Faro is the largest city in the Algarve and serves as the gateway to Portugal’s most famous holiday region and some of the most stunning coastline in southern Europe.  This popular holiday destination has plenty to offer beyond the beach and its nightlife and you’ll find many things to discover in this fascinating city.  Faro stands out as an important commercial, artistic and cultural centre. Often simply passed through by visitors as a gateway, the city in fact offers fascinating architecture as part of the region’s rich history.

Every year the city attracts lots of tourists with a great deal of medieval historic places and monuments.  The city itself, and especially the Old Town, is small enough to explore on foot, but renting a car is essential if you plan to venture further afield.  At the heart of the Old Town is Largo da Se, a cobbled square flanked by beautiful buildings, such as the Bishop’s Palace. In the centre of the square you will also find the stunning Renaissance-style Cathedral. If you are a museum hunter there is a wide choice for you; Regional Ethnographic, Infante Dom Henrique, Ramalho Ortigão and many others.  You can take your pick of historic churches around Faro. One of the most striking is the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo with its adjacent intriguing ‘Chapel of the Bones’. There are many good shops and shopping streets in Faro, where you can find everything from local handcraft to wine and port from local cellars.

If you prefer something a bit more scenic then why not take in Faros excellent port area where fine views can be found across to the Ria Formosa Natural Park. The nature reserve is over 170 km² and a stopping place for hundreds of different birds during the spring and autumn migratory periods, a must for any nature lover or bird spotter. Just behind the port there’s a ferry pier where you can partake in a boat trip to Praia de Faro beach which is around 10km from Faro centre.

Faro and the Algarve as a whole have a very typical southern European climate, meaning that in June, July and August it can get very hot indeed, upwards of 35 degrees.

Stay in the city centre to spend time discovering its narrow streets of white-washed houses or explore further afield and experience some stunning scenery.  Either way, you’ll find Faro is a good base for exploring the Algarve with easy access to the motorway, trains and buses.