Must-see attractions in Lagos

  • Algarve coastline

    Ponta da Piedade

    Lagos

    Protruding 2.5km south of Lagos, Ponta da Piedade is a dramatic wedge of headland with contorted, polychrome sandstone cliffs and towers, complete with a…

  • Museu Municipal

    Lagos

    The town museum holds a bit of everything: swords and pistols, landscapes and portraits, minerals and crystals, coins, Moorish pottery, miniature…

  • Centro Ciênia Viva de Lagos

    Lagos

    Young adventurers will especially love this science museum devoted to Portuguese seafaring in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its main exhibit covers the age…

  • Museu de Cera dos Descobrimentos

    Lagos

    Unlike typical celebrity-filled wax museums, this one has 22 historic wax figures representing 16 different points in time during Portugal's Age of…

  • Meia Praia

    Lagos

    Arcing in a 4km-long crescent, this vast expanse of golden sand has water sports outlets, and laid-back restaurants and beach bars.

  • Igreja de Santo António

    Lagos

    A baroque extravaganza, this little church bursts with gilded, carved wood and beaming cherubs. The dome and azulejo panels were installed during repairs…

  • Castelo dos Governadores

    Lagos

    Built by the Moors, Lagos' castle was conquered by Christian forces in the 13th century. It's said that the ill-fated, evangelical Dom Sebastião attended…

  • Antigo Mercado de Escravos

    Lagos

    Set in the building believed to be Europe's first slave market, when slaves from the west coast of Africa were brought here in 1444, this small museum…

  • Town Walls

    Lagos

    On the western side of the centre is a restored section of the stout town walls, built (atop earlier versions) during the reigns of both Manuel I and João…

  • Igreja de Santa Maria

    Lagos

    The symmetrical Igreja de Santa Maria was built during the 15th and 16th centuries and retains a 16th-century entrance; the rest of the remaining…

  • Parque Zoológico de Lagos

    Lagos

    This zoo is a shady 3-hectare kid-pleaser, with many small primates and a children’s farm housing domestic animals. There are 150 different species in all…

  • Fortaleza da Ponta da Bandeira

    Lagos

    Entered via a drawbridge, this petite fortress was built in the 17th century to protect the port. Now restored, it houses an exhibition on the Portuguese…

  • Statue of Prince Henry the Navigator

    Lagos

    This statue commemorates the prince of Portugal who used Lagos as a launch pad for many of the expeditions he commissioned. It was inaugurated in 1960 on…

  • Statue of Dom Sebastião

    Lagos

    In the centre of town, this silvery sculpture by João Cutileiro, commemorating the ill-fated founder of the city in armour, was inaugurated 1973.

  • Lançarote Gate

    Lagos

    Part of the medieval walls, this archway provides southern access to the old town.

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