Lagos Old Town

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/6

Where it sits

The circle is Lagos Old Town and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• Praia do Porto de Mós16 min walk1.4 km
• Praia Dona Ana & the cliffs (beach)17 min walk1.4 km
• Praia Dona Ana18 min walk1.5 km
• Kayak or SUP the caves21 min walk1.8 km
• Praia do Camilo21 min walk1.8 km
• Surfing & the western Algarve24 min walk2.0 km
• Meia Praia25 min walk2.1 km
• Ponta da Piedade27 min walk2.2 km
• Praia da Luz15 min taxi4.9 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 2.A grotto boat trip — The cliffs are best from the water — small boats leave the marina and old town all day to weave through the sea caves, arches and hidden coves of Ponta da Piedade, and longer trips run east to the famous Benagil Cave. Book a small-boat tour rather than a big catamaran to get inside the grottoes; the highlight of a Lagos trip.
• 4.The walled old town — A compact, pretty historic centre inside the old town walls — cobbled lanes, tiled facades, leafy praças and pavement cafés, with the marina and the fort at its edge. Wander it in the morning before the beach and again at night for dinner; the charming, walkable heart of Lagos.
• 6.The old-town nightlife — Lagos has the Algarve's best night out — a dense little grid of bars around Rua Cândido dos Reis (the 'Pink Street' of Lagos) that fills with a young, international summer crowd and runs late. Cheap drinks, live music and a friendly buzz; not a mega-club scene, just a brilliant, walkable bar night.
• 7.Algarve seafood & grilled fish — This is a fishing coast, and it shows — fresh grilled sardines and sea bass, the clam-and-pork 'cataplana', percebes (goose barnacles) and piri-piri chicken, best at a proper tasca off the tourist strips. Eat where the fish is grilled out front; the Algarve's cooking is simple, fresh and superb.
• 9.Igreja de Santo António — Behind a plain facade hides one of Portugal's most dazzling baroque interiors — a small church almost entirely covered in gilded, carved woodwork ('talha dourada') and blue-and-white tiles. Combined with the little museum next door; a jaw-dropping, five-minute cultural hit in the middle of the beach town.
• 12.The marina & riverfront — The palm-lined marina across the little swing bridge from the old town — yachts and fishing boats, waterfront bars and the jumping-off point for the grotto boats and the ferry to Meia Praia. A pleasant stroll for a sundowner, and the practical hub for getting out on the water.
• 13.The Slave Market Museum — A small but important museum in the arcaded building on Praça do Infante that was the site of the first slave market in modern Europe, in 1444 — an unflinching look at Lagos's role as a launch-pad of the Portuguese 'Age of Discovery' and its darkest side. A sobering, worthwhile half-hour amid the sun and sand.
• 14.Ponta da Bandeira Fort — A small 17th-century sea fort guarding the mouth of the harbour, linked to the front by a little drawbridge — ramparts to walk, a tiny chapel, and views back over the town and along the coast. A quick, atmospheric stop between the old town and the beach; nice at golden hour.