just to the left of Henry's statue.

It was from Lagos that Prince Henry the Navigator, sponsored missions of exploration along the West Coast of Africa. This resulted in the opening of the sea route from Europe to India and the subsequent development of the empires of not only Portugal, but also the Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Belgium. So Lagos came to be the major port from which explorers set out to discover lands in Africa and Asia and build the trade routes that made Portugal rich. Many seamen on the voyages of exploration originated from Lagos, which resultantly turned it into a commercial and naval port of consequence. It was from Lagos that the caravels, developed by Portuguese shipwrights, sailed to encounter new worlds in Africa and America and subsequently brought back gold, ivory and, sadly, slaves, all of which greatly contributed to the wealth of both the city and nation. At that time in history, no trade was richer than that of trade in slaves and the first slave market opened in Europe to accommodate this trade still stands here in central Lagos. Situated on the Praca do Infante Dom Henrique in Lagos, the building with four arches, shown in the picture, was the site where the first slaves brought from Africa were sold beginning in 1444 AD. On the walls, one can see a stone bearing the coat of arms of the Marques de Nisa, dating from the 17th Century, and on one wall a window dating from the 15th Century, which originally was a door. Today this building has a much nobler use as it is now used as an art gallery where local artists exhibit their works.

There is also a daily market in the recently renovated fish market nearer to town - all the fresh fish and seafood is downstairs and upstairs are market stalls full of fresh fruit, vegetables, dried fruits and preserves not forgetting the tasty fresh bread. The top floor has a restaurant and a fantastic view across the bay. There is a local market on Saturday mornings in a building near the bus station (opposite the marina footbridge) - it has all the fresh fruits and vegetables, olives, honey, figs, almonds and much more. It's quite a small market, but very popular and cheap.



These are just a few of our recommendations for 'must-see' visits around our area... there of course is so much more of the Algarve further afield for you to discover and we will be adding more special places to this page as we go...