Visit the ancient city of Lagos and you cannot help but be captured by its ambiance. This is a place with history and there is a sense of timelessness in the cobbled streets and towering city walls.

When the Algarve was a separate country ruled by the Arabs this was their capital. They built the first city wall and their town is the old quarter which stands above the hospital.

The great era of Portuguese trade brought wealth to Lagos. The city was expanded to allow room for growth and became the garrison town to defend the Western Algarve.

The age of discoveries when Portugese ships set out from Lagos to explore the world was not the product of altruism but commerce. The route from the Far East was controlled by the Arabs. The Portuguese sought to find a sea route which would avoid paying the Arab taxes. In their search they established trade in Africa and colonies in South America which made Lagos wealthy.

Before the Avenida was built there was a beach where the car park now is and fishing boats tied up along the Barroca wall. Lagos took its share in the fish canning industry that blossomed to feed the troops in two world wars. Today the town attracts a different kind of sailor to its starkly modern marina.

This is a place which begs you to relax, to take a little time just to sit and watch the world go by. Development has not desecrated this ancient city and the town has a welcoming atmosphere.

Today there is a new Lagos developing across the river beside the golden sand  of Meia Praia. Modern apartments, villas and resorts are being built where sheep used to graze. For a city which has seen so many changes there is a new future developing on its doorstep.