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PRAIA DA LUZ
("Beach of Light")
Originally an old fisherman's village and still retains a lot of its old
world charm. Protected by Rocha Negra ("black rock")
cliff (a product of the volcanoes of Monchique some 150 million years ago) to the east, and an old fort
(16th century) to the west (now a smart restaurant).
The large sandy beach (blue flag rated) is overlooked by some of the bars and restaurants of the village
itself. A lovely patterned cobbled promenade (calcada), the Av. dos
Pescadores, runs from just below the church along the seafront to the
cluster of beach bars. The promenade is full
of craft stalls during high season and also has a few bars, cafes and
restaurants.
History: Luz and the Algarve in general has a history of occupation, from the
Carthaginians and the Romans. There are some Roman ruins (fish salting vats) recently
excavated and preserved, look for the small entrance in the wall of the
promenade (by the entrances to the O'Poco restaurant and Carlos Bar). Then
came the Moors, The Crusaders in the 13th century, a brief spell of Portuguese
kings, then conquered by Spain. The fort was later built amongst many others
on the coast to defend against pirates.
 Facilities: There are good water sports facilities - scuba diving, snorkelling, windsurfing and
sailing school, paddleboats and some boat trips. It is a safe beach ideal
for children (blue flagged), with lifeguards on duty during the summer months. Also there
is excellent fishing to be had from the extensive rock formations
to the west of the beach. As it is nestled in a bay, the town itself is
compact and has all the
basic necessities close to hand. There are plenty of
pubs and
restaurants to be found and cater for all tastes, and a fair few are open
all year round. There are plenty of
things to do in Luz and the
surrounding neighbourhood, not to mention the wonderful
golf courses.
Layout: There a basically four main roads in Luz, the Rua (Primeiro) 1 de Maio
(Rua de Espiche) running north to south from the E.N.125 Sagres / Lagos road to main square
and the church, which is effectively the town centre. The Rua de (Vinte e
Cinco) 25 Abril running West from
the church up the hill to the new developments and the road to Burgau, and the Rua Direita running
East from the church (the main street) which is the 'old' road out of town. The Av. dos Pescadores runs past the church
and the fort for a short distance and leads onto the 'newish' promenade running from just
below the church, along the sea front to the main beach area. There are
extensive villa and apartment developments in progress to the west of the town at the top of
the hill on the Rua 25 de Avril, but sufficiently far enough away not to be
too intrusive and as of the end of 2007 the landscape has sufficiently matured to no longer be an eyesore.
Nearby: Lagos, a larger historic town is just 10 minutes east of
Luz. It has plenty of shopping, a pretty good night life,
and a large established marina. Burgau, 10 minutes drive west of Luz,
is another old fishing village, overlooking a small bay and sandy beach, with a good
beach bar. Relatively unspoilt by tourism (protected by a conservation order
to retain its character). It has
some good restaurants and bars. Built on a
hillside, Burgau's old fishermen's houses line cobbled streets leading to the
bay, a nice sandy beach and one of the few working fishing fleets left.
Conservation: The Algarve has two major nature reserves covering most
of the area. The Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, extending from Faro to
the Guadiana and Spanish border, and the Parque Natural do Sudoeste
Alentejano e da Costa Vicentina, which begins in the corner of the
Alentejo above the Algarve, but extends down its Atlantic coast and turns
around the Cabo de São Vicente to Sagres then runs back east towards Lagos. |
On this page...About Praia da luz
