Sagres
Europe’s southwesternmost point is a barren headland 6km northwest of Sagres' town centre that was the last piece of home that Portuguese sailors once saw…
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Costa Vicentina
Spectacular beaches along the Algarve’s western coast are backed by beautiful wild vegetation and are wonderfully undeveloped thanks to building restrictions imposed to protect the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina. The reserve contains at least 48 plant species found only in Portugal, and around a dozen or so found only within the park. The region is also home to otters, foxes and wildcats, and some 200 bird species, including ospreys, enjoy the coastal wetlands, salt marshes and cliffs. Although the seas can be dangerous, the area has a growing reputation for some of Europe’s finest surf.
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Must-see attractions
Sagres
Blank, hulking and forbidding, Sagres’ fortress offers breathtaking views over the sheer cliffs, and all along the coast to Cabo de São Vicente. Legend…
Aljezur
This small but likeable museum has three rooms. Downstairs is an archaeological collection displaying everything from Stone Age axes to a 16th-century…
Museu do Mar e da Terra da Carrapateira
Carrapateira
The Carrapateira Land & Sea Museum is a must for visitors – surfers or otherwise. Up a steep hill 200m east of the town square, its contemporary design…
Carrapateira
One of the more remote west-coast beaches, this wide, magnificent stretch of sand has an ethereal beauty, backed by stratified cliffs hazy in the ocean…
Odeceixe
Flanked by imposing cliffs, this beach has a superb setting at a river mouth, allowing you to rinse off the salt in fresh water. It's also a good family…
Aljezur
On the northern side of the river mouth, backed by wild dunes, this sweeping beach is 9km northwest of Aljezur. You can also access the beach from the…
Sagres
One of the prettier beaches in the Sagres area, 2.5km northeast of the centre, Martinhal is backed by a resort development, so it's a little complex to…
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