Living, buying and investing in Aljezur

Aljezur at a glance for expat buyers

Aljezur is the far north-western corner of the Algarve — administratively in the district of Faro, but culturally and visually part of the Costa Vicentina rather than the resort-Algarve south coast. The municipality has roughly 5,900 permanent residents spread across about 323 km², and the village itself sits inland with the named beaches (Arrifana, Monte Clérigo, Amoreira) 5-10 km west. Average asking prices reached approximately €3,400 per square metre in early 2026, with very wide variance because the coastal belt is supply-constrained and the inland is not. Almost the entire municipality lies inside the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina, which heavily restricts coastal building. There are no high-rise hotels, no resort developments, and the roughly 25 km of Atlantic cliffs and beaches remain genuinely wild — Arrifana, Monte Clérigo, Amoreira (river-mouth), and Bordeira/Carrapateira further north. This is a real surf destination, not a marketed one: Arrifana and Bordeira are recognised international breaks and Carrapateira is the regional hub. The expat profile here is distinct from the central Algarve. Aljezur draws surfers, alternative-lifestyle smallholders, remote workers and quiet-seeking retirees rather than the resort-and-golf demographic of Vilamoura or Albufeira. The community is small, low-density and seasonal rather than concentrated, and there is no nightlife scene. If you want walkable historic-town living with English-language services on tap, Aljezur is not it; if you want wild Atlantic coast, dark skies and space, it is one of the few places in the Algarve that still delivers that.