Minister of the presidency, António Leitão Amaro, has stressed Portugal wants to be a voice of reason at the Ibero-American Forum on Migration and Development, opening tomorrow in Huelva, Spain,
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A little like the time, over 10 years ago, when PS Socialist leader António Costa asked 12 economists to come up with a blueprint for a new Socialist government, current
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Fuel prices at the pumps are showing signs of rising, yet again, from Monday. According to SIC Notícias, the worst hit will be diesel, expected to increase by as much
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A new satellite map, designed to predict wildfires and integrated into a technology tool for rural property management, allows users to identify the areas most at risk of fire this
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On a day when the European Commission has given with one hand, it has taken with another – by launching proceedings against Portugal for failing to guarantee legal aid to suspects
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Round three of the intense debate, opened by APA environmental agency, over the rights (or otherwise) to put up a sunshade has now verged into new territory. With APA insisting
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Brussels has finally seen the light. After claiming that months of ‘chaos’ at airport border controls were ‘unrelated’ to its new Entry/ Exit system (EES), the European Commission has announced
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Portugal’s prime minister, Luís Montenegro, is still fighting tooth and nail to block public access to salient details of his family business, Spinumviva. EpT, (the country’s transparency entity), decided last
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PSP police arrested six people outside parliament in Lisbon yesterday, after the ‘peaceful’ protest organised by striking union members against the government’s labour package appears to have been infiltrated by
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Portugal’s prime minister, Luís Montenegro, expressed his conviction today that the “overwhelming majority of working Portuguese people” will go to work tomorrow – the day of the general strike. Upon
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A court in Lisbon decided today to suspend the 13-year prison sentence facing former banker Ricardo Salgado, 80, due to his having Alzheimer’s disease. In today’s session at the Central
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Portugal’s CHEGA party has held a press conference today to say the party will propose in parliament that any worker should be able to retire after 40 years of contributions
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A Portuguese lawyer suspected of having helped to illegally regularise the status of around 4,000 immigrants in Portugal has been remanded in custody today, while his co-defendant, an Indian businessman, is
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Minister of foreign affairs, Paulo Rangel, has expressed confidence regarding Portugal’s chances of returning to the UN Security Council – saying the country’s greatest asset in this regard is its
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The weather in mainland Portugal is set to change from today, with temperatures expected to drop to 6º-7ºC, and strong winds, IPMA meteorologist Maria João Frada has told Lusa news
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When we think of stunning beach destinations our minds immediately flit to the likes of the Maldives and Bora Bora.
However, it turns out the world’s leading beach destination is much closer to home, in Portugal.
In the World Travel Awards – considered to be the ‘Oscars of Tourism’ – the Algarve won out for a record-breaking fourth time, beating idyllic destinations like the Maldives, Jamaica, the Galapagos Islands, and Turks and Caicos.
This Portuguese tourism hotspot claimed the title in 2024, 2021, and 2020, with the Philippines briefly dethroning it in 2022 and 2023.
Other nominees in the category this year included the Seychelles, Maui, Indonesia, Costa Navarino (Greece), Porto Santo Island (Madeira) and Zanzibar – so there was certainly some stiff competition.
But having been crowned Europe’s Leading Beach Destination 10 times over the past decade, it’s clearly a firm favourite.
With 200 kilometres of beaches between the southwest coast near Aljezur and the eastern end close to Vila Real de Santo António, the Algarve proved a hit with this year’s competition judges, who ranged from tourism professionals to press and travellers.
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Coupled with white sand, clear sea, and a tepid climate with 300 days of sunshine a year, it remains a sure-fire choice for those who like to sunbathe.
Of the more than 100 beaches in the region, the most pristine offerings can be found on the Costa Vicentina, while more cosmopolitan coastlines surrounded by resorts are dotted between Lagos and Faro.
There are also 88 Blue Flag beaches in the Algarve – one of the largest concentrations of BF titles in Europe. To qualify as a Blue Flag, the water quality, environmental management and cleanliness must be of an excellent standard.
7. Praia da Luz – Luz
8. Praia Sao Rafael – Albufeira
9. Praia dos Tres Irmaos – Alvor
10. Praia da Gale – Gale (near Albufeira)
Last year, 4.4 million Brits flocked to Portugal, many of them heading to the popular resorts of the Algarve.
According to Beverley Boden, head of aviation, tourism, and finance at Teesside University, affordability is a major factor in its popularity.
‘Living costs are much lower than the UK, making it attractive for both short breaks and long-term stays,’ Beverly tells Metro. ‘With the usual appeal of a short flight, more departure points and extremely cheap fares, all contributing to the appeal.’
@emwanderstheworld Discover the beautiful Algarve region of Portugal🍊🌊🌞💌🪴👙🐟🍓🇵🇹 The Algarve has the most beautiful blue waters and the cutest coastal towns! I cannot recommend this destination enough!💛 Make sure to walk to Ponta da Piedade and the Seven Hanging Valleys trail🥾🌊 I stayed in Lagos during my trip but recommend towns such as Carvoeiro or Portimaõ as well! You simply can’t go wrong!💌 #algarve #algarveportugal #lagos #portugaltravel #portugal #interrail #solotravel #backpacking #visitportugal #creatorsearchinsights #portugalsummer
♬ DAISIES – Justin Bieber
The expert claims that the reason Algarve’s beaches often outrank those in East Asia and the Caribbean is in part because they’re ‘stunning’, but also because of their proximity.
‘In essence, it is a taste of paradise on your doorstep with guaranteed sunshine for cash strapped Brits,’ she adds.
‘The destination has natural charm, and the government has taken swift action to preserve its culture and crack down on unsavoury behaviour, adding to its appeal.’
Nikolaus Thomale, co-founder at holiday home co-ownership platform MYNE agrees, telling Metro: ‘The beaches are spectacular and the quality of villas and holiday homes is exceptionally high.
‘It’s also incredibly easy – there’s great infrastructure, English is widely spoken, fantastic food, and a sense of safety that families really value.
‘Simply the best choice for anyone looking for sunshine without the stress.’
Metro‘s travel editor Kristina Beanland has been to the Algarve 21 times and is well-versed on how to avoid the tourist traps and stuffy crowds.
A staple part of our family holiday to the Algarve always included a boat trip on the River Arade, inland towards the historic town of Silves,’ she says.
‘Cruising the calm waters, with lunch and a (usually too warm) vino verde is a novel way to travel. Tours on a traditional fishing boat depart from Portimão, with prices from €35.
‘Silves feels like a time warp. Stroll along cobbled streets before heading up to the imposing ochre-coloured castle, which costs just €2.80 to enter.’
Ferragudo is another must-visit for Kristina – a quaint fishing village, not far from popular Albuferia.
‘Growing up, this place felt untouched by tourists, and while it’s now getting more attention from those in the know, you can still feel like you’re experiencing authentic Algarve here,’ she says.
‘Stroll along the cobbled streets and stop for a coffee and a tosta mista (a glorified toasted ham and cheese sarnie — but they somehow do them differently in the Algarve).
‘Wander along the harbour, where you’ll see fishermen bringing in their catch, or chefs in restaurants, barbecuing the fish. There are beautiful beaches to spend your days at here.’
Madeleine McCann was just three years old when she went missing from the apartment she had been sleeping in during a family holiday to Portugal.
The little girl’s disappearance sent shock waves around the world and sparked a massive investigation that continues to this day.
Christian Brueckner, a 48-year-old German, is the main suspect in the case, and he is currently behind bars for raping an American woman in the Algarve area where Maddie went missing.
But a fresh search near where the toddler was last seen 18 years ago, covering 20 properties, cisterns, wells and ruins, has begun.
This search will be focused more on groundworks and roadworks, which had been taking place when Madeleine disappeared. Police fear she may have been buried in trenches near Praia da Luz.
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Germany’s FBI, known as the BKA, is using ground-penetrating radar to see if it can find any traces of the young British girl.
But just when did Madeleine McCann go missing – and how old would she be today?
Madeleine McCann was on a spring break from the UK at the child-friendly resort of Praia da Luz in the Algarve region of Portugal with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and her two-year-old twin siblings.
She and the twins had been left asleep at 8.30 pm in the evening of May 3, 2007, in their ground-floor apartment while her parents and a group of family friends dined in a restaurant 55 metres away.
Mr McCann checked on the children just after 9 pm and found everything to be in order.
Another parent, eating out with the McCanns, Jane Tanner, walked past the flat where the McCanns were staying on her way back to look in on her own children and saw a man carrying a small child.
Another of their friends checked on the McCann children as well as his own at 9:30 pm, and Kate McCann took a turn checking on Madeleine and the twins at roughly 10 pm. This time, Madeleine was nowhere to be found.
The police were called, and even though 60 hotel staff and guests searched the grounds that night, the child wasn’t found.
The man Jane saw became a primary suspect in the investigation into the three-year-old’s disappearance. However, the Metropolitan Police discovered six years later that the man had nothing to do with the case and was just carrying his sleeping daughter home from a creche.
Maddie’s parents, from Rothley, Leicestershire, have vowed never to give up hope of finding their daughter.
Up Next
Madeleine McCann would be 22 today. She was born on May 12, 2003.
She has been missing for over 18 years now.
Last year, parents Kate and Gerry shared a message on Maddie’s 21st birthday saying they are ‘still looking’ and ‘still missing’ their daughter.
The message, accompanied by a picture of the toddler, read: ‘Happy 21st birthday Madeleine. Still missing. Still missed. Still looking.’
Brueckner has denied all the charges against him and any involvement in Maddie’s disappearance.
Brueckner is known to have frequented various areas in the Algarve region surrounding Praia de Luz.
Up Next
He allegedly exposed himself to a German girl on a beach in Salema in April 2007 and is said to have sold cannabis to teenagers near the holiday apartment where the McCanns stayed, according to MailOnline.
Multiple searches have been carried out in Portugal and Germany over the years, including a remote reservoir in Algarve.
In May 2023, authorities searched the Arade dam reservoir northeast of Praia da Luz, where Brueckner is thought to have stayed often in his Volkswagen T3 camper van, but didn’t find anything of note.
He may have visited the spot around the time of Maddie’s disappearance.
When searching an abandoned factory owned by Brueckner, detectives made disturbing findings they have revealed now, including children’s clothes, toys and a suitcase full of images of young girls.
They also found more than 75 children’s swimming costumes, a handgun and chemicals, which were never tested before police destroyed them. They are thought to have been chloroform or ether.
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Police in Portugal have begun using radar to scan roadwork trenches for any traces of the body of Madeleine McCann.
Madeleine was three when she disappeared on May 3, 2007, during a family trip to the child-friendly resort of Praia da Luz in the Algarve region.
Authorities launched a fresh search near where the toddler was last seen 18 years ago, covering 20 properties, cisterns, wells and ruins, according to sources close to the investigation.
This search will be focused more on groundworks and roadworks, which had been taking place when Madeleine disappeared. Police fear she may have been buried in trenches near Praia da Luz.
Police received a tip-off after suspect Christian Brueckner’s trial last year about where someone who took Maddie’s body would dump it, prompting the new search with high-tech ground-penetrating radar.
Germany’s MI5, known as the BKA, is using ground-penetrating radar to see if it can find any traces of the young British girl.
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A nearby property, which was used by the suspect Brueckner, 48, will also be a focal point.
The German national used a cottage just half a mile away from where she disappeared as a ‘rat-run’.
Though this is the first major search for Madeleine in nine years, there are worries police may not find anything.
The last major search was in June 2014, and saw British police dig around Praia da Luz with sniffer dogs and use ground-penetrating radar.
Those Scotland Yard digs were linked to the theory that Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars dumped her body nearby.
British officers also failed to produce any evidence pointing to the missing youngster’s whereabouts.
Up Next
Ground-penetrating radar, which is being used by German authorities in Portugal right now, uses high-frequency radio waves to detect any changes in the soil.
The transmitted waves, when returned back to the receiver at the surface, can help create a sort of topographical map of the soil beneath the operator’s feet.
The technology was used in Canada to identify burial sites on the grounds of former residential schools, where hundreds of indigenous children were found.
Kisha Supernant, who works at the University of Alberta, previously explained how the tech works.
‘When we’re using it to try to locate potential unmarked graves, what we’re really doing is we’re sending that signal through the ground and then trying to create a map of what we think we see below the surface,’ she told the Vancouver Sun.
‘When you dig a grave, you disturb the soil … and ground-penetrating radar can sometimes detect that change in the soil from the digging of the grave itself.’
May 3, 2007: Kate and Gerry McCann leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while they dine with friends. They check on their children three times throughout the night, and, at 10pm, they find her missing
May 14, 2007: Police take property developer Robert Murat in for questioning and make him a formal suspect – this is later withdrawn.
August 11, 2007: 100 days after her disappearance, detectives acknowledge that she could be dead.
September 7, 2007: Maddie’s parents become formal suspects in their daughter’s disappearance.
September 9, 2007: The McCanns return to England with their two-year-old twins.
July 21, 2008: Portuguese authorities shelve the investigation and remove the McCanns and Murat as suspects.
May 12, 2011: Kate McCann publishes a book about her daughter’s disappearance on her eighth birthday
April 25, 2012: Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive and release a picture of how she may look as a nine-year-old. They ask Portuguese police to reopen the case, but they say they have found no new information.
July 4, 2013: Scotland Yard confirms it has launched its own investigation and says it has identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons.
October 24, 2013: Portuguese police decide to reopen the case
June 3, 2020: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
January 29, 2014: British detectives fly out to Portugal
June 3, 2024: Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing.
December 12, 2024: Detectives begin questioning 11 people who it is thought may have information on the case.
September 16, 2014: The Government states that the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance has so far cost £10 million
October 28, 2014: Scotland Yard cuts the number of officers working on the inquiry from 29 to four.
April 30, 2017: The McCanns mark 10 years since her disappearance with a BBC interview.
May 3, 2019: Local media reports say Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine.
June 3, 2020: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
April 21, 2022: Christian Brueckner is made a formal suspect by Portuguese authorities.
October 11, 2022: Brueckner is charged with three counts of rape and two charges of child sex abuse, unrelated to Madeleine’s disappearance.
May 3, 2023: Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance by saying she is “still very much missed” and that they ‘await a breakthrough’.
May 22, 2023: An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, is sealed off as police prepare to start searching on May 23.
May 23, 2023: Searches begin with police divers in the water and officers with sniffer dogs and rakes seen on the banks.
June 23, 2023: A man named Helge B claimed to the German newspaper Bild that Brueckner almost confessed to killing Maddie, allegedly telling him ‘she didn’t scream’ when the pair talked about the case at a music festival
July 11, 2023: The German prosecutor involved with the case warns not to ‘expect too much’ from the search.
February 16, 2024: Brueckner’s trial starts over three counts of alleged rape and sexual abuse of two children not connected to the Madeleine investigation
October 8, 2024: He is acquitted of all the allegations due to ‘insufficient’ evidence. An appeal over the acquittal is launched, which is still ongoing
March 27, 2025: A 60-year-old woman is charged with stalking the McCann family
May 3, 2025: Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 18th anniversary of her disappearance with a heartbreaking message
September 17, 2025: This is the date Brueckner could be released from prison if no further charges are brought
Brueckner has denied all the charges against him and any involvement in Maddie’s disappearance.
Brueckner is known to have frequented various areas in the Algarve region surrounding Praia de Luz.
He allegedly exposed himself to a German girl on a beach in Salema in April 2007 and is said to have sold cannabis to teenagers near the holiday apartment where the McCanns stayed, according to MailOnline.
Multiple searches have been carried out in Portugal and Germany over the years, including a remote reservoir in the Algarve.
He may have visited the spot around the time of Maddie’s disappearance.
When searching an abandoned factory owned by Brueckner, detectives made disturbing findings they have revealed now, including children’s clothes, toys and a suitcase full of images of young girls.
They also found more than 75 children’s swimming costumes, a handgun and chemicals, which were never tested before police destroyed them. They are thought to have been chloroform or ether.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Fears are growing for a British tourist who has been missing for four days after a night out in Portugal’s Algarve.
Greg Monks, 38, had travelled to the party resort of Albufeira for a five-day stag do.
His parents and his girlfriend Nicole Ashleigh Kelso have now flown to the nearby Faro Airport to search for the Glaswegian as his disappearance is seen as ‘completely out of character.’
His sister Jillian sounded the alert on Friday, saying that he had last been seen in the early hours of Wednesday on his way back to the apartment he was staying in.
She wrote on an Albufeira website for UK expats: ‘My brother has not been since Tuesday evening.
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‘If you are currently there and have any information place contact me with any info.’
Jillian revealed that police had placed her brother around Cerro da Aguia, a ridge overlooking the coastline, on the outskirts of Albufeira, on the night he vanished.
The hill with residential properties is more than an hour’s walk west of the Albufeira Strip where Greg is thought to have left his friends, whereas the Novochoro Apartments he had checked into on Tuesday night is a 30-minute walk north.
Responding to the wave of support from British holidaymakers and expats as well as locals, Jillian said in a new Facebook post late last night: ‘Hi all.
Thank you for all information and shares and we truly appreciate it. There have still been no sightings or no updates at present.
‘As previously stated, this is so unlike Greg and we are truly desperate for answers.
‘I am now seeking help from residents of the Cerro da Aguia area to please check any home cameras or doorbell footage around between 2am and 5am on Wednesday as police believe he was in the area around this time.
‘Please share this if you know anyone in the area. Asking for people that live in Cerro da Aguia that have cameras that cover the street or parts of the street to send me a message with their name and phone number.’
Hospitals have been checked without success, but police are not thought to have yet carried out an exhaustive search of medical centres.
Jillian described Greg as a ‘really hard worker’ in his job and a ‘quiet guy’ whose disappearance immediately ‘threw up a red flag’.
She also revealed that he has a Thor-type Viking unfinished tattoo at the top of his right arm which would be visible if he was wearing a vest top or had no shirt on.
A GoFundMe appeal set up on behalf of the family to help the hunt for Greg has reached more than £12,500 this morning.
Organiser Gillian McCallum wrote on behalf of the tourist’s parents: ‘Our son Greg Monks went to Portugal for a stag do on Tuesday, May 27, and on the first night back out there he never returned to his hotel and has now been missing for three days.
‘We are desperately seeking Greg’s safe return and need your help.
‘There are professional search teams out looking for Greg and the family have all flown out to try to help find him but don’t know how long their stay will be.
‘They are doing everything they can. Every donation, no matter the size, will make a difference in our efforts to bring Greg home.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Madeleine McCann was just three years old when she went missing from the apartment she had been sleeping in during a family holiday to Portugal.
The little girl’s disappearance sent shock waves around the world and sparked a massive investigation that continues to this day.
Christian Brueckner, a 48-year-old German, is the main suspect in the case, and he is currently behind bars for raping an American woman in the Algarve area where Maddie went missing.
Prosecutors fear time is running out as Brueckner is nearing the end of his seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape.
Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
But just when did Madeleine McCann go missing – and how old would she be today?
Madeleine McCann was on a spring break from the UK at the child-friendly resort of Praia da Luz in the Algarve region of Portugal with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and her two-year-old twin siblings.
She and the twins had been left asleep at 8.30pm in the evening of May 3, 2007, in their ground floor apartment while her parents and a group of family friends dined in a restaurant 55 metres away.
Mr McCann checked on the children just after 9pm and found everything to be in order.
Another parent eating out with the McCanns, Jane Tanner, walked past the flat where the McCanns were staying on her way back to look in on her own children and saw a man carrying a small child.
Another of their friends checked on the McCann children as well as his own at 9:30pm, and Kate McCann took a turn checking on Madeleine and the twins at roughly 10pm. This time, Madeleine was nowhere to be found.
The police were called, and even though 60 hotel staff and guests searched the grounds that night, the child wasn’t found.
The man Jane saw became a primary suspect in the investigation into the three-year-old’s disappearance. However, the Metropolitan Police discovered six years later that the man had nothing to do with the case and was just carrying his sleeping daughter home from a creche.
Maddie’s parents, from Rothley, Leicestershire, have vowed never to give up hope of finding their daughter.
Up Next
Madeleine McCann would turn 22 on May 12, 2025.
She has been missing for over 18 years now.
Last year, parents Kate and Gerry shared a message on Maddie’s 21st birthday saying they are ‘still looking’ and ‘still missing’ their daughter.
The message, accompanied by a picture of the toddler, read: ‘Happy 21st birthday Madeleine. Still missing. Still missed. Still looking.’
A new documentary following the Madeleine investigation by The Sun will air on Channel 4 tonight.
It claims to provide evidence to show that Madeleine is dead, including the disturbing findings made at the abandoned factory used by Brueckner.
The investigative documentary will be first shown tonight at 9pm on Channel 4 and on 4 on Demand streaming platform.
Brueckner has denied all the charges against him and any involvement in Maddie’s disappearance.
Brueckner is known to have frequented various areas in the Algarve region surrounding Praia de Luz.
Up Next
He allegedly exposed himself to a German girl on a beach in Salema in April 2007 and is said to have sold cannabis to teenagers near the holiday apartment where the McCanns stayed, according to MailOnline.
Multiple searches have been carried out in Portugal and Germany over the years, including a remote reservoir in Algarve.
In May 2023, authorities searched the Arade dam reservoir northeast of Praia da Luz, where Brueckner is thought to have stayed often in his Volkswagen T3 camper van, but didn’t find anything of note.
He may have visited the spot around the time of Maddie’s disappearance.
When searching an abandoned factory owned by Brueckner, detectives made disturbing findings they have revealed now, including children’s clothes, toys and a suitcase full of images of young girls.
They also found more than 75 children’s swimming costumes, a handgun and chemicals, which were never tested before police destroyed them. They are thought to have been chloroform or ether.
This article was first published on July 11, 2023.
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