Lagos sits on the southern edge of Portugal’s Algarve where a lively old port town meets wide Atlantic skies. Its roots stretch back over 2,000 years as a fishing and maritime center, and echoes of this long past are visible in the restored 16th-century city walls that wrap around the historic core. Travelers can walk the narrow streets from Praça Gil Eanes, the main square with pavement cafés, into a neighborhood of whitewashed façades and tile-detailed churches that reveal centuries of seafaring heritage, trade and local life.

Just a short stroll from the heart of town, the coast drops away into a spectacle at Ponta da Piedade, where golden sandstone cliffs rise out of the Atlantic and have been shaped into stacks, natural arches and grottoes over millennia. Wooden staircases and cliff-top paths lead down to striking viewpoints, while boat tours from the Lagos marina take visitors through sea caves that feel like hidden corridors to another world. At the top, the Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse watches over this dramatic shoreline and offers a great backdrop for photos as the sun sets into the ocean.

Beaches around Lagos vary from quiet coves hugged by cliffs to wide open stretches of sand. Praia do Camilo sits beneath steep stairways leading down between rock formations to calm waters, and Meia Praia unfolds into a broad sweep of golden sand that stretches for kilometers toward Ria de Alvor, with windsurfing, sailing and stand-up paddleboarding available near the shoreline. These sandy spaces are perfect for relaxing after exploring the old town or taking a boat out to sea, and many beach cafés serve refreshing drinks and snacks right on the sand.