January 3, 2025, 5:20 am | Read time: 7 minutes
Lagos is a city in the Algarve, the southernmost region of Portugal, and a popular vacation destination. Our author Anna Wengel (now Chiodo) lived nearby for several years and recently returned to the small town for TRAVELBOOK. Here she gives tips for first-time visitors to Lagos.
Lagos is a charming small town nestled in the Algarve, Portugal’s southernmost region. For me, Lagos was always somewhat of a secondary stage to my life in Aljezur, yet it also marked the beginning of my Portugal journey. In 2014, I was drawn here by memories of happy childhood moments and the desire to be somewhere else and live differently. I spent a few weeks living and working in this quaint town in the southwest of the Algarve. Then, I moved a little further north. Reflecting on my time in Lagos, I fondly recall the vibrant hostel life of my twenties and the simple joy of shoe shopping as a child. I also remember the charming alleyways brimming with trinkets and the picturesque beaches worthy of a postcard.
Overview
Slippery Tiles, Hipster Cafés and an Almost Naked Ronaldo
Today I’m back in Lagos. It’s November—and almost ten years later. The sun competes with the brightness of my little daughter’s joy as she merrily hops over the small, colorful floor tiles, heedless of my cautious warnings. Admittedly, my “Careful! Slippery!” warning seems extremely obsolete today, on this sunny day. The words slip out instinctively, a reflex born from memories of the times I’ve unceremoniously landed on my backside right here. This is because when the rain falls, Lagos’ streets become treacherously slippery. Very slippery, especially if you’re wearing flip-flops.
Not only is the sun shining, it is also unusually warm for this time of year. People lounge in T-shirts at the myriad of cafés nestled within the small alleyways we meander through. To my left and right, there are other small alleyways where waiters are advertising the food in the restaurants where they work. Individual mannequins stand in shop windows next to those that seem to be crammed to the top with silver espresso machines, pots, pans, and other stuff.
Our first destination today is called “Goldig“. The café is a fresh discovery for me, despite my frequent returns to this town. It wasn’t there when I started my trip to Portugal in 2014, which culminated in the move. It certainly didn’t exist when I was in Lagos for the first time, sometime in the mid-nineties. Yet today, Goldig stands as a quaint emblem of the progressive “hipsterization” and gentrification that has made its way to southern Portugal. And as much as I find this development difficult to say the least, I am also part of the problem. After all, the flat white here is superb, offering a robust alternative to the delicious, albeit milder, Galão. If you find yourself peckish, allow me to suggest a delightful lunch spot. Almost just around the corner is “Osaka“, a Japanese restaurant with delicious all-you-can-eat sushi.
Delicious Food and Green Sights
Freshly fortified, the small alleyway clears in front of me. I am standing in a familiar square, Praça Luís de Camões. And in front of a house whose green tiles shine in the sun in many a photo. Today, it houses a store that sells beautiful and expensive children’s things. In the past, other goods were sold here.
We walk on, stretching our necks once again towards the beautifully green tiled building. Further on, past a larger-than-life Ronaldo, dressed only in skimpy underpants, stuck in a shop window. Across a square with a giant figure in the middle, surrounded by Portuguese men and women of all ages. Onwards to a bench with seemingly always the same men on it.
A little further on, to the left and along the water, is another Lagos culinary highlight, the “Restaurante Adega da Marina“. It has been quite a few years since I last dined here. Yet, each time I’ve indulged in the fish, seafood, and meat here, the quintessential Portuguese fare has been exceptional. And the little alleyways behind it almost invite you to take a digestive stroll, they are so steep in places that the cozy fullness gives way to a pounding heart and rattling breath. Indeed, I highly recommend taking a leisurely detour through the alleyways of this part of Lagos. You’ll discover some lovely street art (as in the alleyways at the start of our Lagos’ walk), Portugal’s pretty traditional tiled walls, and original houses.
Lagos in Portugal is a Party Destination for Young Portuguese Tourists
Today, we continue in a different direction. Past Ronaldo, who seems to have been stuck there forever, and people he makes happy with his almost-nakedness. Up a street that meets the parallel street at its top and where there is a café that feels like it has always been there. On a street that brings back childhood memories of a pair of much-loved but unfortunately incredibly uncomfortable cowboy boots. The various tourist stores to the left and right hardly seem to have changed. My memory might be faltering here, however, as my earliest Lagos pictures are actually almost thirty years old.
As we continue along the street, my memory does not deceive me. The music gets louder, as do the happy hour offers on the signs. The small shopping street (Rua 25 de Abril) becomes a pub-club-restaurant mile. And alongside fun memories of a night or two of dancing the night away with friends on nearby Duna Beach, it also brings back other, less pleasant memories. For example, my first and only pub crawl, including my first and one hundred percent last attempt at a beer bong. Back then, working in a hostel for a short time, it was part of the initiation—and was one of the reasons for me to quickly leave.
Even today, unlike many teenagers and people in their twenties who continue to party the night away, I don’t like it too much in Lagos’ party district—and once again I retreat to the small alleyways to my right. Remarkably, they appear unchanged, just as they were nine years ago. In one place or another, I even discover old and new street art.
TRAVELBOOK author reports Why Wintering in Portugal Isn’t All Good News
From Ilhabela to Wharariki TRAVELBOOK editors reveal their favorite destinations
TRAVELBOOK author provides tips Why a Vacation in the Small Town of Hooksiel at the North Sea is Worthwhile
Lagos Is Home to Some of the Algarve’s Dream Beaches
The small alleyway ends at a spacious square in front of a baroque church, the Igreja de Santo António, allegedly the birthplace of St. Anthony of Padua. A beautiful place that seems to have stood still in time despite the changing Algarve. From here, we step out onto the promenade. In summer, it is lined with various street stalls selling clothes and other items. There is hardly anything going on here today. Only a few people are walking along the promenade in the November sunshine, gazing at the water in front of them.
We walk past the Castelo of Porta de São Gonçalo and the Forte da Ponta da Bandeira, along the waterfront. Southwards from here, one pretty beach follows the next. One particularly beautiful, but also extremely popular and often completely overcrowded beach during the season should be mentioned here: Praia Dona Ana. It is as beautiful today as it was then and well worth a visit. But for all those who have now got a taste for Portugal’s Lagos: You can’t really go wrong with the beaches of the Algarve anyway; they are almost all very beautiful. Amidst the revelry, sunbathing on the beach, and admiring the ornate tiled houses, one must not overlook a singular Portuguese treasure at the southern tip of Lagos: the awe-inspiring jagged cliffs and caves of Ponta da Piedade.