Vilamoura
Encyclopedia
Loulé
Loulé is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 764.2 km² and a total population of 62,295 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 12,103.The municipality is composed of 11 parishes, and is located in the District of Faro....
, in the Algarve, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Its boundaries lie within the parish of Quarteira
Quarteira
Quarteira is a Portuguese city and a parish, located in the municipality of Loulé. It has a population of 16,131 inhabitants and a total area of 37.78 km². Quarteira is a city since May 13 of 1999....
. Vilamoura is a purpose built resort and Marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
which was started from scratch by a wealthy banker from Porto, Cupertino de Miranda. The resort was started in 1974 and is still expanding outwards from the marine center. The resort is located 14.3 miles west along the coast from Faro
Faro, Portugal
Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
and is at 266 kilometers south of Lisbon. The nearest airport
Faro Airport
-Incidents and accidents:*On 21 December 1992, Martinair Flight 495 skidded off the runway in bad weather at Faro Airport killing 54 passengers and two crew out of a total of 340 people on board....
is at Faro. Covering some 20 km² of land, it is one of Europe's largest tourist beach resorts.
The area previously hosted the annual Almond Blossom Cross Country
Almond Blossom Cross Country
The Almond Blossom Cross Country is an annual international cross country running competition which takes place in Albufeira, Portugal in early March. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. It is held in co-operation...
competition between 1996 and 2003, and the same course was selected as the venue for the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 18-19 March 2000 in Vilamoura, Portugal.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :...
.
Marina
At the heart of Vilamoura is the marinaMarina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
which has the capacity to berth over 1,000 vessels. The marina is surrounded by large Hotels and Luxury holiday homes as well as a large casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
and numerous restaurants and vibrant bars. At the far corner of the marina, it is possible to charter boats for big game fishing. There are also facilities for jet skiing and parascending. Close by there are also a number of sports clubs, a shooting range and many night clubs. Tourism in Vilamoura is extensive and well-developed, with many different resorts with ratings from 3 star to 5 star. This is a substantially higher average than the surrounding areas, which have ratings varying from 2 star to 4 star. As a consequence of being mostly privately owned, the town is very opulently designed. The town/marina has an extensive variety of activities which are usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends. Activities include touring the local caves along the coastline (which are nearer to Albufeira
Albufeira
Albufeira is a Portuguese municipality in the Faro District, Algarve region. Its name came from the Arabic: البحيرة . The city has a population of 13,646. The municipality has a population of 35,281 inhabitants and a total area of 140.6 km²...
than they are to Vilamoura). This cave tour is usually done on tour boats. The area also has two companies which operate trains-on-wheels for travel between resorts.
For the avid historians there is a preserved Roman Site
Cerro da Vila
The Roman Ruins of Cerro da Vila are the remnants of a historical villa in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. Its vestiges lie in the vicinity of the resort and marina ofVilamoura, in the civil parish of Quarteira, municipality of Loulé Municipality....
and Museum providing an insight to the area's past. Originally a Roman fishing town, the ruins include baths in which the mariners used to bathe.