The same question comes up almost every week with buyers I show around Lagos: “What can we actually get for around 550,000 euros?” It sounds like a simple question about a number, but the honest answer is that it is really three different questions, because 550,000 euros buys a completely different life depending on which part of Lagos you choose. Old Town, Boavista and Meia Praia sit within a ten-minute drive of each other, and they could not be more different to actually live in.
What’s the difference between Lagos Old Town, Boavista and Meia Praia for a buyer?
Old Town gives you a walkable, historic base with genuine rental income potential, but little to no parking and a premium price per square metre. Boavista, just inland toward the golf courses, gives you space, a private garage and quiet residential streets, but no sea view and a short drive for the beach. Meia Praia gives you the sea view and beach access most buyers picture when they imagine the Algarve, in a smaller footprint for the same budget. None of the three is objectively best. Each one solves a different problem, and the trade-off is genuinely worth understanding before you fall for the first place you view.
Old Town: the rooftop and the rental income
Old Town is the historic centre inside and around the city walls, and it is the area I show first to anyone who wants to walk to dinner without thinking about parking. At the 500,000 to 560,000 euro mark, you are typically looking at a renovated two-bedroom townhouse, often with a private rooftop terrace, sometimes with views over the rooftops toward Meia Praia and the ocean beyond. Properties with the right paperwork can hold an Alojamento Local licence, and a well-run two-bed in the old centre can realistically bring in 40,000 to 50,000 euros a year in short-term rental income during the season.
The trade-off is real. Parking inside the walls is scarce to non-existent, the best walkable homes rarely come to market and move fast when they do, and summer brings genuine crowds to the streets right outside your door. You are buying character and cash flow, not calm.
Boavista: the garage and the quiet
Boavista sits inland from the centre, close to the golf courses and Porto de Mos, and it is where I send buyers who tell me the historic centre sounds exhausting rather than charming. In the same 500,000 to 560,000 euro band, you are typically looking at a two-bedroom home in a residential urbanisation, with a private garage, storage, and often two balconies rather than one shared terrace. It is a five to ten minute drive to the beach and to the centre, which for most residents in a car-friendly country barely registers.
What you give up is the view. Most Boavista properties at this price point have no sea view at all, and you are trading the horizon for space, a garage and year-round residential calm. It suits families and retirees who want a normal quiet street more than they want a postcard.
Meia Praia: the sea view
Meia Praia is Lagos’s long sandy beach and the low-rise development strip that runs along it. At the same budget, the trade-off flips again: you typically get a smaller one or two-bedroom apartment rather than a full townhouse, often with a genuine sea view, sometimes panoramic, usually with access to a complex pool and occasionally tennis courts, plus closed garage parking. It is the closest thing to the picture most people have in their head when they say they want an apartment in the Algarve.
The trade-off here is square metres and, for some buyers, atmosphere: Meia Praia is quieter and more residential than the Old Town in winter, and some buyers who pictured a lively village setting find it feels more like a beach suburb than a town. You are buying the view and the beach, and giving up a bedroom to get it.
| Area | Typical property at 500k-560k EUR | Parking | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town | Renovated 2-bed townhouse, rooftop terrace | Street only, scarce | Walkability, rental income (AL licence) |
| Boavista | 2-bed in residential urbanisation, near golf | Private garage | Space, quiet, families and retirees |
| Meia Praia | 1 to 2-bed apartment, sea view, complex pool | Closed garage (complex) | Beach access, sea views, lock-up-and-leave |
Add IMT, stamp duty and legal fees, and a 550,000 euro purchase in any of the three areas is closer to 580,000 to 590,000 euros out the door. Factor that in before you commit to one over the other, because the areas do not differ much on closing costs, only on what the base price actually buys you.
Which one should you actually choose?
If rental income matters to your numbers, Old Town usually wins on paper, because nothing else in Lagos combines walkability and AL demand the same way. If you want to live like a local and barely think about tourism, Boavista is very hard to beat. If the sea view is non-negotiable and you can live with a smaller footprint, Meia Praia gets you there for the same money nothing else will. I would not tell a buyer any one of the three is the right answer in the abstract. I would ask what they are actually optimising for, and pick from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Lagos Old Town, Boavista and Meia Praia for a buyer?
Old Town gives you walkability and rental income potential but scarce parking. Boavista gives you space and a garage but no sea view. Meia Praia gives you the sea view and beach access in a smaller footprint. Each solves a different problem for the same budget.
Which part of Lagos is best for rental income?
Old Town, generally. Its walkable location inside or near the historic centre drives the strongest short-term rental demand, and a well-run two-bed with an Alojamento Local licence there can realistically earn 40,000 to 50,000 euros a year in season.
Is Meia Praia or Old Town better for a sea view?
Meia Praia, by a clear margin. It sits directly on Lagos’s main beach, and apartments there often have genuine, sometimes panoramic, sea views. Old Town properties occasionally catch a rooftop view toward the coast, but it is the exception, not the rule.
Do I need a car if I buy in Boavista?
Practically, yes. Boavista sits five to ten minutes by car from the centre and the beach, which is easy for most residents but is not the walk-everywhere setup you get in Old Town or right on Meia Praia’s promenade.
What does 550,000 euros actually buy in Lagos in 2026?
Around 550,000 euros typically buys a renovated 2-bed townhouse with a rooftop in Old Town, a 2-bed with a garage in Boavista, or a smaller 1 to 2-bed apartment with a sea view on Meia Praia. It buys a clear trade-off in each area, not all three features at once.
Ready to start your Algarve property search? Tell me what you are looking for and I will help you work out which part of Lagos actually matches what you want.
