Praia da Luz sits in easy reach of some of the western Algarve's best coastline. Lagos is five kilometres east and worth a half-day for the old town walls, the Slave Market museum, and the Ponta da Piedade cliffs and grottoes — among the most photographed stretches of coast in Portugal. Sagres and Cabo de São Vicente, the southwesternmost point of Europe, are 40 minutes' drive west and feel genuinely end-of-the-world on a windy day.
The small fishing village of Burgau, ten minutes west, has held onto more of its old character than most Algarve villages and has a good beach beneath low cliffs. Inland, the Monchique mountains — source of Praia da Luz's distinctive black basalt — offer cooler air, eucalyptus forests, and the spa town of Caldas de Monchique.