Bay with turquoise water and cliffs in the Algarve © matho/stock.adobe.com
Bay with turquoise water and cliffs in the Algarve © matho/stock.adobe.com

Faro – Gateway to the Algarve

Veröffentlicht: 29. Februar 2024, 10:00 Uhr

Faro is the best place to fly to for a holiday in the Algarve. Those just passing through really miss out on something special. A visit to the Algarve’s capital is worthwhile for its charming old town alone. A stroll through the winding, cobbled streets of Vila Adentro feel like a journey back in time. Little wonder since the city wall and its historic entrance gates date back to the Middle Ages and cars are not allowed to enter.

With its abundance of small cafés, shops and restaurants, Faro is wonderfully relaxed and easy to get around. The church, the cathedral with the old bell tower and other historic buildings can be easily explored on foot. Located on a vast lagoon, this small town is still almost an insider tip in the Algarve. This region is a popular holiday destination due to its endless beautiful beaches, imposing cliffs and the many water sports and hiking opportunities. 

Numbers, data, facts

  • Time difference: - 1 hour
  • Population: 65.000 
  • Official language: Portuguese
  • Currency: Euro (EUR)

A city stroll through Faro

Empty square in Faro with church in the background, art deco and south modern style houses, palm trees and bench to sit and rest. © Digitalsignal/stock.adobe.com
Streets like this are waiting to be discovered in Faro. The many palm trees, small houses and cobblestones are typical of the city centre. © Digitalsignal/stock.adobe.com
Faro’s Old Town, with its narrow streets and whitewashed houses, exudes a very special charm. © Lukasz/stock.adobe.com
Faro’s Old Town, with its narrow streets and whitewashed houses, exudes a very special charm. © Lukasz/stock.adobe.com
Carmo church with two bell towers, gold accents on a quiet forecourt, trees in the background. © saiko3p/stock.adobe.com
On the northern edge of the Old Town is the Carmo Church, which was built between 1719 and 1807 in the baroque style with two bell towers and is well worth a visit. © saiko3p/stock.adobe.com
Faro Town Hall in the old town at dusk, empty alley and quiet square surrounded by white houses, yellow lights above the entrance. © Mauro Rodrigues/stock.adobe.com
The town hall, the Camara Municipal, is also located in the Old Town. The cathedral’s bell tower offers a particularly good view of this historic building. © Mauro Rodrigues/stock.adobe.com
Cathedral with stone bell tower and white statue of Bishop D. Francisco Gomes de Avelar in the foreground, empty square, white houses in the background. © Mazur Travel/stock.adobe.com
The 13th-century cathedral is worth a visit for its beautiful woodwork and organ, as well as the view from the bell tower. © Mazur Travel/stock.adobe.com
Belmarco mansion in the city center, in front of it a street cafe and benches, parasol, white houses, empty square and flying seagull. © Mazur Travel/stock.adobe.com
The beautiful old Belmarço Palace was built by the merchant Manuel de Jesus Belmarço in 1912 as a prestigious city residence. © Mazur Travel/stock.adobe.com
White houses in Faro's city center, small planted square at the harbor, small boats, in the distance the lagoon and lake landscape of the Ria Formosa nature reserve. © malajsoy/stock.adobe.com
End a walk through the Old Town with a boat ride through the Ria Formosa lagoon nature reserve. © malajsoy/stock.adobe.com
Marina harbor with small boats, promenade with white houses and palm trees, sea in the background. © sergojpg/stock.adobe.com
Faro marina is even worth visiting if you are not planning a boat trip. The atmosphere is particularly good in the evening with a drink at sunset. © sergojpg/stock.adobe.com
Bird's eye view of the Ria Formosa nature reserve with rivers and sandy beaches and benches, barren populated landscape in the background. © Heinz/stock.adobe.com
Those who travel by boat through the Ria Formosa National Park can observe various seabirds and spend some time on the lagoon islands’ beaches. © Heinz/stock.adobe.com
Sandy beach on the island of Ilha do Farol with ocean, sun loungers and umbrellas, small houses, barren steppe landscape. © Valter/stock.adobe.com
There are ferries from Faro to Ilha do Farol, another island in the Ria Formosa Natural Park with an extensive sandy beach. © Valter/stock.adobe.com

The wild beauty of the Algarve

The Algarve is considered one of the most beautiful regions in Portugal. Located in the south of the country, the area offers an amazing combination of kilometres of sandy beaches, imposing cliffs, mountains filled with cork oaks and eucalyptus trees and charming towns. Swimming, surfing and diving in the Atlantic are just as popular here as excursions into the quieter hinterland to castles, markets and villages. The Algarve is a hiking paradise with glorious trails along the rocky coast or into the beautiful Monchique Mountains. There is no shortage of special excursion destinations: unforgettable places in the rocky Algarve include the light-flooded cave of Benagil, the Cabo de São Vicente lighthouse or the rock formations shaped by nature at Marinha Beach. 

Algarve highlights

Benagil cave with rock formations on the sandy beach of the Atlantic, light falls into the cave on a woman, the ocean in the background. © kanuman/stock.adobe.com
Benagil Cave is a rocky gorge formed by wind and weather, which can only be reached on a boat tour or independently by canoe or kayak. © kanuman/stock.adobe.com
Lighthouse with red roofs on the cliffs of Cabo de São Vicente, rushing sea, rock formations. © Michal/stock.adobe.com
The end of the world? Cabo de São Vicente is the most south-westerly point in Europe on an impressive cliff. © Michal/stock.adobe.com
Sandy beach Marinha with cliffs and turquoise water, individual rock formations, few people on the beach. © pkazmierczak/stock.adobe.com
Small bays for swimming, limestone cliffs and rocks in turquoise water: this is the approximately 500-metre-long Marinha Beach near the town of Carvoeiro. © pkazmierczak/stock.adobe.com
Rock formations in the water on the coast of Ponta da Piedade, turquoise blue water, small boats in the sea, sparsely vegetated cliffs. © Traveller70/stock.adobe.com
Near Lagos is the Ponta da Piedade, one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the rocky Algarve. Nature has shaped the caves and natural arches © Traveller70/stock.adobe.com
View from the castle to the town of Silves with small houses and green vegetation. © Aquarius/stock.adobe.com
The town of Silves is located in the hinterland. Those who visit Castelo de Silves castle, a 12,000 square metre open-air museum, are rewarded with a spectacular view. © Aquarius/stock.adobe.com

Faro from BER

Flugzeug kurz vor dem Aufsetzen auf die Start- und Landebahn

Ryanair 

 

Piktogramm Info-i

 Aeroporte de Faro (FAO)

Five travel tips for ...

1. A bit of morning exercise in the Jardim Manuel Bivar city garden

2. Have breakfast in the Old Town: Maybe a tosta mista with a galão?

3. Visit the church, town hall and cathedral and climb the bell tower

4. Take a boat trip around the Ria Formosa lagoon

5. Round off the day with a sundowner at the marina

1. Take a surf class in Lagos

2. Dash through the Monchique Mountains on a mountain bike

3. Kayak along the cliffs to Ponta da Piedade

4. Hike along the coast from Praia da Marinha to the Alfanzina lighthouse

5. Dive to the wrecks on the coast off Portimão

1. From Cabo de São Vicente, the most south-westerly point in Europe across the Atlantic

2. From the highest mountain, the Fóia, over the Monchique Mountains

3. From the small village of Cacela Velha via the Ria Formosa Natural Park

4. From the second highest mountain in the Algarve, the Picota, across the rocky Algarve

5. From the Torre da Aspa cliff over the coast of the western Algarve

Picture source title:
 © matho/stock.adobe.com

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