About

ABOUT PORTIMAO

social networks

PORTIMAO

DISCOVER PORTIMAO

Algarve’s popularity as a tourist destination has increased rapidly over the last few years, likely to be due in some part to its year-round warmth and sunshine.

Algarve is a popular tourist destination for visitors to Portugal, benefiting from the Mediterranean climate which brings long, warm and dry summers and very mild winters. The Algarve actually receives more sun each year than California.

Algarve’s tourist fortunes may well be to do with its warm climate stretching through the entire year. Those seeking a comfortable break to explore Algarve, its food and culture in cooler conditions will certainly enjoy a visit during the early spring or late autumn months. Those looking to enjoy some time in the sun will want to head to Algarve in the summer months, taking advantage of the long, hot, summer days.

The coast is now scattered with mountain ranges and terracotta rooftops; and while travelling around this beautiful region, tourists are greeted with an array of 15th-century architecture – the buildings are typically lavish with high ceilings and wide archways.

The historically rich towns are home to many tourist-friendly bars and restaurants which sit alongside architecture dating back 2000 years. The sweeping sandy beaches of Lagos Bay provide for some incredible views in any season.

THE WEATHER

The autumn is typically hot to begin with, cooling only slightly too warm temperatures by November. Late-season sun seekers can still be found sunbathing throughout the autumn, enjoying average daily maximum temperatures ranging from 26°C in September to 19°C in November. Whilst it remains warm in Algarve, rainfall rapidly increases through the autumn season: 26mm in September, 56mm in October and 81mm in November. Despite the warmth of autumn, Algarve’s average sunshine falls to around 6 hours per day by the end of the season.

ABOUT PORTUGAL

Portugal,^[e] officially the Portuguese Republic,^[f] is a country in the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring the westernmost point in continental Europe, to its north and east is Spain, with which it shares the longest uninterrupted border in the European Union; to the south and the west is the North Atlantic Ocean; and to the west and southwest lie the Macaronesian archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, which are two autonomous regions of Portugal. Lisbon is the capital and largest city, followed by Porto, which is the only other metropolitan area.

The western part of the Iberian Peninsula has been continuously inhabited since prehistoric times, with the earliest signs of settlement dating to 5500 BCE.^[14] Celtic and Iberian peoples arrived in the first millennium BCE, with Phoenician and later Punic influence reaching the south during the same period. The region came under Roman control in the second century BCE, followed by a succession of Germanic peoples and the Alans from the fifth to eighth centuries CE. Muslims conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century CE, but were gradually expelled by the Christian Reconquista over the next several centuries. Modern Portugal began taking shape during this period, initially as a county of the Christian Kingdom of León in 868, and ultimately as an independent Kingdom with the Treaty of Zamora in 1143.^[15]