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By Sérgio Carvalho, co-founder of Ra-Ro · View profile
Around a 4-minute read
When you think of the Algarve, you think of the sea. But those who climb into the hills and enter the villages discover another Algarve, older and quieter, made of whitewash, of figs and of hands that still work esparto and copper as they have for centuries.
This is an itinerary for anyone who wants to know the real Algarve, beyond the resorts. From the southwesternmost point of Europe to the caves of Lagos, from the islands of the Ria Formosa to villages of Moorish history, we share the places worth seeing and, at the end, a few pieces of Algarve crafts to take a piece of the region home with you.
What to see in the Algarve
Ponta da Piedade, in Lagos
The golden cliffs plunge into the sea in a labyrinth of caves and stone arches. At dawn, when the boats are still asleep, the light pours through the caverns and paints the water with colour. It is one of the most photographed settings in Portugal, and it still deserves to be.
Ria Formosa
Between Faro and Olhão stretches a world of salt marshes, barrier islands and channels where the tide is in charge. Flamingos and seahorses nest here, and a boat trip at the end of the afternoon is worth an entire journey.
Cabo de São Vicente, in Sagres
The southwesternmost point of Europe, where the land ends and the Atlantic begins. The navigators set off from here into the unknown. At sunset, you understand why they called it the end of the world.
Silves
The old capital of the Moorish Algarve keeps a castle of red rammed earth above the white houses. To walk its streets is to walk through a thousand years of history, among orange groves and Arab memories.
To plan your trip, the official portal Visit Portugal brings together all the information about the region. And to discover the pieces linked to this land, see our collection by region.
What to take home: Algarve crafts
In the Algarve hills, esparto is pulled by hand, plant by plant, and woven into baskets and bags. In the workshops, copper is hammered until it becomes a cataplana. These are trades that survive in only a few hands, and each piece holds the gesture of those who keep them alive.
Take the Algarve with you, not only in the memory of the sea, but in the hands of those who keep on making it.
Discover all the pieces by region at Ra-Ro.
