Other sights in The Algarve
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Sé
The sé, built in 1189 on the site of an earlier mosque, then rebuilt after the 1249 Reconquista and subsequently restored several times following earthquake damage. The stark, fortress-like building has a multi-arched Portuguese-Gothic doorway, and some original Gothic touches left, including the nave and aisles and a dramatically tall, strikingly simple interior. There are several fine tombs, one of which is purported to be of João do Rego, who helped to settle Madeira.
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Igreja Matriz
The igreja matriz has an extraordinary, star-shaped Manueline porch decorated with twisted columns that look like lengths of knotted rope, and a simple interior, with columns topped with more stony rope, and some fine chapels, including one whose vault contains beautiful 17th-century glazed tiles showing Sts Francis and Michael killing the devil.
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Gothic Church
This 13th-century Gothic church, beside the castle, was built on the site of a Moorish mosque but rebuilt by an Italian neoclassicist following earthquake damage 500 years later. However, the architect retained traces of the former church – namely the main doorway, two side chapels and Arabic-style windows in the clock tower.
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Church
Built in the 1540s, this church is the Algarve’s most important Renaissance monument, with a magnificent carved, arched doorway topped by statues of Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia, São Pedro and São Paulo. The church’s stone mason, André Pilarte, also worked on Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.
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Igreja de São Lourenço de Matos
It’s worth making a detour here, 13km northwest of Faro and about 6km south of Loulé, to visit the marvellous Igreja de São Lourenço de Matos. The church was built on the site of a ruined chapel after local people, while digging a well, had implored the saint for help and then struck water.
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Fortress
Blank, hulking and prisonlike, Sagres’ fortress has a forbidding front wall balanced by two mighty bastions. Inside, a few buildings dot the vast, open expanse, but otherwise a visit here is mostly about the striking views over the sheer cliffs, and all along the coast to Cabo de São Vicente.
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Trem Gallery
In the old town, the interesting and attractively converted Trem Gallery houses temporary exhibitions by known locals and international artists – painters, photographers, installation artists and sculptors. It’s worth popping in here to see what’s on.
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Igreja de Nossa Senhora Do Carmo
The twin-towered, baroque Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo was completed in 1719 under João V and paid for (and gilded to death inside) with Brazilian gold. The facade was completed after the 1755 earthquake.
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Fortress
This little fortress, at the southern end of the avenue, was built in the 17th century to protect the port. Restored, it now houses a museum on the Portuguese discoveries.
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Krazy World
Near São Bartolomeu de Messines, about 17km northwest, there’s Krazy World, an animal and crocodile park with mini golf, pony rides and two swimming pools.
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Castle
What’s left of the castle is surrounded by a decidedly unwarlike, small and very appealing garden.
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Ilha da Barreta
Ferries go out to Ilha da Barreta (aka Ilha Deserta), a long narrow-strip of sand just off the mainland.
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Rua da Barroca
Rua da Barroca once formed the boundary between the town and the sea and retains some Arabic features.
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