Extensive stretch of sand sheltered by cliffs, Praia da Rocha is known internationally and has for long been Portimão's «visiting card».
Inviting to the sun and the sea bathing, the sweeping bay offers excellent conditions for water sports like jet-ski, sailing, windsurfing, diving and boat trips.
Portimão is also ideal for those who enjoy fishing for large fish (like swordfish).
With a long history as a fishing port (the Romans already used its natural bay), Portimão has developed in recent decades, like the rest of the Algarve, as a tourist center, with a extensive range of hotels and restaurants and a lively commerce.
It became a popular holiday destination due in particular to the famous Praia da Rocha, a series of golden sandy beaches, large bays and capricious rocks.
«Three Bears», «Indented Rocks» and «Two Brothers» are some of the names chosen by the local inhabitants to identify the rocks that rise from the sand, affording soothing shades when it gets too hot.
The Tomás Cabreira Avenue, witch follows the coastline to the Santa Catarina de Ribamar Fortress, is full of hotels, bars, restaurants, terraces and discos which, together with the Casino, turn Rocha into a zone of intense commercial and tourist activity.
Extremely cosmopolitan, the area offers an enormous variety of night entertainment, which grows significantly during the summer season.