Must see attractions in Faro

  • Top Choice

    Parque Natural da Ria Formosa

    Encompassing 18,000 hectares, this sizeable system of lagoons and islands stretches for 60km along the Algarve coastline from west of Faro to Cacela Velha…

  • S

    Top Choice

    Sé

    The centrepiece of the Cidade Velha, the sé was completed in 1251 but heavily damaged in the 1755 earthquake. What you see now is a variety of Renaissance…

  • Praia de Faro

    On the Ilha de Faro, 9km west of the centre, the town's beach has sweeping sand, windsurfing and kitesurfing operators, and a handful of cafes. It's…

  • M

    Museu Municipal

    Faro’s domed 16th-century Renaissance Convento de Nossa Senhora da Assunção, in what was once the Jewish quarter, houses the town's local history museum…

  • I

    Igreja de São Francisco

    The foundations of this monastery's church were laid in 1679 and it was enlarged during the 18th and 19th centuries. Behind its blinding white facade are…

  • M

    Museu Regional do Algarve

    Three of the four halls at this worthwhile museum house exhibitions on rural life in the Algarve, including mock-ups of 19th-century shops and rooms, a…

  • I

    Igreja de São Pedro

    While the exterior of this 16th-century church is unassuming, the tri-nave interior has magnificent 18th-century azulejos and intricately carved woodwork,…

  • C

    Centro Histórico Judaico de Faro

    The last vestiges of the first post-Inquisition Jewish presence in Portugal are found at this small Jewish cemetery. In use between 1838 and 1932, and…

  • A

    Arco da Vila

    Enter the Cidade Velha (Old Town) through the neoclassical Arco da Vila, built in 1812 by order of Bishop Francisco Gomes do Avelar, who oversaw the city…

  • A

    Arco de Repouso

    You can leave the Cidade Velha (Old Town) through the medieval Arco de Repouso (Gate of Rest). Apparently Afonso III, after taking Faro from the Moors,…

  • G

    Galeria Trem

    This converted military warehouse displays contemporary art with temporary exhibitions by local and international artists – painters, photographers,…

  • I

    Igreja da Misericórdia

    The 16th-century Igreja da Misericórdia, opposite the Arco da Vila, was originally built in Manueline (Portuguese late Gothic) style but is now nearly all…

  • A

    Arco da Porta Nova

    At the southwestern end of the Largo da Sé is this small 15th-century town gate connecting the old town with the waterfront, where some boats depart.