Lagos is an ancient maritime town with more than 2000 years of history. Owing to its already important harbour, it was colonized by the Romans. With the fall of Rome, the town of Lagos was occupied in the sixth century by the Visigoths and later by the Byzantines. The Moors arrived in the 8th century from North Africa and it became part of the much larger coastal region of al-Gharb, which eventually became known as the Algarve. It was eventually captured by King Afonso III of Portugal in 1241, but was only taken definitively in 1249. From this period on the King began self-styling himself as the "King of Portugal and the Algarve", stressing the fact that the Algarve (which had for so long been ruled by the Moors as a foreign country) had been annexed into the dominion of the Portuguese. Lagos became an independent jurisdiction under the rule of King Peter I in 1361. By the 15th century, it became the centre of Portuguese maritime exploration, with ships ordered south to trace the shoreline of Africa in order to find routes to India. Over the following decades, news of discoveries and achievements, and ships loaded with spices and goods would flow into the port of Lagos. It was also the gateway for the first African slaves into post-medieval Europe. From 1576 to 1755, Lagos was a high-profile capital of the Algarve, until the old Portuguese town was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami of 1755. Although some walls from the 16th century still remain, as well as the governor's castle, many of the buildings are from the 17th century.
The area, near the water, inside the old Moorish city walls is referred to as Old Town and it's where we have walked the most since it has lots of character and is near our apartment. It's really cool to look out from our balcony and see parts see the city on either side of the wall.
Wandering never gets old as we love seeing the architecture, murals, cobblestone patterns, buildings, local shops & restaurants. The colors really change with different weather & lighting conditions. They really maintain this area with early morning sweepers that walk around with carts and brooms meticulously keeping things clean.
It's also fun to see all the boats (and birds) in the marina/harbor area.
There are lots of great places to sit outside and people watch (or listen to street musicians) as well as lots of small restaurants serving the most beautiful and scrumptious food!
The beach/cliff area right in the Old Town is very popular and beautiful as well as the cliff walks that are only a few minutes drive (or 15-20 minute walk).
It's no wonder that this area is such a popular summer destination and we have fallen in love with it.
SO beautiful. How big of a city is it? Is it like many old cities that it is surrounded by more modern towns and freeways, sprawl? It doesn't look like it from your photos.