Algarve in the context of Alvor Agreement

Portuguese participation in the Reconquista occurred from when the County of Portugal was founded in 868 and continued for 381 years until the last cities still in Muslim control in the Algarve were captured in 1249. Portugal was created during this prolonged process and largely owes its geographic form to it.

The Portuguese Reconquista involved the participation of north European crusaders passing through Portuguese coasts en route to the Holy Land, such as Englishmen, French, Flemings, Normans and Germans, most notably at the conquest of Lisbon in 1147, but also in 1142, 1154, 1189, 1191 and 1217. Many settled in Portugal at the invitation of king Afonso I or his son and successor Sancho I.

Gharb al-Andalus (Arabic: غرب الأندلس, romanized: gharb al-ʼandalus, lit. 'west of al-Andalus'), or just al-Gharb (Arabic: الغرب, romanized: al-gharb, lit. 'the west'), was the name given by the Muslims of Iberia to the region of southern modern-day Portugal and part of West-central modern day Spain during their rule of the territory, from 711 to 1249. This period started with the fall of the Visigothic kingdom after Tariq ibn-Ziyad's invasion of Iberia and the establishment of the Umayyad control in the territory. The present day Algarve derives its name from this Arabic name. The region had a population of about 500,000 people.

The term "provinces" (Portuguese: províncias) has been used throughout history to identify regions of continental Portugal. Current legal subdivisions of Portugal do not coincide with the provinces, but several provinces, in their 19th- and 20th-century versions, still correspond to culturally relevant, strongly self-identifying categories. They include:

• Alentejo (Alto Alentejo, Baixo Alentejo)
• Algarve
• Beira (Beira Alta, Beira Baixa, Beira Litoral)
• Douro Litoral
• Estremadura
• Minho
• Ribatejo
• Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

The islands of Azores and Madeira were never called "provinces".

The Treaty of Alcañices or Treaty of Alcanises was made in Alcañices between King Denis of Portugal and King Fernando IV of Castile in 1297.

Denis was the grandson of King Alfonso X of Castile and essentially an administrator and not a warrior king. He went to war with the kingdom of Castile in 1295, relinquishing the villages of Serpa and Moura, but gained Olivença and reaffirmed Portugal's possession of the Algarve and defined the modern borders between the two Iberian countries. The treaty also established an alliance of friendship and mutual defense, leading to a peace of 40 years between the two nations.

Faro (/ˈfɑːroʊ/ FAR-oh, Portuguese: [ˈfaɾu] ), officially the City of Faro (Portuguese: Cidade de Faro), is a city and a municipality in southern Portugal. It is the capital of both the Algarve region and the Faro District, as well as the southernmost city on the Portuguese mainland. Faro municipality covers an area of 202.57 km (78.21 sq mi) and, as of 2024, had 70,347 inhabitants, making it the second most populous municipality in the Algarve after Loulé. The city proper had 46,299 inhabitants in 2021, the largest urban population in the region. Faro lies on the shore of the Ria Formosa lagoon, a protected nature reserve and hosts the region’s international airport and university.

Founded as Ossonoba in antiquity, Faro was a settlement during the Phoenician and Roman periods and later served as a Moorish port known as Santa Maria Ibn Harun. It became part of the Kingdom of Portugal in 1249 and was elevated to city status in 1540. Since 1756, following the devastation of the Lisbon earthquake, Faro has been the administrative capital of the Algarve.

Faro International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto de Faro, IATA: FAO, ICAO: LPFR), officially Faro - Gago Coutinho International Airport (Aeroporto Internacional de Faro - Gago Coutinho), is located four kilometres (two nautical miles) west of the city of Faro in Portugal. The airport opened in July 1965 being the main gateway to Faro District (the year-round resort region of the Algarve) and southwestern Spain, with nearly 10 million passengers using the facility in 2024. Since 2022, it is named after Gago Coutinho, Portuguese geographer, cartographer, naval officer, historian and aviation pioneer.

The University of Algarve (UAlg; Portuguese: Universidade do Algarve), founded in 1979, is a Portuguese public higher education institution located in the southernmost region of mainland Portugal, the Algarve, having its headquarters and two out of its three campuses in Faro (namely the Gambelas and Penha) and another campus in Portimão. It has around 10,000 students, 20 per cent of whom are international, from more than 90 nationalities, with Brazil being the most representative country of origin for those foreign students.

Faro is the southernmost district of Portugal. The area is the same as that of the Algarve region. The administrative centre, or district capital, is the city of Faro. It borders Spain.
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Barlavento is the western region of the Algarve, comprising the municipalities of Albufeira, Aljezur, Lagoa, Lagos, Monchique, Portimão, Silves and Vila do Bispo.

Sotavento is the eastern region of the Algarve, comprising the municipalities of Alcoutim, Castro Marim, Faro, Loulé, Olhão, São Brás de Alportel, Tavira, and Vila Real de Santo António.

Barreta Island (Portuguese: Ilha da Barreta) is an island in Algarve, Portugal, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long and 50 to 600 metres (160 to 1,970 ft) wide.

Barreta is also known as Deserta, Deserted Island or Santa Maria Cape Island. Is one of the more isolated islands in Algarve. There is a public ferry line reaching the island everyday, all year round or it can be reached by renting or owning a boat. In this island is located the southernmost point of continental Portugal, Cabo de Santa Maria.

Caramujeira is a hamlet in Portugal, located in the civil parish of Lagoa and Carvoeiro, on the outskirts of the city of Lagoa, in the Algarve region. It became well known for its Marinha Beach, considered by the Michelin Guide as "one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in Europe" and "as one of the 100 most beautiful beaches in the world". In 2018, CNN rated the Marinha Beach as one of the "best beaches in the world". Caramujeira is also known for its wine production.

Benagil, Carvoeiro and Porches villages are located near the hamlet.

Silves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsiɫ.vɨʃ] ), officially the City of Silves (Portuguese: Cidade de Silves), is a city and municipality in the Portuguese region of Algarve, in southern Portugal. The population of the entire municipality of Silves in 2011 was 37,126, in an area of 680.06 km. The urbanized area of the city proper has approximately 11,000 inhabitants. Silves is the former capital of the Kingdom of the Algarve (1249–1910), a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal (1139–1910), and is of great historical importance.

Tartessian is an extinct Paleo-Hispanic language found in the Southwestern inscriptions of the Iberian Peninsula, mainly located in the historical Tartessos, the south of Portugal (Algarve and southern Alentejo), and the southwest of Spain (south of Extremadura and western Andalusia). There are 95 such inscriptions; the longest has 82 readable signs. Around one third of them were found in Early Iron Age necropolises or other Iron Age burial sites associated with rich complex burials. It is usual to date them to the 7th century BC and to consider the southwestern script to be the most ancient Paleo-Hispanic script, with characters most closely resembling specific Phoenician letter forms found in inscriptions dated to c. 825 BC. Five of the inscriptions occur on stelae that have been interpreted as Late Bronze Age carved warrior gear from the Central European Urnfield culture.

The Guadiana River (/ˌɡwɑːdiˈɑːnə/ GWAH-dee-AH-nə, US also /ɡwɑːdˈjɑːnə/ gwahd-YAH-nə, Spanish: [ɡwaˈðjana], Portuguese: [ɡwɐdiˈɐnɐ]) is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the eastern portion of Extremadura to the southern provinces of the Algarve; the river and its tributaries flow from east to west, then south through Portugal to the border towns of Vila Real de Santo António (Portugal) and Ayamonte (Spain), where it flows into the Gulf of Cádiz. With a course that covers a distance of 829 kilometres (515 mi), it is the fourth-longest in the Iberian Peninsula, and its hydrological basin extends over an area of approximately 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi) (the majority of which lies within Spain).

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, hit Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with subsequent fires and a tsunami, the earthquake almost completely destroyed Lisbon and adjoining areas. Seismologists estimate the Lisbon earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7 or greater on the moment magnitude scale, with its epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km (110 nmi; 120 mi) west-southwest of Cape St. Vincent, a cape in the Algarve region, and about 290 km (160 nmi; 180 mi) southwest of Lisbon.

Chronologically, it was the third known large-scale earthquake to hit the city (following those of 1356 and 1531). Estimates place the death toll in Lisbon around 30,000–40,000. A further 10,000 may have died in Morocco.

The Guadiana River (/ˌɡwɑːdiˈɑːnə/ GWAH-dee-AH-nə, US also /ɡwɑːdˈjɑːnə/ gwahd-YAH-nə, Spanish: [ɡwaˈðjana], Portuguese: [ɡwɐdiˈɐnɐ]) is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the eastern portion of Extremadura to the southern provinces of the Algarve; the river and its tributaries flow from east to west, then south through Portugal to the border towns of Vila Real de Santo António (Portugal) and Ayamonte (Spain), where it flows into the Gulf of Cádiz. With a course that covers a distance of 829 kilometres (515 mi), it is the fourth-longest in the Iberian Peninsula, and its hydrological basin extends over an area of approximately 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 mi) (the majority of which lies within Spain).

Tourism in Portugal serves millions of international and domestic tourists. Tourists visit to see cities, historic landmarks, enjoy beaches, or religious sites. As of 2024, Portugal had 29 million international visitors. In addition, there were 22,9 million trips made by Portuguese residents including overnight stays at local hotels.The most popular destinations are Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, the Portuguese Riviera, Madeira, Sintra, Óbidos, Nazaré, Fátima, Braga, Guimarães and Coimbra. The most popular with internationals were Lisbon region, the Algarve, the West and Tagus Valley region (Óbidos, Nazaré, Fátima), Northern Portugal (Porto, Braga and Guimarães) and Coimbra. National tourists prefer the Algarve and Northern Portugal, followed by Central region of Portugal.