Encompassing the extreme southwestern tip of Europe, the Algarve boasts a 161km (100-mile) coastline with some of the best beaches in Europe. It’s permeated with memories of the long-ago Moorish occupation, when the region was called Al-Gharb. The garden of Portugal, this naturally arid district is laced with large-scale irrigation projects. Exceptfor the massive development of beach resorts since the late 1960s, the land- scape in many ways resembles the coast of nearby Morocco, with which it has much in common.