Exploring the Inner Algarve
The Unspoiled Towns and Villages of Traditional Portugal
Visit the towns of Loule, Alte, Querenca and Monchique to experience the traditional Algarve with their cobbled streets, Moorish influence and old world charm.
For unique Algarve holidays and to experience the real Algarve with its Moorish influence and to be surrounded by the old world charm of a disappearing, less modern Portugal, the traveler has to explore the inner Algarve. Here the Arab influence remains strong, the economy is more agricultural and hand craft based and the Portuguese traditions and culture has not been subsumed by mass tourism.
The Algarve in Portugal is the country’s most popular tourist destination, with beautiful beaches, all year round sunshine, vibrant tourist coastal towns and great access and transportation.
For most holidays in Portugal, tourists travel west From Faro, the gateway to the Algarve, with its very well serviced airport, along the IP1 Motorway to the millionaires yachting and golfing paradise of Villamoura. Further west lie the beaches and towns of the less elitist hot spots of Albufeira, Prai de Luz, Prai de Oura and Portimaou. This area is a veritable Algarve tourist mecca and it shows. Although it started off as charmingly old world in the sixties, it is now indistinguishable from any other Mediterranean "Costa".
Tourists searching for a unique Portugal vacation should consider these towns in the inner Algarve. They are old world Portugal, with loads of charm, yet not too far from the Algarve beaches and Algarve golf paradises.
Loule
Largest town in the inner Algarve, just 15 Km from Faro Airport, still retains a strong Moorish influence with its many cobbled side streets. It has lots of little workshops producing copperware, cane and wood handcrafts. It has a thriving weekly market and has many very smart shops and boutiques. The place to be seen, and to watch the sophisticated Portuguese is on the central portion of the “Avineda” with its open air coffee shops and bars.
Querenca
Just north of Loule, a very traditional Algarve village of white houses and modest gardens surrounding a quaint square with the Querenca Mother Church standing in the center. The little village has two very old world restaurants serving very traditional Portuguese dishes. Querenca is known for its tasty “chouricas” (smoked pork sausages) and organizes a “sausage auction" every January. For the more adventurous tourist, there are the Salustreira stalactite caves nearby.
Alte
North of Vilamoura is the charming whitewashed village of Alte, where the Algarve's rural way of life remains unspoiled. Some consider Alte, which has existed since the time of the Romans the most typical Portuguese village in all of the Algarve. Set among the rolling hills of the Serra Do Galdeirao region, Alte is arguably one of the prettiest villages in the Algarve. The Algarve's Moorish heritage can be found here, by way of rooftops adorned with Filigree lattice chimneys and it has some very historical churches, especially the 16th Century Nossa Senhora da Assuncao and the chapel of Sao Sebastiao. It is also famous for the purity of its streams and waters.
Monchique
Monchique is hardly touched by the invasion of modern tourism. Situated in between the two high hills, Foia and Picota, the former reaching to 902 meters above sea level, the 10,000 inhabitants of this town have retained a rustic atmosphere, with steep cobbled streets and small dark doorways housing various artisan trades. There is a 17th Century Franciscan monastery overlooking the town from which a visitor has a panoramic view over the beautiful countryside. The 16th Century Parish Church has excellent examples of Manueline craftsmanship around its doorways.
There is much more to the inner Algarve than these four areas, but they give a representative sample of what "Old Portugal" was like. With the advent of mass tourism and cheap air travel this unspoiled Algarve is fast disappearing.
