Faro Things to Do

Look, it's one of the great pleasures of travelling!! The local food - and drink!

We found a restaurant over on the otherside of the marina, so to speak, and we went upstairs to sit on the deck. Sorry can't remember the name of the place but you'll find it easily enough - there are a couple there, but this one has an upstairs.

We had cheese and wine and bread to start off ...and then seafood and wine and view and bread and ...can't remember after that.

But it was wonderful.

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White storks are a feature of the Faro area. They are a protected species so are free to nest undisturbed... and they do... on any available platform. I loved them! I was lucky enough to have one nesting on top of a lamp post right outside my hotel and from a landing window, managed to get some excellent photos.

Wherever you are in Faro area, look up and you'll probably see one.

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The pretty town of Tavira is just 18 miles east of Faro and can easily be reached by train. The train itself is quaint... metal with very old-fashioned seats... and the line from Faro Railway Station runs right beside the sea.

Tavira Town Centre is just a short walk downhill from the Railway Station and has lots of nice shops and restaurants. If you walk up the cobbled hill by the Tourist Information Office, you come to a Moorish castle and from there, you get fine views of the town and surrounding countryside. There's a lovely little garden up there too which is a fine spot for a rest.

Back down in the town is the River, spanned by three bridges. One of them is Roman and the most interesting thing is that the river has a different name on either side. To the west it's called the Gilão River and to the east, Sequa River. There's an ancient story that explains it but nobody really knows whether it's true.

If you walk out of town along the river bank, you eventually come to salt marshes... a huge, bleak expanse but part of the Rio Formosa nature reserve and home to many interesting species of bird. I even came upon a flock of flamingoes. At the far end of the road is a small cafe and the Vila Gale Albacora Hotel on a small island nearby, only accessible by boat. You can also take a boat from here to beaches on the islands but in winter, there's really not much to do and it was a long walk back.

Half way through my day in Tavira it started to pour down with rain so I wasn't able to enjoy the town to its full. Nonetheless it's a pretty town and worth a visit.

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The Old Town of Faro is its best feature, with lots of tiny streets still surrounded by Roman walls. In the centre is a beautiful square, Largo da Sé, that used to be the Roman Forum. It's lined with orange trees and on one side is a 13th Century cathedral, an 18th Century Episcopal palace and a 16th Century convent that is now the Faro Museum of Archaeology. There is also a small cafe.

Many of the buildings in the Old Town are in need of repair but this gives it charm. Children play outside and cats and dogs wander around and you can't help thinking that life here hasn't changed much at all in centuries. To service the dwellings, vehicles do enter the area but have to pull their wing mirrors in to get through the narrow arches in the old city wall.

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Faro Harbour is quite small but full of boats and you can watch the local fishermen mending their nets. Beyond the harbour walls you can see the islands of the Rio Formosa which is a nature reserve that spans 60km between Faro and Tavira. It's an important haven for a wide number of bird species and in summer you can take boat trips it but they weren't running in January when I was there.

The square facing the harbour is pretty and has gardens in the middle which is a nice place to sit on a sunny day. The mosaic pavements are beautiful and there are a number of imposing buildings around the square.

There's also a cafe on the waterfront where the service is friendly and the food very good and very cheap. It has tables and chairs outside in summer but even in winter, you get a good view of the harbour because all the walls are glass.

Our guide told as that there is a legend associated to this site, which mentions a niche where the image of the Virgin Mary was placed, before it was taken from there by the Arabs; as a result of this action, the sea stopped supplying fish and the land fruits, and things only returned to normal after the image was placed again

The development of Faro is linked to the names of many men, as is the case of Dom Francisco Gomes de Avelar (1736-1816). This bishop of the Algarve dedicated all his life and fortune to Faro, contributing to the city´s development, mainly through the construction of monuments and other buildings of public interest. The statue was the way found by the population to pay hommage to the bishop, and it stands at the city´s historical center, next to the Bishops Palace and the Mother Church.

The greatest Portuguese poet of his generation, João de Deus was born at San Bartholomeu de Messines in the province of Algarve on the 8th of March 1830.

Birthplace: São Bartolomeu de Messines, Algarve, Portugal
Died: 11-Jan-1896
Location of death: Lisbon, Portugal
Cause of death: unspecified

AKA: João de Deus Nogueira Ramos

I've never heard of him before. There is a nice little park beside that is named after him.