| The town of Sagres itself is a small fishing port in the extreme south west of the Algarve and in itself has no particular merit. However the Ponte de Sagres, a rocky wind-blasted outcrop jutting out into the Atlantic is a spectacle to behold. |
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| It was at Sagres that Infante Dom Henriques, Prince Henry the Navigator, and Philippa of Lancaster, his English wife, founded a famous nautical academy for the study of astronomy, cartography, navigation and shipbuilding. The studies and researches carried out at Dom Henriques’ academy laid the fertile foundations of the great age of Portuguese maritime discovery and prepared the way for the likes of Vasco da Gama and Barthonomeu Dias. |
| It is said that Dom Henriques had a house in the vicinity but scholars are still arguing as to its precise location. In 1587, Sir Francis Drake attacked Sagres and destroyed much of its fortifications, (Portugal then being under the control of the Spanish). The earthquake of 1755 damaged the town further. |
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