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Faro is the administrative centre for the whole of the Algarve region with a population in excess of 55.000 people. The city has both Arab and Roman ruins but most of the present attractive older buildings were constructed after the disastrous earthquake of both 1755 and 1532.
Particularly attractive about Faro is the old part of the city still surrounded
by the Roman walls which date back to the 9th Century.
Inside a spacious open square that was once the site of the
Roman Forum is a 13th Century Cathedral that faces the 18th
Century Episcopal palace.
An interesting building is the neighbouring
16th Century Convent that is now turned into the home of the
city’s archaeological museum. Within it is a section devoted to the Arab occupation.
The "golden" church of Nossa Senhora do Carmois is claimed to be the best example of gold-leaf woodwork in southern Portugal. It also contains the macabre spectacle of a chapel lined with the bones from over 1200 monks!
Next to the small boat basin bordering the Praça de Dom Francisco Gomes is a small Naval Museum composed of scale model boats and galleons showing the maritime history of the coast. Much of the city is now composed of apartments and there are many attractive shops and a particularly artistic theatre.
Faro is also the home of the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nature reserve of over 17.000 hectares and a stopping place for hundreds of different birds during the spring and autumn migratory periods.
Photo Gallery:
Further places of interest in the Algarve:
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