Algarve
in Portugal

The reputation is entirely deserved and slightly beside the point. Yes, the limestone sea stacks and golden cliffs of the western coast are among the most photographed in Europe, and yes, the beaches are exceptional. But the Algarve rewards those who look beyond the obvious stretch. The market town of Loulé on a Saturday morning, the whitewashed villages of the Serra de Monchique hills, a plate of percebes and a glass of vinho verde at a harbourside table in Tavira with nobody in a particular hurry. The eastern Sotavento coast is quieter, flatter, and in many ways finer. A region that has been popular for decades without quite exhausting itself.