Portimão and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.  It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In 1924, it was incorporated as a cidade and became known merely as Portimão. Historically a fishing and shipbuilding centre, it has nonetheless developed into a strong tourist centre oriented along its beaches and southern coast. The two most populous towns in the Algarve are Portimão and Faro.

Economy

The Aqua Shopping centre in PortimãoPraia da Rocha attracts numerous tourists

The community, which was founded on the right margin of the Arade River, and oriented towards the sea, is inserted in a region whose geography and physical characteristics justify a seafaring economy. Its maritime economy allowed the development of industries oriented towards salination of fish, the open-water fishing industry, conservation and canning, the construction of ships and transport. Further, the Arade basin permitted rural commerce associated with cultivation of carob, fig, almonds and the saw-milling/forestry industry (including cork), among others.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, tourism became an accentuated economic factor in the regions growth, with the development of activities oriented towards the sea and development of seasonal infrastructures that permitted an influx of new money. By the beginning of the 21st century, 74% of the roughly 2000 annual overnight stays originated from the United Kingdom, Portugal and Ireland. Seasonal concentration (44%) usually occurred around the high-summer months (July, August and September).

The Algarve in general is a major draw for tourists. In 2018, the region’s income from tourism was over a billion euros; the number of visitors totaled 4.2 million. The region’s tourism contributed €1.08 billion to the economy in that year. 

Architecture

Prehistoric

• Megalithic Monuments of Alcalar (Portuguese: Monumentos de Alcalar/Conjunto Pré-histórico de Alcalar)

Civic

• Roman ruins of Quinta da Abicada (Portuguese: Estação Romana da Quinta da Abicada)

Sports

Portimão is known for its sporting events, mostly water sports, including surfing and kitesurfing; motorsport; beach soccer; and the professional football team Portimonense S.C..

Team sports

Portimonense S.C. is the local sports club, with team in such sports such as basketball. It is best known for its professional association football section, who play at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão. In the summer, a beach soccer tournament called the Mundialito de Futebol de Praia (‚Little World Cup‘) is held.

Sailing

Being located on the South coast of Portugal, Portimão is well known in the sailing world for being an ideal location for sailing on the Atlantic Ocean, boasting much calmer seas and weather conditions than the Western coastline.

Portimão is the host venue for many prestigious sailing events including the annual Portimão, Portugal Match Cup event which is a part of the World Match Racing Tour. The event draws the world’s best sailing teams to Portimão. The identical supplied (SM-40) boats are raced two at a time. Points accrued count towards the World Match Race Tour and a place in the final event of the season, with the overall winner taking the title ISAF World Match Racing Tour Champion. Match racing is an ideal sport for spectators in Portimão.

Powerboating

The Portimão coastline has also been host to the sport of powerboating. The Portuguese Grand Prix of the Sea run by Powerboat P1 as part of its international championship is also held in Portimão.

Motorsport

In the hills near Portimão stands the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Finished in October 2008, it is a race and test circuit officially recognised for the highest categories both for cars and motorcycles. MotoGP races, Superbike races, Le Mans Series races and F1 tests are scheduled. The Lisbon to Dakar Rally passed through here.

The 2020 Portuguese Formula One Grand Prix took place over 66 laps of the 4.684-kilometer Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on Sunday, October 25. A month later the 2020 MotoGP season finale also took place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on Sunday, 22 November.

Rhythmic gymnastics

There is also an annual grand prix of rhythmic gymnastics, with an individual all-round competition, a team all-round competition, and finals by apparatus and by group at senior and junior levels.

Scuba Diving

The Ocean Revival Project saw 4 Portuguese Navy Warships deliberately sunk to form the largest single artificial reef structure in the world.