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Sagres travel guide »
Although Sagres is on the Algarve it doesn't have the same over-developed holiday town feel of some of those towns further east. Situated within a few kilometres of Europe's most south western point, ...
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5 Best Things to Do & See in Sagres
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Fortaleza de Sagres The Fort of Sagres is located on a dramatic, narrow headland that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean to form Portugal's most south-westerly point. It dates back to the 15th Century, a time when the Portuguese coast was often the target of raids from the Barbary pirates who heralded from the nearby North African shores.
The Fortaleza de Sagres was built on the orders of Henry the Navigator (Infante D. Henrique), one of the chief drivers in what became known as the...
Rosa dos Ventos CTHOE | BY-SAThe navigation school founded by Henry the Navigator at Sagres fortress played a key role in Portugal’s Age of Discoveries. On entering the fortress site, one of the first things to catch the eye is a huge circular stone paving measuring 43 metres in diameter. The Rosa dos Ventos or "Rose of the Winds" as it has since become known, was only excavated in 1919.
There has been much speculation as to what purpose the rose served. Some believe it to be a kind of compass which...
3. Sagres Point
Ponta da Sagres Also known as the Promontorium Sacrum (sacred promontory), Sagres Point is both geographically and historically significant. Once considered the end of the known world by many it is in fact neither the most westerly or southerly point of Portugal (and therefore continental Europe). However, it can be considered the most southwestern-most point and it certainly maintains a feel of being the end of the world.
It is the site of Henry the Navigator's 15th century fortress and also the...
Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Graça feworaveThe small, whitewashed Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Graça (church of Our Lady of Grace), in the precinct of Sagres fortress, was built in the 1570s on the site of a chapel first erected by order of Infante D. Henrique (Henry the Navigator).
The church interior is pleasingly simple, with a single aisle and a gold-painted wooden altar believed to date from the 17th century which has an image of Our Lady with the Christ Child in the centre. On either side of the altar are two statues, both believed to have been salvaged...
Cabo de São Vicente Barni1Located a few kilometres northwest of Sagres is the historic Cabo de São Vicente (Cape of Saint Vincent) is a craggy, windswept headland at the spot which claims to be the most south-westerly point of mainland Europe. Until the end of the 14th century many believed this place to be the end of the world - come here on the right day and you might think they had a point. The Romans called this place the Sacred Promontory, and if you stand here at sunset, it can be easy to see why - the sun appears unusually large as it descends over the seemingly endless sea.
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