Portimão is situated in the Barlavento of the Algarve, 60 Km from Faro Airport. This municipality is connected with good roads and by highway, as with the railway throughout the whole of the Algarve and with the rest of the country. The harbour of Portimão on the estuary of the River Arade, is the best in the Algarve, enabling the operation of great cruise vessels all the year round. The aerodrome allows the operation of small airplanes, being a basis of many tourist circuits which are available in the Algarve.

The existence of necropolis gives evidence that Portimão has been inhabited since Neolithic times. Like the whole of Algarve, it was also inhabited by Mediterranean peoples (Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians), having later been followed by the Romans. The discovery of very important archaeological remains in Alvor and at the bottom of the River Arade, are proofs of the great importance of this city in those days.

The urban nucleus of Portimão goes back to the 15th century. This place grew so rapidly that the King D. Manuel I granted it the title of village Vila Nova de Portimão (Village of Portimão) in 1504.

Actually Portimão is the second biggest city of the Algarve, thanks to the Tourism Industry. Portimão (linked with Praia da Rocha) was the birthplace for the Tourism Industry in The Algarve, at the end of the 19th century, and at the beginning of the 20th century.

In the first half of the 20th century, the fish canning industry had a great development in this municipality. Portimão (and Olhão) became one of the biggest centres of this industry. Tourism borns in the Algarve by the impulse (and vision) of some great businessmen of the fish canning industry.

In 1924, Portimao was elevated to the statute of city by the President of the Republic Mr. Manuel Teixeira Gomes, which was born in this place.

Actually Portimão is one of the councils of Algarve with the highest density of tourist infrastructures, such as the harbour for the cruise vessels, marinas, golf courses, and tracks for nautical races and motorized sports. Portimão also offers centres for fairs and congresses, shopping centres, hotels and tourist villages and residential units.

Portimão is, therefore, one of the biggest councils of the Algarve with the greatest real estate offer, whether at a residential or at a tourist level. Investment in this latter sector has shown in the past good valuations.

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