First and foremost, Albufeira is famed for its beaches, for the countless shades and tones of its rocks and cliffs. This is a place where people live to the rhythm of the great holiday destinations, sunbathing during the day and at sunset flocking to enjoy the restaurants, bars and discotheques that enliven the night-time hours. (...)

Faro beaches and the Ria Formosa, where flamingos can be seen taking to the air, mark the border with the sea. On the flat terrain behind are the houses and buildings of Faro, green vegetable plots that thrive on the fertile land and water wheels that were once used to draw water from the ground - another reminder of the city Moorish heritage. (...)

Beautiful empty beaches with sands that seem to go on forever. Fields of orange trees, heavy with the scent of blossom. Then hills of fig and almond trees and houses with dazzling whitewashed walls and distinctive chimneys decorated to resemble the fine tracery of lace. And, last of all, the great open spaces of the hills, where eagles soar, birds sing and flowers bloom. (...)

The rounded forms of hills covered with cistus bushes, oaks and arbutus-berry trees. Landscapes like watercolours, white houses scattered among verdant fields and orchards. Reflections in the slowly moving surface of a river. (...)

The boundaries of Aljezur municipality mark out a broad rectangle delimited by the sea and the hills, and its landscapes reflect this dual influence. While the coast is marked by high cliffs beneath which huddle sandy coves and pristine dunes, the hinterland is a place of rolling hills covered with vegetation that recede, row upon row, as far as the eye can see. (...)

Green, how I love you green. The poet could have been writing of the wooded slopes of Monchique, for after the heat of the Algarve beaches it is the coolness of the hills that is most striking. (...)

First the blue sea and its gently lapping waves. Then fine, golden sands framed by cliffs and rocks. The cosmopolitan atmosphere of an international tourism destination. This is the Algarve of beach holidays in the sun. (...)

Gigantic sculptures carved by the pounding waves that plunge into a crystal sea. The iridescent greens of sea caves. Beach after beach of soft sand tucked away between ochre cliffs or stretching clear to the horizon. (...)

The mythical atmosphere surrounding Sagres and Cabo de São Vicente (Cape St. Vincent), places dedicated to the gods for thousands of years. The unspoilt coastline, with its dramatic horizons of cliffs and sea. (...)

The racy, cosmopolitan lifestyle of the world leading tourist centres. A long ribbon of fine, golden sand tucked between the blue of the sea and the bold ochres of the cliffs. The splendour of tiles in a chapel that is itself a work of art. (...)

Firstly there are the islands, long sand banks that are an ideal spot for swimming and sunbathing. Next come the tranquil waters of the Ria Formosa, a unique natural habitat teeming with plant and animal species. (...)

A turquoise sea bounded by ochre cliffs and soft, sandy beaches. Bunches of grapes ripening beneath the hot summer sun. The shapes, colours and designs of ceramics that belong to a tradition centuries old. (...)

The deep green foliage of orange trees in fertile valleys. The blue sea and the fast-paced life of an international seaside resort. The picturesque charm of houses surrounded by almond and carob trees. (...)

The blue of the river framed by the cool green of riverside vegetation, of fertile orchards and vegetable gardens. The dark ochre of hills as round as rolled pebbles, flecked with colour by cistus plants, holm oaks and the occasional olive tree. (...)

The elegant outline of flamingos. The dusty gold of soft sand, the turquoise blue of warm waters. Vast ranges of hills covered in a bright carpet of wild flowers. The tranquil countryside along the banks of the Guadiana, lush with orchards and vegetable gardens. (...)

The pale gold of mile after mile of sandy beaches. The turquoise blue of the sea. The green of pine woods. Brushstrokes of colour from the palette of pleasures that is Vila Real de Santo António and its municipality, natural charms complemented by the lively cosmopolitan atmosphere of a major tourist centre. (...)