Olhão

Olhão sits on the eastern Algarve coast of Portugal, at the edge of the Ria Formosa; a protected lagoon of salt marshes, sandbanks and seagrass meadows that stretches for miles, home to seahorses, cuttlefish, and dolphins that sometimes play just offshore. It is a working fishing town with a sardine-canning heritage, a creative soul, and a look all its own: whitewashed rooftops, cobbled streets, faded grandeur, and, on the walls of the old canning district, commissioned murals telling the story of Olhão's fishing history.

If you're drawn to the slow life, having long lunches, unhurried mornings, the kind of place where you soon know the person who pours your morning coffee, then Olhão is for you. This isn't a resort. There's no glitz, no polished service, no need for high heels. What there is: warm and hospitable people, a proud creative community, working fishermen bringing in the morning catch, and a slower, authentic pace of life than you'll find almost anywhere else in the world.

The best way to meet Olhão is to walk out of the front door and let it introduce itself. Wander down toward the waterfront through the tangle of cobbled streets; getting lost along the way is part of the pleasure. At the sea front, the two market halls sit right at the water's edge (fish to the right; fresh fruit, vegetables and meat to the left), and on Saturday mornings the square outside spills over with local farmers, churro stalls, and the town's easy weekend rhythm.

Inland, flat bike paths trace the edge of the lagoon out toward the salt pans, where at Mar o Morto, the Algarve's own Dead Sea, you can float weightless in mineral-rich water and coat yourself in dark, silky mud.

We share our own favourite spots with guests through the Casa Fuzetta app: Cafe Tinto for coffee, ReCreativa when there's a clamour for outdoor cinema, anyone love an old Hitchcock classic? Or maybe an art exhibition; then again, there are restaurants and beach bars we return to again and again because, well, Olhão thrives on its richly deserved foodie reputation. There are plenty of places  we haven't tried, and new ones opening all the time. Don't be limited by our list. Half the joy of Olhão is finding your own.