The Algarve

The Algarve receives more visitors than the rest of the country yet if you know where to go you can find blissfully peaceful nature reserves and enchanting fishing villages.
ENTERTAINMENT
Fado is Portugal's soul - and soulful - contribution to world music. Dramatic and shot through with emotion, the Fado singer won't be happy until there's not a dry eye in the house. Concerts are often impromptu affairs, ask at Lagos' helpful tourist information office (on Largo Marques de Pombal, in the town centre).
PLACES TO VISIT
To see just how important the Algarve's link to the ocean is, climb onboard the Boa Esperanca, a 15th century 'caravel' - one of the ships that fronted the Portuguese crusades, moored in Lagos harbour. Away from the coast, Portimao is a vibrant, busy town with great shopping. Shoe and leather shops, jewellers, china shops and artisan shops provide all the gifts and souvenirs you need.
HISTORY & CULTURE
It was the Moors, from North Africa who first established Portugal's lucrative trading routes - building their townships along the Algarve coast. Lagos' most famous son, Prince Henry 'The Navigator' set up a Navigation School in Sagres, to the west of the town and, before long, was masterminding his voyages of discovery - netting the Azores and much of the west coast of Africa for the Portuguese crown.
FOOD & DRINK
Portuguese food is excellent, inexpensive and, with delights such as fresh seafood, spicy stews and olive oil, amongst the healthiest in Europe. Portuguese wine is getting better and better. Try a white 'vinhos verdes' ('green wine' - so called because it's produced from young grapes). As you'd expect for a country steeped in seafaring tradition, menus tend towards the fish. And with good reason - seafood, Portuguese style, is a revelation. If in doubt, always consider the excellent value prato do dia (dish of the day). Usually fish, depending on the season, it could be wonderfully meaty tuna, swordfish or mullet - simply seared on a barbeque and served with rice or potatoes.
WALKS & SCENERY
With its fine ochre sands, secluded grottoes and gnarled, rugged cliffs it's hard to imagine a coastline more stunning than the Algarve's. Delve just a few miles inland from the coast and you'll lose yourself in orange groves, cork plantations and villages little changed since the Middle Ages. At Cape St. Vincent, Portugal's Land's End, your journey is rewarded by a dramatic lonely headland, complete with a sturdy lighthouse.

Factfile
Currency:	Euro
Language:	Portugese
Portugal flight details:	Approx 3 hours from the UK.
Departure airports:	Gatwick, Bristol, Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham, Nottingham East Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool, Humberside, Leeds/Bradford, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.