Are the beach towns/port towns of Portugal closed up for the season in September? Would we still find most cafes, hotels open and lively? One year we went to the east coast of Italy in September and many of the towns were closed or really dead.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
The Algarve will be busy in September as the weather is still good and those that do not want to go on holiday when the children are off school will descend, particularly golfers.
All major cities will be OK. I have been to Foz do Arelho in the north the first week in October and it was half closed for the winter.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
In Italy, too, plenty of popular coastal areas (Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, Sicily) are both busy and swimmable through early October. Those that are more exclusively leisure beaches with fewer other attractions (such as on the Adriatic side) will die down faster.