T3 Apartment In Monte Gordo

The bridge was built in the early 1990s and has made a big difference to the congestion in and around the town because people can now drive straight there instead of waiting for a ferry. Vila Real has a large town square, 'Praça Marquês de Pombal', which is edged with orange trees and populated with low white buildings, shops, cafes and restaurants. Just behind the square there is a space called the Centro Cultural António Aleixo, which used to be the old market. In essence, Vila Real is a relaxed and peaceful town and ideal for anyone who likes the quieter side of life, or to escape the stresses from home. It’s beautifully quaint, with lots to see and do, particularly for those who like to potter around and absorb the local culture. Like Monte Gordo, Vila Real is also very flat, so is ideal for walking and cycling. Vila Real has a lovely open sandy beach, which stretches for several kilometres uninterrupted towards Manta Rota, near to Tavira. At the river end access to the beach is along a narrow road, with some rather large speed bumps in it and very little space to manoeuvre, although there is a small parking area near the end. The better route to follow is signposted through the pine forest between Monte Gordo and Vila Real with plenty of parking right behind the beach. A relaxing way to see this eastern end of the Algarve (and the western end of Spain) is to take a boat trip along the Guadiana to Alcoutim. It passes through some beautiful countryside and changes from the very flat scenery around Vila Real to a backdrop of rounded hills with lush vegetation and a few houses here and there until you arrive at Alcoutim. Here you can see castles on hilltops on both banks of the river as reminders of the past.