Albufeira was a fishing village until the 1960s. Then the tourists arrived and everything changed. The whitewashed old town still clings to the sandstone cliffs above a beach that is genuinely excellent — wide, golden, sheltered by ochre rocks on both sides. The marina, built in the 1990s, is painted in pastels that clash and somehow work. Albufeira divides opinion. Some see a resort that sold its soul. Others see a town that took the tourism deal and made it pay. Both are right. Here is what is actually there.
The Beaches
Praia dos Pescadores — Fishermen’s Beach — is the main beach, reached by a lift carved into the cliff or by a steep set of steps from the old town square. The sand is golden and fine, the water usually calm, and the beach shelves gently enough for children. Praia da Falésia stretches for 6 km east of the town, backed by red sandstone cliffs that glow at sunset. The beach is less crowded and more beautiful than the town beaches. Praia de São Rafael, a ten-minute drive west, is a series of small coves separated by rock formations. The water between the rocks is turquoise and calm. A beach bar operates from May to October.
The Old Town
The old town is a maze of narrow streets, the buildings whitewashed and the doorframes painted in blues and yellows. It is touristy. The restaurant touts will invite you in. The menus are laminated and photographed. But walk up from the square and the streets empty. The church of Sant’Ana, built in the 18th century, sits on a small square with a view of the sea. The bell tower is a local landmark. The old town at 9am, before the shops open, is quiet and nearly beautiful. The old town at 11pm in August is a party. Choose accordingly.
The Marina and the New Town
The marina, built in the 1990s and painted in pastel pinks, yellows, and blues, is a purpose-built leisure complex. The apartment blocks are the same colours. It is artificial and cheerful and the boat trips along the coast — €25-40 for a half-day, the grottoes and sea caves and the coastline seen from the water — are genuinely good. The dolphin-watching trips claim a high success rate. The new town strip, known as The Strip, is bars, clubs, and restaurants aimed at a young British and Irish crowd. It is loud. It is not for everyone. It knows what it is.
Day Trips Worth Taking
Silves, the former Moorish capital of the Algarve, is a 25-minute drive inland. The castle, built by the Moors in the 8th century and expanded in the 12th, overlooks the town from a hilltop. The red sandstone walls are intact, the cistern still holds water, and the view of the orange groves stretching to the coast is the reason Silves was the capital. The cathedral, built on the site of the mosque after the Reconquista in 1242, has Gothic tombs and a 16th-century Manueline doorway. The café in the square below the castle serves pastéis de nata made that morning. Lagos, 30 minutes west, has a walled old town, a marina, and the Ponta da Piedade — the headland of sea stacks and grottoes accessible by boat or by a clifftop boardwalk. The boat trips from Lagos are better than from Albufeira. The rocks are more dramatic.
Which version of Albufeira did you find — the old town at 9am or the Strip at midnight — and which one would you go back to?
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