Pousada

Sagres Pousada offers the calm Algarve, a contrast to the more usual cosmopolitan bustle of Lagos, Albufeira and other coastal villages. Just 5 km from the Pousada, you can find the Fortaleza do Beliche (Beliche Fort) with an unforgettable view and a first class restaurant. You may make reservations at Beliche by contacting the Sagres Pousada or this website.

Pousada History

Sagres Pousada has a superb location perched on the cliff-top overlooking Sagres fort and the lighthouse of Cape Saint Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente). Cape S. Vincent was a stage where many great sea battles were fought by the likes of admirals Drake, Rodney, Nelson and Napier.

Since its inauguration in 1960, Sagres Pousada has been constantly improved to cater to the increasing number of visitors who want to stay at the most south westerly corner of Europe, and learn about the rich history of the man who gave his name to the Pousada; Infante D. Henrique, Portuguese for prince Henry, the son of king Joao I and his English-born queen Philippa of Lancaster. prince Henry known historically as Henry the navigator founded the most famous navigation school in early 15th century.

As you sip your Sagres beer on the terrace, remember Prince Henry planned expeditions which prodded and probed their way down the west coast of Africa and then, via the Azores and Madeira, to the New World. His fleet reached India and it is no coincidence that Bombay is so named. It is a corruption of the old Portuguese "bom baia" (good bay). Goa, which has beaches to rival Portugal’s, remained Portuguese territory until 1961.

Even Christopher Colombus sharpened his navigational skills by training at Sagres, where he also married a Portuguese woman.

Like many promontories in the southwest of other European countries, Sagres is shaven by the prevailing wind. It is bare, blustery and bleak; yet it displays a strange, severe and haunting beauty. In the calm summer months, the stillness, tranquility, and friendly sparkling sea are but a welcome interlude before the winter winds whistle across the empty plains, and the snarling seas thrash against cliffs with awe inspiring ferocity. Water is flung high into the lowering sky and ships keeps well off the point.

There are several sheltered sandy beaches. Bird watching, wind-surfing and fishing are popular local pastimes. Lagos, 33 km east is a port with a new marina, but way back in history many of Prince Henry’s early caravels were built there. His statue stands in the square where the well-preserved Mercado dos Escravos (slave market) stands as a reminder of the dark and abominable side of Portuguese history. Not only gold, ivory and spices were brought back from those newly-found lands across the seas. While Portugal never permitted slavery they were the first western Europeans to trade Africans.