Portugal – Algarve – Albufeira (En)
On Saturday we went to see Albufeira, a coastal city in the Algarve region, in the South of Portugal. It is a former fishing village that has become a major holiday destination, with sandy beaches, and a busy strip of nightlife. Local fishermen use the modern marina, which is also a base for scuba diving, dolphin watching and boating. It is surrounded by brightly coloured apartments and a coastal promenade.
Among the things to see in Albufeira, its old town stands out, there are few typical and old businesses as these have disappeared in favour of bars and restaurants specifically aimed at tourists. In this case, it is its streets with the typical Portuguese cobblestones that remind us where we are. The town centre, the main square and the bars were decorated for Halloween with a great atmosphere and music bands.
In the old town, you can see the Church of San Sebastian, the church of Santa Ana, the Sineira Tower and main church of Albufeira and the Clock tower.
Then we went to see the Lookout of Pau da Bandeira with amazing views of the Peneco beach and is next to one of the old streets of the town from where you arrive at the old city wall.
Afterwards, we went to see Paneco beach, which is accessed through a tunnel dug in the ground that connects it directly with the centre of the town. Another way to access the beach is through a 28-meter-high elevator, which is free and has incredible views from the top. We went to the beach through the tunnel and then took the elevator up to the town where we saw the amazing views of the beach.
We walked back to the town centre and went to the main square to have some drinks as it was the happy hour and the cocktails were pretty cheap. I had Strawberry daiquiris and Ben some paints of beer listening to the music from the band.
We went to the old town for lunch where there were many places to choose from. Ben wanted to eat the typical chicken Piri Piri which is prepared on the grill to achieve a smoky touch and accompanied by a spicy sauce. We went to a restaurant that serves chicken Piri Piri and we shared the chicken and a plate of ribs. Only for 7 euros with chips and salad!
We went back to the motorhome, 20 minutes walking uphill, so we arrived exhausted. The next day Sunday we went to Tavira, a small Portuguese town on the Algarve coast. It is crossed by the Gilão river, which flows into the inlets and lagoon of the Ría Formosa Natural Park and is very close to Spain, where we are now and which you will be able to see in the next post.
