An evening in Lagos, Portugal

I had no idea what to expect of Lagos. Since we were staying in Salema and not Lagos, I did little research on it before we left. However, as Salema is a tiny town, we decided to spend the afternoon and evening in Lagos on our first night there! It did not disappoint! 

From Salema, we first drove to Dona Ana Beach, which is said to be one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world. We walked around the platform up top and just appreciated the scenery. Since we knew we'd be doing a beach hike the next day, we left and drove into the actual town of Lagos. 

Lagos is a VERY old city. Because of that, it is almost impossible to drive in. We accidentally took a turn into the old walled city, and I've never seen Kevin so stressed out. But for good reason...the streets were SO narrow and one wrong turn down a one way street could really mess things up. If you have a rental car in Lagos, make sure to park at the parking garage on the main road along the coast. We ended up there, and it was a great relief! From the parking garage, you are only a 5 minute walk into the old city plaza! 

Walking up to Lagos felt surreal. There were buskers playing beautiful music on guitars, kids laughing and running around, a little ice cream truck where Kev got a cone (as a reward for the stressful driving hah!). We sauntered through the city and did a walking tour from a Rick Steve's book, where we learned a lot. Took me back to elementary school where we learned about the famous Portuguese explorers. 

For dinner, we stumbled upon the most perfect restaurant. I'm one of those people who absolutely loves it when restaurant is both pretty, has delicious food, and the ambiance is top notch. This was one of those places! While we ate, a man played his guitar and it was just so dreamy!  It actually was our favorite dinner on the trip! The restaurant is called Taberna da Mo, and you can see it here. The food was SO good. We both got a stew...one lamb and one beef. 

Our one afternoon and evening in Lagos was a total success! Lagos would definitely be a great place to stay in the Algarve if you are looking for nightlife and a faster pace! If you're looking for an incredible beach and a slower pace, I'd absolutely recommend Salema where we stayed. You can see our AirBnB here as well as my post on staying in Salema here. 

{even sweet Ollie loved Lagos!} 

Best family friendly hike in the Algarve (near Lagos, Portugal)

Before heading to Portugal, I did a quick search online to see the highlights of the Algarve...and BOY was this coastline the MAIN ATTRACTION! If you need to know anything about Southern Portugal's famous Algarve coast, it's that it's absolutely magnificent and breathtaking! Knowing that, we wanted to spend the majority of one of our days here exploring. 

I looked up a few hikes. Because we had Ollie, we knew we didn't want to do anything too strenuous or get caught on a long hike and not be able to turn back in time for his needs. On a whim, I noticed a hike on the cliffs that was close to Lagos, and relatively easy. While this hike is breathtaking and fun for everyone, it can definitely be labeled family friendly as all ages could walk along the paths! 

The hike started at Ponta da Piedade. We plugged that into our GPS in our rental car, and it took us right to the parking lot. Thankfully there was plenty of parking, and we got Ollie out and strapped into the Ergo 360 (a total must when traveling with a baby!). 

There is a trail that runs along the cliffs, and the nice thing is you can kind of choose how far you want to go. We spent a few hours meandering the trails and drinking in the incredible view. There were people from all over the world here, and it was fun to meet and chit chat! 

There is a massive staircase down one of the cliffs that absolutely worth walking down. You can see some beautiful arches and the the ocean from the bottom. Ollie got a little hungry down there so I gave him a quick nurse as nobody was around. Halfway through his nurse, a tourbus group of about 100 Japanese tourists descended down the stairs and were walking all around me taking pictures of the scenery. It was hilarious! 

Just as a sidetone for traveling with a baby, never be afraid to nurse anywhere! Breastfeeding a baby is a total natural thing to do, and if your baby is hungry, feed him! People from the world over are so kind and gracious:) So don't be scared to feed wherever you are! 

At the end of our hike, we found a cute little cafe near the parking lot that had a view of the cliffs and ocean. It was absolutely delicious. I ate the vegetable paella, Kevin got a ham and cheese sandwich and Ollie nursed! 

If you are close to Lagos, this is a must see trail!! Enjoy!

{random side note...usually we don't eat at the tacky places by the parking lots, ha! BUT...we honestly found in Portugal that the food is good EVERYWHERE (whether a tacky road side stand or a cliff view restaurant!) We were shocked at the level of cuisine in Portugal, it was amazing!}