Portimao Portugal
Welcome to Portimão Uncovered! Your guide to holidays in Portimão in western Algarve, Portugal. For information about Portimão, its beaches, hotels, shopping and things to do, local events (including at Autodromo Algarve, Portimão’s very own international race track!), restaurants, bars, Portimão Marina and much more onPortimão Uncovered!
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Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Types of Things to Do in Portimao Outdoor Activities (115) Tours (112) Boat Tours & Water Sports (75) Nightlife (43) Transportation (33) Nature & Parks (18) Shopping (15) Spas & Wellness (13) Sights & Landmarks (13) Fun & Games (11) Food & Drink (8) Museums (5) Concerts & Shows (3) Classes & Workshops (2) Water & Amusement Parks (1).
Portimão is the biggest town in the western Algarve and sits on the bank of the Arade river facing Ferragudo on the opposite bank. Portimão’s atlantic beach ofPraia da Rochahas, over the years, become a resort in it’s own right with lots of hotels and apartments, restaurants and bars, discos and clubs and shops.
Portimão is a mix of late 19th, early 20th century buildings in the older part of the town, and high rise apartment blocks in various pastel shades of blue, pink and coral around it. The town centre is simply perfect for those who love to shop! It is jam packed full of shops, offering a wide choice of clothes, gifts, souvenirs, electrical goods and general household items. You’ll see brands you see at home, such as Mango for the ladies and plenty of traditional shops selling bargain leather goods, such as handbags and belts.
There are also plenty of bars, restaurants and café’s where you can sit for a bite to eat or a drink and watch the town carry on around you. To see the more relaxed side of Portimão, wander down to the river front, where the ‘Manuel Bivar’ gardens are, and have an ice-cream or a coffee at one of the cafe’s along the front. You will also find Portimão’s famous fish restaurants at the end of the waterfront near the bridge – just follow the aroma of sardines barbecuing!
The roads in and around Portimão are quite confusing and congested, especially if you end up in the narrow back streets where everyone parks on both sides of the road. There is plenty of car parking around the town, and there is a particularly large free car park on the waterfront which is very easy to find if you approach from Portimão marina end and follow the river. There is also a large underground paying carpark in the centre of Portimão (just follow the signs for ‘centro’ and you can’t miss it!).
ThePortimão shoppingscene has got better and better and it is probably one of the best towns for shopping in the Algarve with retail parks and shopping malls galore! Coming into Portimão from the west is a large Intermarché supermarket, which opened in 2009. A short distance down the road is Portimão retail park with amongst others a large Worten (electrical goods), Casa (everything for the home), Page 1 (fashion), C&A (clothes), Brinca (toyshop) and a supermarket. Nearby is the newest of the shopping malls, Aqua Portimão, with a large Jumbo supermarket and a really good selection of shops including H&M and Primark which are proving very popular! There are 2 floors of shops and a top floor with various restaurants and fast food outlets.
On the main dual carriageway around the town heading towards Praia da Rocha is a large Continentesupermarket on the left hand side. Although not obvious from the outside there are also lots of other shops in the mall (shoes, clothes, accessories, electrical, sports goods etc) as well as a small food hall and cinema.
As well as shopping, there are alsoPortimão Events throughout the year to be enjoyed, like powerboat racing or jet-skiing on the river, fantastic fireworks and live music to celebrate the New Year, and various exhibitions and sports events at the Expo-Arade centre. The most popular place for events in Portimão has become the Autodromo do Algarve, the motor racing circuit for which Portimão (and the western Algarve) is now famous for!
Portimão Marina you simply have to see with your own eyes, because you’ll never have seen colours like it! Only a place in the Algarve could carry off ochre and terracotta! The marina is at the eastern end of Praia da Rocha at the entrance to the river and includes the Tivoli Arade and Nikki beach resort. There are shops as well as a selection of restaurants and bars to occupy your time!
The town itself is probably not where you would choose to stay, being very built up as you would expect. However there is an abundance of hotels and other accommodation both at Praia da Rocha and on the roads leading to it – all of which is within walking distance of the town centre. The area just to the west of Praia da Rocha, Praia do Vau, also has plenty of mostly low rise accommodation around the beach and still accessible to the town.
There are plenty ofthings to do in Portimão whatever your age – there are boat trips for fishing, trips to the caves, dolphin watching trips or a trip up the Arade river to Silves from the river front. There are several golf courses nearby and at Portimão municipal aerodrome near Alvor various pursuits like parachuting for the more adventurous! Lagos zoo is just a short distance away to the west and Zoomarine at Guia is just a short distance to the east – both great family days out – or for those that prefer to keep cool, then Slide and Splash Water Park at Lagoa is nearby as well.
Portimão is the largest city in the western Algarve, and was traditionally a centre for shipbuilding, sardine fishing and fish processing. Today, most of that industry has been replaced by tourism, leisure, and retail, leaving Portimão as a large and residential city. Most tourists visit Portimão either for the extensive shopping or when using public transport, but there is a surprising amount to be seen within the city.
The city’s old and once bustling fishing docks have been responsibly transformed into a scenic promenade, leading to the quaint and tree-lined plazas of the old town. Further inland are pleasant pedestrian shopping streets, a series of historic buildings, and a varied selection of cafes, bars, and restaurants specialising in freshly cooked seafood.
Despite its considerable size – 56,000 residents – the city of Portimão has a low-key and relaxed ambience, far removed from the surrounding hectic beach towns. This article will provide an introduction to Portimão, as well as links to further detailed information.
Highlights of Portimão
• Strolling along the Ribeirinha as it follows the old docks to the Praca de Bivar
• The Igreja do Colégio and the Praça da República, the heart of the Portimão
• The Museu de Portimão, celebrating the fishing heritage of the region
• The pretty shopping streets of Portimão
• The beautiful Azulejo tile paintings in the Jardim 1º de Dezembro, which depict the history of Portugal
For tourists new to the Algarve, Portimão and Praia da Rocha, may seem to be used interchangeably and refer to the same area region. Praia da Rocha is 3km to the south of Portimão, but while relatively close, they are different in almost every conceivable way.
Praia da Rocha is a modern, purpose-built town packed full of hotels and bars, that is situated along a stunning beach, and is primarily designed for foreign tourists. Portimão, by contrast, is a largely residential city located on the banks of the Arade River, filled with Portuguese working families. Portimão's restaurants, cafes and shops are largely aimed towards a traditional, localised clientele.
Although some travel guides do refer to Portimão as having beaches, this is in fact not true, and they are all located 3km south in Praia da Rocha. Generally speaking, most tourists seeking a beach holiday will choose Praia da Rocha over Portimão.
Related articles: Introduction to Praia da Rocha
Portimão for a day trip
Portimão makes for an enjoyable day trip, especially if coming from the beach resort of Praia da Rocha. The historic centre has a distinctively Portuguese ambience, with plazas filled with open-air cafes, connected by pedestrianised shopping streets and a series of religious buildings.
Portimão can be comfortably and fully explored in half a day, and a suggested walking tour is show in the interactive map below:
Begin at the tour at the Museu de Portimão (1) to learn about the history and heritage of the city. Wander from the museum up along the Ribeirinha (2) (the old harbourfront) to the Jardim Visconde Bivar (3). This is an 800m walk and passes marinas, docks and possibly a moored pirate ship!
See the Jardim 1º de Dezembro plaza (4) with its tile paintings and stop for coffee and cake at the Pastelaria Arade (5). View the outside of the baroque Câmara Municipal de Portimão (city hall) (6)
Visit the Praça da República (7) and enter the Igreja do Colégio (8) with its austere interior. Head to the Nossa Senhora da Conceição (9), the main church of Portimao. Visit the Mercado de Portimão (10), the traditional morning market of Portimao. If shopping is your thing you could visit the modern Centro Comercial Aqua Portimão.
For lunch: Head to the traditional seafood restaurants around the cobbled streets of the Rua da Barca. Restaurants include; Taberna da Maré, Trinca Espinhas, Dona Barca or Forte e Feio, to try some delicious freshly grilled sardines or fresh fish.
This tour would take 2-3 hours, depending on how long was spent in the museum or taken for lunch!
A day trip to Portimão could be combined with a visit to Ferragudo, which lies on the opposite side of the Arada River. Ferragudo is a traditional Portuguese fishing village, and the surrounding coastline is lined by beautiful beaches. During the summer a ferry crosses the river and connects Portimão to Ferragudo.
Related article:Day trip to Ferragudo
Portimao and day cruise to Silves
Further up the Arada River is Silves, the ancient capital of the Algarve. Silves contains an imposing castle, heavily fortified walls and a delightful historic centre, which is a joy to explore. Silves can be reached by bus, but a much more memorable journey is by tour on one of the boats which depart from the northern end of the Ribeirinha.
Related article:Guide to Silves
Though Portimao is significantly larger than Praia da Rocha, it offers a more low-key and calmer holiday destination. Portimão has an all-round relaxed atmosphere, and unlike Praia da Rocha, its pleasant pedestrianised shopping streets are not crammed with foreigners. The restaurants and cafes of Portimão are geared towards the Portuguese, selling more traditional meals at much better value.
Portimão also has excellent public transport connections, with both bus and rail services connecting the city with the entire western Algarve region. For that reason, people looking for a multi-city/touring holiday might wish to consider Portimão over Praia da Rocha.
For a summary of the best hotels in the Portimao region, please see this link to Booking.com.
Portimão Appearance
Portimao has a pretty harbour front and historic centre but it is a major city, without the Portuguese charm of many other Algarve destinations. Many of the apartment blocks, particularly on the outskirts of the city, date back to the 1980s and have a tired or worn appearance. It should be said that Portimão remains perfectly safe as a holiday destination, but it’s just not full of gleaming white hotels, ultra-modern apartments, or traditionally painted houses.
The Museu de Portimão
The Museu de Portimão celebrates the city’s primary industry during the 19th and 20th centuries: sardine processing. The museum is housed in the La Rosa, one of the largest factories of the city, which closed in the 1980s. Part of the museum consists of the restored processing lines, while the remainder contains exhibits detailing the regional history. €3 entry for a fascinating museum.
Nossa Senhora da Conceição
The Nossa Senhora da Conceição is the principal church of Portimão, and is positioned on the highest point of the city. The façade of the church follows that of a simplistic 18th century Manueline styling, and does not reflect the actual age of the church. The Nossa Senhora da Conceição was originally constructed in 1470 and closely resembled the grand gothic Batalha Monastery ,but as with much of Portimao, was severely damaged by the 1755 earthquake. The only remaining gothic feature is the main portal, while inside are decorative Azulejos tile paintings.
Igreja do Colégio
Igreja do Colégio was the church and educational centre for the Jesuits, and is the largest church in the Algarve. The interior is sparse and plain following the belief of the Jesuits. The entire complex dates from the 17th century and was funded by a local businessman, Diogo Gonçalves, whose one condition for the construction was that he was buried in the church.
Convento de São Francisco
The Convento de São Francisco, is a 16th-century Manueline styled Franciscan convent, which has sadly degraded into unsafe ruins that have no public to access. The convent was damaged by the 1755 earthquake and left to decay after the dissolution of religious orders in 1834.
Day trips from Portimão
Portimão’s excellent public transport connections mean that the entire western Algarve can be easily reached via convenient, inexpensive bus or train services. The two most popular day trips are to the towns of Lagos and Silves.
Silves served as the Algarve region’s ancient capital, and the tourist attractions here reflect its rich and extensive history. The famous and imposing red-brick castle is one of the largest in The Algarve, and the town’s solid boundary walls encircle the historic centre.
Lagos, in contrast, is a much larger city and was the centre for Portugal’s 14th century age of exploration. With a plethora of symbolic historical attractions including a fort, ancient city walls, decorative churches, and even a former slave market, Lagos is far from short of fascinating discoveries.
Within walking distance of the city are also the highly-weathered cliffs of the Ponta da Piedade, regarded as one of the best natural features of the Algarve and indeed Portugal. Reaching as high as 20 meters in some places, the rocks feature a series of caves and caverns, many of which can be explored by boat.
Related articles:Lagos introduction – Silves introduction
Portimão is the largest city of the region and is a major hub for public transport. The train station is conveniently located to the north of the city centre (GPS: 37.14435, -8.53725) and is connected to the Algarve regional railway, with services to the west (Lagos) or the east (Faro, Tavira, Vila Real de Santo António). At Tunes (and Faro) there are connections to express services to central and northern Portugal. All services can be seen on the CP (Comboios de Portugal) website:
https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en
Eva is the regional bus company of the Algarve and provides services to Silves, Lagos, Albufeira, and Vilamoura. Rede Expressos is the intercity bus company with links covering the whole of Portugal. More information about services from Portimao can be seen on their respective websites:
https://eva-bus.com/
https://www.rede-expressos.pt/
(links open new tabs)
Note: The departure location of the intercity buses has moved to the Rua da Abicada bus station, north of the train station (GPS: 37.14684, -8.53564). The regional buses services depart from the Largo do Dique station (GPS: 37.13694, -8.53538), which is near the northern side of the Ribeirinha. The two bus stations are separated by 1.5km (and a walk of 2km). Always confirm the departure location of your bus when purchasing the ticket.
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