Buy House in Portimão

Portimão is the largest city in the western Algarve and was traditionally a center for shipbuilding, sardine fishing, and fish processing. Today, most of that industry has been replaced by tourism, leisure, and retail, leaving Portimão as a large and residential city. Most tourists visit Portimão either for the extensive shopping or when using public transport, but there is a surprising amount to be seen within the city.

The city’s old and once bustling fishing docks have been responsibly transformed into a scenic promenade, leading to the quaint and tree-lined plazas of the old town. Further inland is pleasant pedestrian shopping streets, a series of historic buildings, and a varied selection of cafes, bars, and restaurants specializing in freshly cooked seafood.

Portimao has a pretty harbor front and historic center but it is a major city, without the Portuguese charm of many other Algarve destinations. Many of the apartment blocks, particularly on the outskirts of the city, date back to the 1980s and have a tired or worn appearance. It should be said that Portimão remains perfectly safe as a holiday destination, but it’s just not full of gleaming white hotels, ultra-modern apartments, or traditionally painted houses.