Aldeia Encantada: Noite Branca in Paderne

Once a year Paderne turns itself into the Aldeia Encantada, the Enchanted Village, for Noite Branca. Residents and visitors dress in white, the streets fill with white decorations, and the parish council lays on food and drink stalls, a craft market, street entertainment and live music and DJs from 19:00 until midnight. It began as a symbol of friendship, peace and cordiality between neighbours and has grown into one of the inland Algarve's better-loved summer nights. The same evening, Paderne Castle becomes a viewing point for the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. From 20:30, the Albufeira municipal archaeology museum and the Albufeira Astronomy Club set up telescopes for naked-eye and guided observation of the shooting stars, with collaborators on hand to explain what visitors are looking at. Between the white-clad village party and the stargazing on the castle hill above it, it is a good pairing for anyone who wants a proper local night out rather than a coastal resort crowd.