What to do in the Algarve: 13 must-sees, from Benagil to Tavira

Between Portimão and Albufeira, the sea has carved dozens of caves and arches into the sandstone. The best known, the Algar de Benagil, is a vast cavern whose roof is pierced by a round opening that lets light fall onto a small inner beach. Further west, Ponta da Piedade in Lagos is a line of arches and rock stacks; at Carvoeiro, the Algar Seco forms pools and passages at the foot of the cliff.

The caves are seen from the sea, by boat, kayak or paddleboard, from Portimão, Benagil, Carvoeiro, Armação de Pêra or Lagos. On land, the Seven Hanging Valleys trail follows the clifftop above Benagil and lets you look down through the opening in the roof.

The coast changes from west to east. In the centre, between Lagoa and Albufeira, the coves are framed by cliffs: Marinha beach, with its arches and rocks, Benagil beach, where the boats to the cave leave from, and further on Falésia beach, several kilometres long at the foot of red and white cliffs between Olhos de Água and Vilamoura.

Near Lagos, Dona Ana and Camilo beaches, the latter reached by a long wooden staircase, are small and sheltered. In Portimão, Rocha beach is wide and lined with a promenade. In the east, the fine-sand beaches lie on the barrier islands of the Ria Formosa (Faro, Culatra, Tavira), reached by bridge for Faro island and by boat for the others.

In the west of the Algarve, Lagos keeps an old town ringed by walls, with cobbled lanes, the church of Santo António and the Ponta da Bandeira fort, which guarded the harbour entrance. The Mercado de Escravos, on the main square, is a small museum about the Atlantic slave trade, in which Lagos was one of the first ports in the 15th century.

South of town, Ponta da Piedade raises its sandstone arches and stacks above the water; a staircase leads down to sea level, and kayaks and boats leave from the marina to pass beneath the arches. Dona Ana and Camilo beaches can be reached on foot from the centre.

The regional capital and gateway through its airport, Faro has kept its Cidade Velha, the old town, enclosed within its walls. You enter through the Arco da Vila to reach the cathedral (Sé), whose bell tower overlooks the lagoon. In the lower town, the Carmo church houses a Chapel of Bones lined with skulls and bones.

Faro sits on the Ria Formosa, a lagoon sheltered by a chain of barrier islands. From the marina quay, boats run to Deserta (Barreta) island and Farol island; Faro island is linked to the mainland by a bridge.

Once a fishing port and now the Algarve's largest resort, Albufeira has kept an old town of white houses above Pescadores beach, which you reach from the centre by steps and a lift. To the east, Falésia and Olhos de Água beaches stretch below red cliffs.

Nightlife is concentrated on Avenida Sá Carneiro, nicknamed "The Strip", away from the old town. The marina, to the west, is the departure point for boat trips to the caves along the coast.

At the far south-western tip of mainland Portugal, Cape St Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente) looks over the Atlantic from its cliffs, topped by a lighthouse. A few kilometres away, Sagres fortress stands on a headland linked to Henry the Navigator and the beginnings of the Age of Discovery.

People come for the wind, the end-of-the-world feel and above all the sunset over the ocean, one of the most spectacular in the Algarve.

One of the Algarve's main towns, Portimão spreads along the bank of the Arade estuary. The Portimão Museum occupies a former fish cannery by the river and tells the story of the fishing and canning industries the town lived on.

To the south, the Praia da Rocha district runs along a wide sandy beach below the cliffs, with the Santa Catarina fort at the harbour mouth. Many boat trips to Benagil leave from the centre and the marina.

East of Faro, Tavira climbs both banks of the Gilão, linked by a stone bridge known as the "Roman bridge", rebuilt in the 17th century. The remains of the castle look out over the rooftops and the town's many bell towers, next to the church of Santa Maria do Castelo.

The town sits on the Ria Formosa: from the Quatro Águas jetty, a boat crosses the lagoon to Tavira island and its long sandy beach. Less built-up than the central coast, Tavira suits a slow-paced stay.

A resort built from the 1960s around one of Portugal's largest marinas, Vilamoura combines hotels, harbourside restaurants and golf courses. Falésia beach begins west of the marina.

At the entrance to the resort, the Roman site of Cerro da Vila preserves the remains of a villa and baths, with a small museum. Boat trips, including dolphin watching, leave from the marina.

Inland, on the Arade river, Silves was the capital of the Algarve in Moorish times. Its red sandstone castle, with crenellated walls, dominates the town and the surrounding citrus orchards.

Below stands the Gothic cathedral, built after the Christian reconquest in the 13th century, and the municipal archaeology museum, which displays remains of the Islamic town.

North of Portimão, the Serra de Monchique is covered in cork oaks, eucalyptus and strawberry trees. Its summit, Fóia, rises to 902 m, the highest point in the Algarve: on a clear day the view reaches the coast and the ocean. The town of Monchique and the spa village of Caldas de Monchique are the starting points.

The Via Algarviana, a waymarked long-distance trail that crosses the hinterland from east to west to Cape St. Vincent, runs through the range. On the coast, the Seven Hanging Valleys trail links Marinha beach to Vale Centeanes along the clifftops.

The Algarve has several large leisure parks, open mainly in the warm season. Zoomarine, at Guia near Albufeira, combines marine animal shows and pools; Aqualand, at Alcantarilha, and Slide & Splash, at Estômbar (Lagoa), are water parks with slides; Aquashow, at Quarteira, adds rides to its pools.

Krazy World, at Algoz, is an animal park with pools and mini-golf, quieter for young children.

Loulé carnival, in February, is one of the best known in the country, with its parades of floats. Also in Loulé, Festival MED usually brings world music to the lanes of the old town in late June.

Summer is the season of food festivals: the Olhão seafood festival and the Portimão sardine festival are usually held in August. Dates change every year: check the Visit Algarve events calendar before you go.