The white contour of a church on a hilltop, the narrow streets of the old fishermen and tradesmen quarter, the presence of the sea and the immense beach known by the name of Praia da Rocha are some of the aspects that identify the character of this centenary city.
All that is left of medieval Portimão are a few stretches of the city walls now hidden by houses. The old town is dominated by the architecture of the late 19th and 20th centuries: houses on two storeys, with wrought iron balconies and ornate stonework around windows and doors, decorated with balustrades of stone and ceramics and walls covered with tiles.
To savour the spirit of Portimão, there is nothing better than to sit in the shade of the trees in the gardens Manuel Bívar and forget about time, to watch the fishing boats and to walk trough streets and squares that exude the ambience of an active, hard-working town which has succeeded in keeping pace with progress. |