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LAGOS
Capital of the Algarve from 1576 to 1765, Lagos has a long and chequered history. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and Moors all settled here, due to the advantages of its large natural harbour. In the 15th century, King João I sailed from Lagos to conquer Ceuta in North Africa, and local men then built the frail boats which Prince Henry the Navigator sent out to probe even further down the uncharted East African coast. The 1755 earthquake devastated the city and the seat of local government was subsequently moved to Faro.
What to see: The city's walls are the largest and best-preserved in the Algarve. The slave market located in Rossio da Trindade was the first of its kind in Portugal. At the Chapel of Santo António, King Sebastian attended his last mass on the eve of his ill-fated expedition to Morocco in 1578. After the battle of Alcácer-Quibir, he and 8,000 of his troops lay dead, spelling the end of the House of Avis dynasty. The chapel also houses a regional museum with artefacts from the Bronze and Iron Ages and sacred art dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.
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