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Vila Do Bispo ~ Algarve Portugal Travel Pictures

Portugal village a great day trip from Albufeira

cock of barcelos portugal green background  with red roosterVila do Bispo, a small Portugal village, was once the 'bread basket of the Algarve'. Vila do Bispo located a few miles north of the town of Sagres, another small village. Both are a few hours' drive west from Albufeira on the main highway to Cape Vincente on the southwest coast. We'd stopped in Vila do Bispo to walk through the menhir fields less than a mile from the village. If you find yourself in Sagres, pick up maps and brochures from the tourism kiosk there. (Sagres is a small village -- you can't miss the kiosk.) See Portugal travel information and find Algarve hotels here. English is as not widely spoken away from the tourism areas.
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 Vila do Bispo Main Square with church, in the algarve, portugal. Vila do Bispo Main Square

Vila do Bispo, like many of Portugal's old villages, has a a central square with a church along one side. Here, Flame trees and other blooming flowers line the perimeter. I wanted to take a photo of one older gentleman, but though we never spoke, he made it clear he didn't want me to. But he had a face lined with interest, and wore ecentric clothes. From time to time, women clad in black from head to toe, walked briskly past, bent on getting from point A to B. And dogs! There are an alarming number of homeless dogs and cats millling about the algarve, so much so that some visiting Europeans started up an Adopt-a-Dog service.

weathervane  on Church in vila do bispo Town Square the algarve portugal shows eye window doorway, kneading trough style and weathervane. Detail on Church in Village Square

The church doorway has an 'eye-window' feature overtop; and the roof is described as 'kneading trough' style. The church is c1726.

A museum is attached to the church, though neither it nor the church were open at the time of my visit (Late January, midweek, around noon).

If there is a particular church you want to visit, see if you can find out when it's open to the public, so you don't drive miles to be disappointed.

Your hotel may have tourism brochures, so ask if you don't see any. Like many churches in Portugal villages, the interior of this one at Vila do Bispo is adorned with the blue and white tiles.

Row housing along vila do bispo town street in the algarve, portugal. Row housing village street

Many doorways and windows on the houses in this area are framed in bands bright colours or carved stonework.

The roads through many towns and villages are quite steep and narrow, so renting a *small* car makes it easier, especially when parallel parking.

old stone house in Vila Do Bispo portugal. Detail on Vila Do Bispo house

This house, though in need of some maintenance, looked vacant but was occupied.

Throughout the area, there are a number of well-kept and brightly painted homes that looked recently renovated, which I would have liked to visit.

From time to time, we passed horse drawn wagons laden with goods for sale. Someone told us these wagon nomads were Gypsies.

Older House, in ruins, vila do bispo portugal in the algarve. Older House, in ruins

The narrow streets around the church are lined with whitewashed houses typical of many old Algarve towns.

You'll see its clones many times in the small villages along the inland roads; not as much along the coast, as that's where the development is.

As you drive around the countryside, keep an eye out for the cork oak trees, identified by their peeling bark.

You may notice cork bark in large piles, similar to haystacks, in fields. A few blocks west of this square, down the hill, there's a town center with a few cafes and the municipal office, where you can might be able to get a menhir field map.

algarve portugal old water wheel near vila do bispo Water wheel near Vila do Bispo

Next to the highway from Albufeira to Vila do Bispo, on the north side, just as you getting close to Vila do Bispo, you can see this water wheel in the farm yard.


Algarve Portugal wildflowers in early February Wildflowers near Vila do Bispo

Everywhere I travelled in early February, the fields were blooming with these wildflowers.

 

West of Vila do Bispo are these tall cliffs overlooking the atlantic ocean, algarve portugal. West of Vila do Bispo

From Vila do Bispo, you can get back on the on-ramp to the main highway to continue west to Cape Vincente, or head back to Albufeira and points in between.

You can also take a narrow back road to the west coast cliffs, ruins and villages north of the Cape. We found this raod on one of the small maps.

Much of the coastal areas is protected parklands, and road signs, once you are off the main highway, can be hard to spot. It helps to have a sharp-eyed navigator!

 Atlantic surf pounds Algarve Portugal  shore near village Vila do Bispo. Atlantic surf Algarve Coast

A closer look at the wild surf, the sea air
all misty and fresh and full of negative ions!

 

 

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More Portugal pages (and a few more you may be interested in)

See also Western Algarve travel story
Portugal travel information

Cape Vincente

Albufeira photos * Portugal menhirs
Gibraltar (day trip)

Check my Travel Tips and What to Pack

Books and guidebooks, phrasebooks list

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