Fortaleza de Sagres

Museum, Algarve News

The fortress at Sagres, perched on a windswept headland above the Atlantic, is associated with Prince Henry the Navigator, who is believed to have directed his exploration programme from this location in the fifteenth century. The site contains a large stone compass rose (rosa dos ventos), a church, and exhibition spaces covering the history of Portuguese maritime exploration. The fortress walls enclose a broad, flat headland with dramatic cliff-top views. The site is exposed and can be very windy. It is one of the Algarve's most visited monuments and an evocative place regardless of the historical debates about its precise role.