Vila Nova de Milfontes: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Milfontes sits on a low hill at the mouth of the Mira, with calm river water on one side of the point and the open Atlantic on the other. The old village is a few streets of white houses around the church and the fort, and everything else is beach. This walk goes from the church to the fort and the quay, along the river beach to the seafront and the lighthouse. About an hour and a half, flat; finish at sunset at Praia do Farol.
A short history of Vila Nova de Milfontes
Vila Nova de Milfontes sits at the mouth of the Mira River on the Atlantic, on the Alentejo coast. King João II granted it a charter in 1486, in an attempt to settle the empty coast. Pirates from North Africa raided it again and again, so around 1600 the Fort of São Clemente was built on the riverbank. On 7 April 1924 the aviators Brito Pais and Sarmento de Beires took off from here on the first flight from Portugal to Macau. For most of the 20th century it was a small fishing village, and only in recent decades has it become a holiday town within the Southwest Coast nature park.
The ten best sights in Vila Nova de Milfontes
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1Fort of São Clemente
The small fort over the river mouth, in private hands; seen from the quay and the beach
2Church of Our Lady of GraceThe white parish church in the old village above the river
3Archangel MonumentA bronze winged figure on the seafront for the aviators who flew from here to Macau
4Ilha do PessegueiroAn islet off the coast 20 km north, with a ruined fort on it and another on the shore opposite
5Sines CastleThe castle of the town where Vasco da Gama was born, 30 km north; a museum inside
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6Praia da Franquia
The river beach below the village; calm water, shallow at low tide
7Praia do FarolThe ocean beach by the little lighthouse at the river mouth; waves and currents, swim with care
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8Praia das Furnas
The wide beach across the river, reached by a small summer ferry or by the bridge
9Mira BridgeThe road bridge upstream of the village, with a view down the estuary to the sea
10Porto das BarcasA tiny fishing cove 2 km north, with boats pulled up on the rocks and a restaurant above
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Vila Nova de Milfontes →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Vila Nova de Milfontes:
Free walking tours in Vila Nova de Milfontes
Where the Mira meets the sea
Milfontes sits on a low hill at the mouth of the Mira, with calm river water on one side of the point and the open Atlantic on the other. The old village is a few streets of white houses around the church and the fort, and everything else is beach. This walk goes from the church to the fort and the quay, along the river beach to the seafront and the lighthouse. About an hour and a half, flat; finish at sunset at Praia do Farol.
- Church of Our Lady of Grace · The parish church is the centre of the old village, and the street beside it is named after Sarmento de Beires, one of the aviators who took off from Milfontes in 1924. White walls edged in blue, the Alentejo way, run down from it to the river.
- Fort of São Clemente · The fort was built at the start of the seventeenth century to protect the river mouth from the North African corsairs who raided this coast and carried people off as slaves. It has long been privately owned, and is best seen from the quay below.
- Fort Quay · From the quay under the fort small boats cross the river to Praia das Furnas in summer, and kayaks go upstream into the estuary. The Mira is tidal for many kilometres inland, and the current at the mouth is strong on the ebb.
- Praia da Franquia · The river beach faces south across the estuary to the dunes of Furnas, sheltered from the ocean swell by the point. At low tide the sandbanks spread out and children can walk far into the shallows.
- Archangel Monument · In April 1924 Brito Pais, Sarmento de Beires and the mechanic Manuel Gouveia took off from Milfontes in the aircraft Pátria to fly to Macau. The first plane was lost in India and the second came down in southern China, short of Macau, but at home the flight was hailed as a triumph; the winged figure on the seafront remembers it.
- Praia do Farol · The beach is named after the small lighthouse that marks the river mouth, and it is the first ocean beach south of the point. It faces west, so the sun sets into the sea straight in front of you.
South on the Fishermen's Trail
The Rota Vicentina's Fishermen's Trail follows the paths the fishermen used to reach the rocks, along the top of the cliffs, through the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park. This route follows it south, on foot for the first stage to Almograve, about 15 km of sand and rock, or by car with short walks at each stop. Carry water; there is little shade and the sand is tiring.
- Mira Bridge · The bridge is the only road crossing of the estuary, and from it you see the river open into the sea between the village and the dunes. Upstream the Mira winds through cork oak country to Odemira.
- Praia das Furnas · Furnas has two beaches in one: the river side, warm and calm, and the ocean side round the point, open to the swell. The dunes behind it are protected, and the boardwalk keeps people off them.
- Almograve · The cliffs at Almograve are of dark schist folded into stripes, and below them is a wide beach with rock pools. The Fishermen's Trail from Milfontes ends its first stage here.
- Praia do Cavaleiro · A small beach under the cliffs below the village of Cavaleiro, reached by a path. The fishermen of this coast climbed down rocks like these to gather goose barnacles, the percebes, which are still harvested by hand.
- Cabo Sardão · On the sea stacks below the lighthouse, white storks build their nests on bare rock above the Atlantic, the only place in the world where they are known to nest on sea cliffs. In spring you can watch them from the cliff path, a few metres away across the drop.
- Entrada da Barca · A tiny harbour cut into the cliffs just north of Zambujeira, where the local boats are winched up a ramp. The few restaurants above it serve what those boats bring in, including the percebes.
North to Porto Covo and Sines
North of the Mira the coast is wilder and emptier, a line of beaches and coves with almost nothing built on them, until the white grid of Porto Covo and the island fort in front of it. Beyond is Sines, the port where Vasco da Gama was born. About 70 km there and back by car, with swims on the way; the coves at Porto Covo are best at low tide.
- Praia do Malhão · Malhão is several kilometres of sand broken by black rocks, backed by dunes and a protected area of seasonal ponds. There is no village, only a car park and a beach bar in summer.
- Ilha do Pessegueiro · On the island are the ruins of a fort begun in the late sixteenth century and never finished, and tanks cut in the rock where the Romans salted fish. A second fort faces it from the shore.
- Porto Covo · The village was laid out at the end of the eighteenth century by the merchant Jacinto Fernandes Bandeira, later Baron of Porto Covo, on a regular grid around a square. The white houses edged in blue sit right above the coves.
- Praia da Samoqueira · A cove between rocks just north of Porto Covo, reached by steps from the clifftop. At low tide the rock shelves are full of pools.
- Sines Castle · Vasco da Gama, who opened the sea route to India in 1498, was born in Sines around 1469, the son of the alcaide, the commander of this castle. The castle now holds the town museum, with a room on Gama's life.
- Praia Vasco da Gama · The town beach of Sines lies right below the castle, in a bay sheltered by the headland. Out beyond it is the deep-water port, one of the largest in Portugal.
Getting to Vila Nova de Milfontes and getting around
- Milfontes Bus Stop · Express coaches to Lisbon in about three and a half hours, and south along the coast to Lagos
- Lisbon Airport · About two hours north by the A2 and the coast road
- Faro Airport · About two hours south-east; handy if the trip ends in the Algarve
Cheap eats in Vila Nova de Milfontes
This is where the Alentejo meets the sea, so the menu is pork and bread from the plains and fish from the boats: açorda, a bread soup with garlic, coriander and egg; migas; fish stew; and percebes, the goose barnacles prised off the rocks of this coast. Prices are lower than in the Algarve, with a dish of the day at about €10-12. In summer the village fills up, and the good tables are booked by evening.
- Tasca do Celso · Alentejo dishes and fish in the old village; mains about €14-22, book in summer
- A Choupana · Beach café at Praia do Farol; grilled fish and drinks on the sand, about €10-18
- Mabi · Croissants and ice cream on Largo de Santa Maria, about €2-4
- Café Flor do Mira · Village café on the Rossio; coffee and a toasted sandwich about €3
- Dunas Mil · Grill restaurant near the centre; dish of the day about €10-14
- Milfontes Market · Picnic food: bread, cheese, fruit and smoked sausage, about €10-15 for two
Museums in Vila Nova de Milfontes
- Sines Castle · The town museum in the castle, with a room on Vasco da Gama; about 40 minutes north
- Fort of São Clemente · The seventeenth-century fort at the river mouth; outside only
- Archangel Monument · The memorial to the 1924 flight to Macau, on the seafront
- Ilha do Pessegueiro · The island fort and the Roman fish tanks, seen from the shore fort
- Church of Our Lady of Grace · The parish church of the old village
Nature and day trips near Vila Nova de Milfontes
- Fishermen's Trail · The first stage south to Almograve, about 15 km; start early
- Cabo Sardão · Storks on the sea stacks; best from March to June
- Praia das Furnas · River side for calm water, ocean side for waves
- Mira Estuary by Kayak · Paddle upstream with the incoming tide, back with the ebb
- Praia do Malhão · Empty dunes and rocks north of the village
Things to do in Vila Nova de Milfontes with kids
- Praia da Franquia · The calm river beach; shallow and sheltered
- Ferry to Furnas · A five-minute boat ride across the river in summer
- Mira Estuary by Kayak · Family kayaks on the calm upper estuary
- Almograve Rock Pools · Crabs and anemones in the pools at low tide
- Porto Covo · Small coves and ice cream in the square
Where to eat in Vila Nova de Milfontes
- Tasca do Celso · Book for dinner in summer
- Porto das Barcas · Fish and seafood above the fishing cove north of the village; book for sunset
- A Choupana · Drinks on the sand as the sun goes down
- Bar do Canal · A bar on the road to Porto das Barcas for a late drink
- A Barca Tranquitanas · Fish at the tiny harbour of Entrada da Barca, near Zambujeira
- Dunas Mil · Simple grill supper in the village
Frequently asked questions about Vila Nova de Milfontes
What is there to see in Vila Nova de Milfontes?
The top sights in Vila Nova de Milfontes are Fort of São Clemente, Church of Our Lady of Grace and Archangel Monument. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Vila Nova de Milfontes?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Vila Nova de Milfontes without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Vila Nova de Milfontes?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Vila Nova de Milfontes, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Where the Mira meets the sea.
How do you get to Vila Nova de Milfontes and get around?
The main ways are Milfontes Bus Stop, Lisbon Airport and Faro Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Vila Nova de Milfontes, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Vila Nova de Milfontes that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Vila Nova de Milfontes for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.