Alvor is a Portuguese parish of the county of Portimão, with 15.25 km ² of area.

It borders with the following parishes: Mexilhoeira Grande (N), Portimão (E) and Odiáxere (O).

Land of maritime tradition and fishing, with deep religious beliefs, marked by the Mother Church, where its principal portico of great decorative richness stands out, has always been subject to the misfortunes of the misfortunes and misfortunes of the sea. Today, in parallel with artisanal fishing, catering, commerce and tourism are the main economic activities.

Alvor is known for its beaches and its fishing village by the river mouth.

In Alvor passed away, on October 25, 1495, King of Portugal D. João II. A short time later, D. Manuel elevated it to the town seat of county, a status that would lose in the early nineteenth century. The small municipality was constituted only by the village and had, in 1801, 1 288 inhabitants.

Although it is customary to hear visitors or outsiders call "O Alvor" to the village, when the designation "O Alvor" refers to the river with the same name. For someone referring to Alvor, simply must indicate Alvor or Alvor village.

The name of this village, contrary to what one might think, does not mean dawn, beginning of the day, but rather fortress, castle, deriving from Arabic al-burdj.

Its main industry is tourism.

There is an aerodrome in Alvor (Alvor / Penina hills), often known as (PTM) / Portimão.

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In the tourist center of Alvor, the vestiges of architecture of Arab origin, are evident in every street that goes along. Next to the beautiful and beautiful Ria de Alvor, you will find a wide range of Algarve gastronomy, bars with live music, varied entertainment and the famous handicrafts of the region.

Praia do Alvor has the particularity of making the division between the ocean and the Ria do Alvor. In addition to an immense beach you will find an inland lagoon, with an extensive area of ​​marsh and channels of calm waters.

The huge sandy barrier to lose sight of, allows the vacationer to choose the best place to go to the baths.

The great beach support, easy parking, and the great diversity of fauna and flora you can see makes this one of the most sought after beaches in the Algarve.

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Speaking of Alvor's gastronomy for its proximity is talking about the gastronomy of Portimão is talking about the fat and tasty sardine roasted food on a slice of bread, which has its temple and its priests in the restaurants near the dock. But not only the grilled sardines live the good table in Portimão. Soup of belgiums and Swiss chard, white bean soup with the exotic flavor of sweet potatoes, tomato bread soup, so much to the taste of fishermen, and the refreshing armageddon recommended for hot summer days are entries that tell a lot about how well you eat in Portimão.

In fish and seafood the choice is varied. From the typical cataplanas to fish stews, from clams to portimonense to feijoada de búzios, made with large conch, red beans and green peppers, parsley and bay, to give flavor and perfume. Rice with sausage, mashed potatoes and fried choquinhos complete the fisherman's side of the menu, while the rural traditions are present in the beans with fried fish, corn potatoes accompanied with sausages or seafood and peas portimonense.

Desserts like Domes of fig and almonds, Dom Rodrigos, egg balls and full figs reflect the centuries-old sweet tradition of the Algarve from the wedding of the fig with the almond, having the egg and the sugar for godparents. Portimão produces, in the area of ​​Penina, red and white wines that remind us of the warm presence of the sun on the summer days.

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The Algarve has fantastic beaches and a superb climate that has become one of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe. With an annual average of 3000 hours of sunshine, Alvor is one of the sunniest places in Europe. With just over 500mm of rain a year, Alvor is not a damp place, but expect some rainfall in late fall and winter.

Although Alvor has built its reputation as a summer destination, spring and fall are also fantastic times to visit.

Summer
Summers are long and hot in this part of the world. May and June are very sunny with daily highs easily in the 1920s. Average temperatures of 24 ° C in the highs of July and August, with daily highs rising to the 30s and lows never falling below 20 ° C. The summer weather really lasts until September, with temperatures usually around 23 ° C.
Fortunately, the coastal location of Alvor means benefits of the refreshing breeze that comes from the Atlantic on hot summer days. Humidity is not high in summer, just over 60%, making conditions very comfortable.
Sunlight is abundant throughout the season, with the middle of summer reaching 12 hours of sunshine a day.
Precipitation is very low - the period between June and September is only 5% of the annual precipitation and in July and August it is rare to see any rainfall.

Winter
The winter is very mild in Alvor. This thanks to the southern location as well as the Gulf Stream that brings warm waters across the Atlantic to the Portuguese coast.
January is the coldest month on average at 12 ° C, but even so, temperatures do not fall into single numbers. Partly cloudy in the evening, then mostly cloudy with a chance of snow. The daily highs can hit the tall teenagers in the winter and sometimes reach 20 ° C so it's really a great place to get away from the cold winters elsewhere in Europe.
However, winter and late fall is the wettest time of year in Alvor. October to February accounts for nearly three quarters of the annual rainfall. December is the wettest month, usually with more than 90 mm of rainfall. Atlantic storms can hit Alvor and neighboring regions. These can bring several days of wet and windy weather. Although unpleasant while they last, clouds rarely remain after a storm and leave the winter months still sunny - a healthy 6 hours a day on average.
Like anywhere, the region can experience outside the normal climate. A recent example of this was extreme cold in January 2006, which saw freezing temperatures and snowfall on the beaches. This is a very rare occurrence indeed.

spring and fall
Spring and autumn enjoy great weather. For those looking for an active vacation, these are perhaps the best times when temperatures are more comfortable than in the hot summer months.

May and October in the summer months. April enjoys good weather also with daily maximums over 20 years and an average of 9 hours of sunshine a day. March also has good sunny days, although the nights and mornings are still a bit cold.
October is a hot month, with average maximums of 23 ° C and minimums of 14 ° C. However, rains begin to increase throughout this month. November is one of the wettest months of the year but temperatures can still rise to 20 ° C on daytime and sunlight prevails for more than 6 hours per day on average.

The good weather combined with the quieter crowds make these two seasons an excellent time to visit.

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