Twenty minutes west of Lagos, wedged between two golden cliffs on the Costa Vicentina, this is a place that genuinely doesn’t need you to visit — and that, paradoxically, is precisely why you should.

Pull in, park up, and take a moment just to look at it. Whitewashed houses tumble down a steep hill toward a small but spectacular beach, the cobbled lanes are just about wide enough for one person and a dog, and the whole thing feels like it was designed by someone who had very strong opinions about charm and very little interest in efficiency. Lonely Planet readers once voted it the quaintest beachside village in Europe, which strikes me as the kind of accolade that would make the locals roll their eyes, smile politely, and go back to their coffee.

Start the morning at the local padaria and order yourself a pastel de nata. Now here’s the thing — the baker here infuses hers with lavender. I raise an eyebrow at most things that mess with a custard tart, but this works beautifully, the floral note cutting through the richness in a way that makes you genuinely reconsider your life choices.

From there, wander to Remy’s Horizon Coffee Corner, operating as a sort of pop-up residency out of the Corso Pizzeria from Thursday to Monday. Remy pulls excellent specialty coffee, the aesthetic is wonderfully eccentric, and the ocean view from your seat is the kind of thing that makes you forget you had plans.

When you’re ready to stretch your legs, the cliff paths are right there waiting. Burgau sits inside the protected natural landscape of the Barlavento Algarvio, and you can pick up the coastal trail directly from the village and follow it west all the way to Sagres if the legs are willing. High above the Atlantic, with nothing but wild scrub and sea on either side, you start to understand why this coastline has captivated people for millennia. The views are sweeping, the air is clean, and you’ll have most of it entirely to yourself.

Back down at the beach, Praia de Burgau deserves its own quiet appreciation. Flanked on both sides by those tall cliffs, it’s sheltered from the ferocious Barlavento winds that make life complicated further west, giving it a warm and almost drowsy microclimate that’s perfect for doing absolutely nothing. Two sunbeds and a parasol will set you back €25 for the day — excellent value when you factor in the entertainment of watching a local vendor weave across the sand selling Bolas de Berlim. These cream-filled doughnuts, purchased directly on a Portuguese beach, are one of those experiences that sounds simple and delivers something much larger. Don’t skip it.

Come evening, Burgau punches well above its weight. For a village with a permanent population somewhere between 400 and 500, depending on who’s counting, it has an impressively lively collection of bars and restaurants clustered around the Rua Principal. A little further towards the water, Miam Burgau and Britzy Bar face the ocean and come into their own around sunset, when the sky turns shades of orange and coral that no photographer has ever quite managed to capture accurately. If you prefer the village square, Barraca is reliably good for a cold drink and a conversation with whoever happens to sit down next to you.

Dinner is the decision you’ll be most glad you made. Head to Casa Padaria, which is technically a pizza restaurant ,but don’t let that fool you. Their signature dish is a pizza topped with mature steak that has been slow-cooked for six hours and arrives at the table drenched in its own rich meat sauce. It sounds like a lot, because it is a lot, and it is spectacular. If the mood calls for something else, Aires Restaurant brings genuine South African warmth and flavour, the Red Fort does a fine curry, and O Clube covers typical Portuguese cafe food and tapas ably. In a village this size, that range of choice is nothing short of extraordinary.

Getting here takes a little commitment, which is largely why Burgau has stayed so wonderfully itself. The A22 doesn’t reach it — you’ll peel off onto the N125 from Lagos, a single-lane road that winds through countryside and reminds you that some journeys are improved by a little inconvenience. From Faro airport it’s about an hour and ten minutes by car. No car? The train gets you to Lagos, and from there a local bus (around €4.15) or an Uber covers the last stretch. Accommodation ranges from the boutique charm of Casa Grande to the marvellous vistas from Ocean Blue Active — just book well ahead if you’re coming in summer, because this particular secret has been getting out slowly but surely.

Burgau won’t overwhelm you. It won’t compete for your attention or flood you with things to do. It’ll just quietly show you what the Algarve was like before the world caught up with it — and if you’re anything like me, you’ll find that’s exactly what you needed.

Read the full story in the June issue of AlgarvePLUS