You have to visit to know. Every year, the Algarve, a small rectangle located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, where dream houses, paradise beaches and golf resorts abound, monopolises pages in magazines and guidebooks all over the world. And all the publications give the same guarantee: that region in the south of Portugal, which is home to 113 Mediterranean beaches in less than 5,000 km2, and which offers warmth for more than 300 days a year, is the favourite holiday destination of thousands of people spread across five continents, including dozens of celebrities. But is the Algarve, voted the best beach destination of 2021 by the World Travel Awards, still just that, the place to recharge your batteries, or is it much more than that?
For several years, since the early 1960s, that territory rhymed with summer, and it seemed almost like a secret discovered by the British - the first foreigners to truly fall in love with places like Albufeira, Vilamoura or Quinta do Lago, in Loulé, next to the Ria Formosa - who were satisfied with the sea and the sun, when there was nothing else - not even an airport. Faro International Airport was only inaugurated in 1965. As a result of this investment, the first million tourists arrived in the 1970s - today there are seven million foreign tourists a year, or ten million if you count the Portuguese. It was then, in 1972, that the Portuguese-Brazilian André Jordan discovered the Algarve, and it is thanks to the visionary spirit of this businessman, now 90, that much of the region's economic, social and cultural development is due.
"The Algarve was very poor, it had nothing. There were no shops, just a few family grocery stores, no cinemas, let alone museums or libraries. There was nothing to do with tourism. What you saw most were carts on the roads. It was a pretty pathetic reality," recalls André Jordan to the weekly newspaper Sol . The population's means of subsistence were scarce: "It was fishing that sustained people. There were a few fish canning factories, especially for sardines. Agriculture was very basic, living off orange cultivation," continues the businessman who built the first tourist developments in the Algarve. On the other hand, he says, there were things that were difficult to understand. "When I arrived, there were three golf courses, but there were no players. In the winter, a few foreigners would turn up to play, but it wasn't part of the golf circuit." Today, Portugal has 90 golf courses, half of which are in the Algarve. And the Algarve is home to the country's most awarded golf course: it's in Lagos and it's Onyria Palmares Golf.
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In the 1970s, Praia da Rocha, Armação de Pêra, Albufeira, Lagos and Praia da Luz were the favourite destinations for foreigners. It is said that there were so many English people in Praia da Luz that they even flew their country's flag in the villas. The Algarve was also the destination of those fleeing the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and those who believed that bathing in the sea cured anxiety and other ailments. From there to becoming the nerve centre of national and international jet-set parties was a step. The Grimaldi family from Monaco, for example, have been holidaying there since the days of Grace Kelly. Singer Bonnie Tyler bought a house in Albufeira and has her yacht moored in Vilamoura. Brazilian Adriana Galisteu lived in a villa in the middle of the 645 hectares that make up Quinta do Lago with racing driver Ayrton Senna. Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, star of The Matrix, is spending his holidays in Tavira.
But these days it's not just celebrities and royalty who can't live without the Algarve, it's also millionaires who have no doubts about the excellence of investing in the area. It's therefore not surprising to see the number of new developments continue to spring up there. These are flats with views over the sea, river and countryside, with private swimming pools, a gym, jacuzzi and sauna and other amenities. Check them out here.
In other words, the Algarve is unrecognisable and more desirable than ever. In the last two decades, almost everything has changed in the Algarve's 16 municipalities. Today's foreigners, who are no longer just from the UK or northern Europe, are no longer satisfied with staying for a season; their ambition is to buy a house and stay there forever. The Algarve is no longer a seaside resort, it's a safe harbour for the whole year. The countless luxury services leave no room for doubt about the quality of life in all seasons: 13 international colleges, more than 40 golf courses, almost 6,000 hotels, hundreds of restaurants with top quality cuisine (five with Michelin stars), extreme luxury property, maximum security and tranquillity, and an impressive number of islands and must-see places, such as the Benagil Cave. But what is most extraordinary is the fact that the Algarve has managed to keep its nooks and crannies, its secrets and its spaces of silence and privacy, even in public places. The small, picturesque fishing villages are still there. So are the taverns where you eat fresh fish. The small grocery shops, the excursion boats, the hospitality of the people - none of that has changed. Much less those unbeatable late afternoons with their long sunsets.
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