About Lagos

Lagos a large town situated in Western Algarve was originally established as an ancient fishing harbour. With its origins dating back as far as 2000 BC and its inhabitants of Celtic origin it was once known as Lacobriga which was derived from the Latin name of the settlement.
Trade between Portuguese colonies brought a great amount of wealth in to Lagos so that by the 16th century it was the regional capital of the Algarve.
Trading in Iron, Gold, Silver and other exotic merchandise shipped back from Africa Lagos became a wealthy town. In the 16th century new walls were built around the city but in 1755 were destroyed by an earthquake followed by a tsunami. Although some of the walls remain from the 16th century as well as the governors castle, many of the buildings are from the 17th century.