Explore Faro

Why visit Faro

Faro is the small, often-overlooked capital of the Algarve — a working Portuguese university town with about 67,000 residents that most beach-bound visitors fly straight through, missing one of the prettiest old quarters on the south coast. The compact Cidade Velha (Old Town), entered through the medieval Arco da Vila gateway, is a calm cluster of cobbled streets and whitewashed houses arranged around the dramatic Faro Cathedral (Sé, with a stunning baroque interior and a bell tower you can climb for the panorama). Just behind the cathedral, the macabre Capela dos Ossos at the Igreja do Carmo is decorated with the bones and skulls of 1,245 monks — a memento mori with a stark inscription above the entrance: 'Stop here and think about the fate that will befall you'. The real reason most travellers come to Faro is the Ria Formosa Natural Park — a stunning lagoon system of barrier islands, salt marshes, and tidal channels stretching 60km along the coast, with white-sand beaches reachable by short ferry from the city marina (Praia de Faro, Ilha Deserta, and Ilha da Culatra are the favourites). The park is also one of the most important wetlands in southern Europe for migrating birds, with flamingos in the salt pans in summer.