Vilamoura

Vilamoura is a purpose-built resort on the coast of the Loulé municipality, developed from the late 1960s around a small harbour. Its centrepiece is the marina, one of the largest in Portugal, lined with places to eat and drink and busy with yachts and boat trips.

Around it spread golf courses, hotels, villas and a casino, with sandy beaches on either side of the marina. History runs deeper than the modern resort suggests: the Cerro da Vila site preserves Roman baths and remains linked to fish-sauce production, with a small museum. Vilamoura is polished and well organised, and it sits right next to Quarteira.