A place of whitewashed houses and rooftop terraces, fishermen returning with the morning catch, cobbled streets leading nowhere and everywhere, cafés filled with local conversation and boats disappearing across the lagoon towards seemingly endless stretches of sand.
Set on the shores of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, Olhão remains one of the Algarve's most characterful coastal towns. It is a place that has retained its identity as a working fishing town while quietly becoming one of the most interesting destinations in southern Portugal.And from Casa das Lendas, much of it begins right outside your door.
The historic centre of Olhão is best discovered without a plan. Step outside Casa das Lendas and wander through Bairro da Barreta, one of the oldest parts of town. Narrow lanes twist between whitewashed houses, tiny squares appear unexpectedly and staircases lead towards the distinctive rooftop terraces known locally as açoteias.
Seen from above, these flat-roofed houses create the extraordinary collection of cubes and terraces for which Olhão has become known. Portugal's official tourism information describes this roofscape as one of the defining characteristics of the town. Some houses have been beautifully restored; others still carry the marks of generations of fishermen and families who lived here before them. That contrast is part of Olhão's charm.
Walk towards the waterfront and you will soon encounter one of Olhão's great landmarks: its distinctive red-brick municipal markets.
Standing proudly on Praça da Restauração, the Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Rosário tells an important part of Olhão's story.
Olhão looks out across the Ria Formosa, an extraordinary protected lagoon system stretching for around...
Olhão isn't only a town of fishermen and markets. It is also a town of stories. The Caminho das Lendas — Path of Legends —.
Just outside Olhão, the traditional salt pans reveal another side of the Algarve. Sea salt and delicate flor de sal are still harvested here using methods shaped by centuries of tradition.
Olhão is a town that loves to eat. Its fishing heritage is still very much alive, with fresh fish, clams, oysters, octopus and seafood arriving daily from the Atlantic and the Ria Formosa.
One of the best ways to understand the Ria Formosa is from the water. Boats leave from Olhão and make their way through the lagoon's winding channels ...
Just east of Olhão lies Fuseta, a small fishing village surrounded by the waters, salt pans and islands of the Ria Formosa. Fuseta offers two very different beach experiences.
The era of smuggling has passed, the huts have been replaced by masonry constructions, but the irregularity remains. The new constructions occupied exactly the same space that the huts previously occupied, thus giving rise to a unique neighborhood in the entire Algarve. Walking around here is like navigating a labyrinth where one easily gets lost and found.
Today, Largo do Gaibéu forms part of Olhão's Caminho das Lendas — the Path of Legends, a route through the old town connecting five traditional stories with the places where they are said to have happened. And this is what makes the name Casa das Lendas — House of Legends so special. Our house is situated on Rua do Gaibéu, right in this historic part of Olhão, where one of the town's best-known legends has been passed from generation to generation. When you stay at Casa das Lendas, the legends of old Olhão are not simply something you read about. One of them begins just outside your door.
