Algarve, Portugal

  Vila Real Santo Antonio

The Algarve, which is the most southerly region of mainland Portugal, is and has, been categorised by most Portuguese now and during it's long history, as not really part of Portugal.

This view is not based on the past thirty years of promotion as a holiday resort but over the last four or five hundreds years. The Algarve has been the most invaded and disrupted area of the country throughout the entire history of Portugal's inception.

Over the years the Algarve has been invaded and domiciled by the Romans, the Moors and more recently tourists. However all have left a distinct mark on the countryside.

The architecture of the Algarve is significantly different from the rest of Portugal and the flat, terraced roofs have become a tourist attraction in themselves.

This distinctive design is thanks to the Moorish influence, whom dominated the region for over 300 years. The Moors invaded the southern region of Portugal in the early 11th Century only leaving its shores after they were forced out by natives, aided by Knights Templars.

It is in the past century however, which has shaped the Algarve coastline the most dramatically. Since the birth of package tourism, once small fishing villages have been been turned into large holiday resorts with multi-storey hotels and apartment blocks and a plethora of bars offering refreshments. Swathes of countryside have been given over to golf courses constructed to help boost the regions' appeal to overseas visitors.

The Algarve is a modestly sized region of Portugal, stretching only 240 kilometres in width. Although not one of the larger regions of Portugal, the Algarve is however the most well known, thanks to three decades of promotion by the tourist board as a desirable location to holiday and to relocate on a permanent basis.

The Algarve is split into three distinct areas - Western Algarve, Central Algarve and Eastern Algarve. With the vast majority of tourist developments situated in the central area. The western end of the Algarve has had some development though past Lagos the terrain becomes more rugged and isolated with only a few small villages and towns dotted around.

The eastern end of the Algarve has also seen some tourist development in recent years but perhaps more low key than earlier apartment blocks and hotels erected during the 1960s and 1970s further along the coast. Parts of the eastern end of the Algarve has, until now, been largely overlooked generally as a tourist destination due to the absence of so many beaches. However the eastern Algarve is a Mecca for ornithologists with no less than two natural parks in it's boundaries - the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa and the Reserva Natural do Sapal.

The Algarve is home to one international airport, situated at Faro, which has a variety of low cost airlines vying for routes to the country from all around the world. There are plans to install a new international airport on the Algarve, but like everything within Portugal, this will take time to implement.

Despite it's popularity destination with every age group, the Algarve has become more popular with retirees looking to take it easier in their twilight years in a more amenable climate without compromising on quality of life.

The Algarve does have a broad appeal for visitors and there are activities on offer throughout the year to ensure if you want to enjoy a bit of winter sun you won't have to endure long haul flights to get some.