> Aljezur

Aljezur is in two parts on either side of a fertile valley with a patchwork of fields of various crops. The original village clung close to the hillside, atop which there has been a fortress at least since Moorish times. The stream around the base of the hill was once infested with mosquitoes which spread malaria, formerly a killer disease in the Algarve, long since eradicated. To encourage villagers to move away from the stream, Bishop Francisco Gomes of Faro ordered the building of a new church on the far side of the valley in the mid-18th-century.

> Vila do Bispo

After the Great Earthquake (1st November 1755) only one house was left standing. Amongst the ruins that were restored stands the parish church of Santa Maria, with its pre-tremor Manuelin doorway (16th Century), and magnificent baroque interior (18th Century).

> Sagres - Cabo S�o Vicente

Sagres' greatest claim to fame is that Henry the Navigator is said to have had a "school of nagivation" here. The lighthouse on the cliffs gives you the feeling you have reached the end of the world...

> Lagos

Lagos is the most historically interesting coastal town in the Algarve. Its fame derives from its association with Portugal's 14th-and 15th-century Age of Discovery. It was here that Henry the Navigator had his vessels built and victualled for the voyages of exploration down the coast of West Africa which utimately led to the sea route past the Cape of Good Hope to India.

> Monchique

Monchique in the Serra de Monchique range of hills is  approached by a particularly lovely drive in January, February and early March when roadside mimosa bushes are in brilliant yellow bloom. On the way up, stop at the village of Caldas de Monchique, which has been a spa for at least 2,000 years. It sits in a well-wooded little ravine which resounds in early summer to the song of nightingales.

> Silves

Silves is at the heart of one of Portugal's best citrus growing areas. It also has factories processing cork. Although now an agricultural centre, its fascination for visitors is historical. The town's two most visible buildings, its red sandstone castle and the red and white cathedral next to it, are reminders that in medieval times this was the most strongly fortified and most strenuously fought over place in the Algarve.

> Trips

< zoo in Lagos < zoomarine in Albufeira < waterpark Aqualand

source http://www.algarvenet.com