Paderne

• Village
• Traditional
• Countryside
• Hiking
• History
• €

Paderne is an inland village in the municipality of Albufeira, fifteen minutes from the coast but a world away from it, set among fig and carob country in the valley of the Ribeira de Quarteira. Its landmark stands a couple of kilometres outside the village: the Castelo de Paderne, a ruined castle of rammed earth built by the Almohads in the twelfth century, on a hilltop almost encircled by the river, with a medieval bridge crossing the water below. Local tradition holds that it is one of the seven castles represented on the Portuguese flag. The walk out from the village, or the loop around the castle hill, is one of the best short trails in the central Algarve. Paderne itself is a quiet, whitewashed place: a parish church, café squares where the older men still gather, bakeries, and lanes that end in orchards. It has kept the rhythm the coastal towns lost, which is exactly why people seek it out. Albufeira's beaches and nightlife are a short drive south, useful and easy to ignore. Paderne suits travellers who want the interior: history underfoot, walking from the door, and dinner in a village restaurant.