Lagos · Nightlife

The two pedestrian streets inside the old walls hold almost all of Lagos's bars, one after another over about 300 metres, so people drift between them rather than picking one. Busiest from late June to early September; several places shut entirely in winter.

The wide square with the Sebastião statue and the smaller squares off it are where the evening starts: outdoor tables, a slower crowd, food before the bar streets fill. A five-minute walk from anywhere in the old town.

Across the Bensafrim footbridge from the old town, the marina's bars and restaurants face the water and stay calmer and older-skewing than the Cândido dos Reis strip. Useful if you want a drink and a conversation rather than a sound system.

The long sand strip east of the marina has seasonal beach bars that run from afternoon into the evening. They are summer-only structures, so in the shoulder season expect the beach to be empty by dusk.

Outside roughly May to October a large share of Lagos's bars close or cut to weekends only, and the town reverts to its resident population. If nightlife is why you are coming, come in summer; if you want the town quiet, come in February and accept three or four places open.