DK Travel : The Algarve : Places of interest

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Parque Natural da Ria Formosa

This vast realm of marshland, salinas and sand dune islands is home to the rare purple gallinule and the web-footed Portuguese water dog, among others. The lagoon habitat is one of the most important wetland zones in Europe. A purpose-built visitor centre houses an aquarium and exhibition area. Two exciting nature trails, São Lourenço and Quinta do Lago, provide excellent opportunities for observing wildlife at close quarters. See Parque Natural da ria Formosa; and Animals of the Ria Formosa.
Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina

The entire coastline of western Algarve lies within the boundaries of this wild and rocky nature reserve. Dozens of scarce and endemic plant species thrive here, and the highly secretive Iberian lynx stalks the land. Hundreds of different species of birdlife flutter and glide above the salt marshes, while, not surprisingly, ornithologists gather with binoculars primed.
Portimão

Portimão’s principal draw is its wide, sweeping esplanade which makes for an effortless afternoon stroll. One detour worth taking, though, is to the garden in Largo 1º de Dezembro, which has a series of stone benches ornamented with 19th-century azulejos depicting historical events. Regular cruise boats head towards Silves or chart a more bracing course along the coast. The town’s riverfront restaurants dish up generous helpings of succulent charcoal-grilled sardines.
Praia da Rocha

Some of the very first holiday hotels in the Algarve sprang up here back in the 1960s, and Praia da Rocha hasn’t looked back since. Vibrant and engaging, this resort is famed for its outstanding golden beach. And at night, revellers dance till dawn in the clubs and bars that skirt the sand.
Praia do Carvoeiro

Picturesque beach wedged between steep-sided cliffs and framed by rows of holiday apartments and some excellent restaurants. A popular summer haunt for families and, during the winter months, golfers.
Quarteira

The brazen tourist hub that is Quarteira is home to a throng of holiday apartments near the beach. The remodelled fishing harbour is a hive of activity in the mornings, when returning boats deposit their glistening catch on the quayside, most of it destined for the town’s market next door.
Querença

Querença is the focus of some attention in January when the village hosts its annualfesta das chouriças. See (sausage festivalFestivals). For the rest of the year Querença is rather quiet – an isolated but attractive settlement surrounded by the Caldeirão mountain range.
Querença

A quaint hamlet slumbering in isolated beauty and crowned by the simple Igreja Nossa Senhora da Assunção.
Reserva Natural do Sapal

Much of this wetland park comprises working salt pans, but it’s also a major winter feeding ground for spoonbill, greater flamingo, Kentish plover, avocet, black-winged stilt, Caspian tern and other birds. The visitor centre is located on the edge of the saltmarsh, and there’s a lovely nature trail. See Walks in the Algarve.
Roma Mini-Golf Park

A hole-in-one under the columns of a Roman temple? It’s possible at this mini-golf park where life-sized replicas of villas, arcades and an amphitheatre reflect the Roman theme designed around the layout.