Azenhas do Mar

Azenhas do Mar is defined by a cluster of whitewashed, red-roofed houses that appear to tumble down a limestone cliff directly into the Atlantic Ocean. Its name translates to watermills of the sea, a nod to the grain mills that once relied on a stream flowing through the site to reach the water. While the village has roots reaching back to at least the sixteenth century, its modern reputation grew in the early twentieth century when it transformed from a quiet fishing and milling hamlet into a coastal retreat for the Portuguese bourgeoisie.