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New trail race debuting in São Brás de Alportel on 9 August, with routes from an 11km walk to a 31km mountain trail.
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São Brás de Alportel gets its own trail race for the first time on 9 August, organised by the town's Associação Cultural Sambrasense. Starting and finishing at the Pavilhão Municipal Dr. José de Sousa Pires, the course climbs into the hills around Fonte Férrea on the edge of the Serra do Caldeirão, with four options: a 31km trail with 1,500m of climbing, a 22km trail sprint, a 13km mini trail and an 11km walk.
The longer distances set off early, from 07:30, with the walk starting at 08:30, and organisers expect around 300 entrants for the debut edition. It is part of the regional athletics calendar run by the Associação de Atletismo do Algarve.
For anyone based inland rather than on the coast, this is a chance to run the hill country around São Brás rather than another beachfront course.
Pavilhão Municipal Dr. José de Sousa Pires, São Brás de Alportel
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A few minutes from the venue, and taking bookings or requests.
Portuguese and Italian restaurant and pizzeria in São Brás de Alportel with a wood oven, a salad bar and outdoor tables.
100 m from the venue
Air conditioning, heating and gas systems installer in São Brás de Alportel, trading since 2003 with 24-hour emergency callout across the Algarve.
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English-speaking carpentry and window company in São Brás de Alportel, an official Finstral partner, building bespoke wood projects since 2010.
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Estate agent specialising in property sales in São Brás de Alportel and the Algarve.
200 m from the venue
Restaurant and cocktail bar in São Brás de Alportel, pairing a seafood-led menu with signature cocktails and online table booking.
400 m from the venue
One email a week with the best events across the Algarve. Free.
Spots found by members, the town’s own circle, and people who answer whatever you want to ask.
A pink Rococo revival palace above Faro whose terraced gardens, azulejos and orange trees feel made for slow afternoons. The Palácio de Estói was a nineteenth century nobleman's fantasy and is now a pousada, but the gardens remain open to visitors and are the real prize: balustraded terraces, blue and white azulejo panels, statues, palms and a fountain stair that catches the light at dusk. It sits just off Estói's village square, so you can pair it with coffee at a local café or with the Roman ruins at Milreu, ten minutes away on foot. Weekday mornings outside holiday season are near silent. Enter through the garden gate rather than the hotel reception and take the terraces from the bottom up for the best reveal.
The ruins of a grand Roman villa at Estói, complete with fish mosaics and a temple that later became a church. Milreu was a luxury estate from the first to the fourth century, and what survives is remarkably legible: bathhouse walls with dolphin and fish mosaics, olive presses, and the tall podium temple that early Christians later converted, one of the few of its kind in Portugal. Interpretive panels are decent and the site rarely draws more than a handful of visitors at a time, so you can take it slowly under the trees while the rural setting drives home how comfortable Roman country life was. Pair it with the palace gardens up the road in Estói; the walk between the two takes about ten minutes.
A year round stream in the dry Barrocal hills, ringed by a gentle signposted loop walk near Querença. Water is the rarest thing in the Algarve interior, and Fonte Benémola has it all year, welling up through limestone and sliding between willows, poplars and reed beds. The protected valley holds a circular trail of roughly four and a half kilometres, flat enough for children and shaded for much of the way. Terrapins bask on the stones, dragonflies work the pools, and spring turns the banks into a wildflower show. We rate it as the easiest proper nature walk in the central Algarve. Start from the small car park on the Querença side and walk the loop anticlockwise to keep the stream beside you early on.
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Short painting and drawing courses led by artists from a local gallery.
Mould, paint and glaze an almond blossom piece in the Algarve pottery tradition.
45-minute beach workout for all levels at Oura Beach East, then drinks at the beach café. First class free.
