Algarve Luxury Villa Holidays

Santa Luzia

Santa Luzia is a very pretty and unspoilt little town about 10 minutes’ drive along the coast from Tavira, and is the smallest parish in the council of Tavira. A lot of money has recently been spent refurbishing the waterfront and a fine job they’ve done too. There’s plenty of free parking and beautiful views over the water and sandbanks of the Ria Formosa. There’s allegedly a fort here too, but we’ve never spotted it.

Rumour has it that Santa Luzia got its name from an Italian effigy of the Virgin Mary washed up on the shore from a shipwreck. Quite how they got from "Virgin Mary" to "Saint Lucy" is a mystery. It has always had a strong fishing tradition, with tuna being the principal product until the 1920s. Tuna gradually gave way to octopus and Santa Luzia is now known as the octopus capital.

Fish restaurants abound in Santa Luzia and are reckoned to be some of the best in the Algarve. There are other excellent restaurants serving a good selection of meats, though, if you don’t fancy fish. Our favourites are a Dutch-owned restaurant called Canto Azul and the typically Portuguese Sol e Mar

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