On the Estrada da Meia Praia, near to the Marina Sao Roque Hotel, stands the Cafe/Bar Paris. This establishment has existed for many years but has mostly appeared to be closed whenever we have passed, but things have changed drastically....... The owner of the bar has put his son, Tony, in charge and the place has been transformed !!

Tony offers free internet and wireless connection to clients and has recently installed a printer for use at a minimal charge.There is a new pool table in the bar and furnishings are new,  modern and spotless as are the rest of the premises. Prices are extremely competetive with a caneca of Superbock selling for a mere €1:70 and bottles of Crystal costing only €1. There's a wide range of spirits and Port wines at prices well below what most bars are charging. Food is high quality and excellently prepared and, at €4:50, the full English breakfast is super value, consisting of bacon, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans together with hot buttered toast.

For those visiting Lagos on a budget, as well as those of us who appreciate good quality and value for money, Paris bar is a welcome addition to the drinking and eating delights of our favourite Algarve town. The only piece of bad news is that the bar does not open on Sundays.

Review submitted by VinhoTinto.

Meia Praia is easily the biggest of all the Lagos beaches, curving around the edge of the bay all the way from the marina to the river estuary at Alvor. Its interesting that such a large beach is in fact called "Half Beach" that’s the translation of "meia praia" into English, this only becomes evident when viewed from the air, its from the air you can see the river estuary cuts the beach in half hence the name "Meia Praia".


Meia Praia is a long open beach, but unfortunately has no natural wind or sun shelter & as the wind picks up in speed towards the later afternoons the sand gets blown along the beach & can be quite unpleasant, I some times refer to this as the sand blast effect & so I would advise taking some form of wind break for those wishing to spend the entire day.

If water sports is your "thing" the Meia Praia is a great place to wind & kite surf, the flat natural ocean bed creates a smooth ocean surface, this combined with the wind makes for a great place to kite and wind surf, however it’s not a great place to surf.

At the Lagos marina end of Meia Praia there are several beach bars and coffee shops dotted along the first half of the beach & it’s this area which is packed with tourists & locals alike during the peak summer months. For those wanting a little peace, quiet & privacy I’d suggest the far end of Meia Praia but be warned its also a favourite spot for naturists so if this is'ent your cup of tea I'd avoid the western end.

Another area of Meia Praia beach often missed by visitors is the back beach running along the estuary from the river mouth, this area has smaller beaches dotted around and at low tide there are massive sand banks with warm rock pools scattered around the estuary, this is a beautiful area to visit as you can see along the river towards portimao, A view of Alvor to the right & Odiaxere to your left all this with the monchiche in the distance makes for a beautiful place to relax in the sun or walk the dog.

It’s also worth noting that Meia Praia is by far the most assessable beach I have visited, there are several car parks along the first half of the beach & various spots further along to park even during peak times there have always been plenty of places to park, leaving me with just a short stroll to the actual beach.

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:43 AM on 12th September 2009

We have been to Cozinha Petisco several times - excellent value, but you need to book or be there early - as there isn't much in the way of seating!   Prawns Homestyle to die for, and Almond Roll one of the best we've tasted.  Steak was super as well - all reasonably priced and excellent service.  Roll on September when we are back there!

When in Lagos you may find yourself missing your local newspaper & allthough English newspaper are available in various places all around Lagos I thought I'd made a list of as many uk newspaper websites I could find and have created a new page, I figured this would be handy for those of us whom live here in lagos and also for those on longer holiday breaks in lagos, certainly saves a trip to the shop to buy a newspaper & is much more conveiant. You can find this new page from the navigation menu titled "UK Newspapers". I Hope you find this as usefull as I do.