Although many direct foreign flights head for Faro this is not a great tourist destination. The little old town is pleasant enough with the usual Moorish walls, churches and missable palaces, though the bone room [Capela dos Ossos] - constructed out of the bones of 1,000 monks - in Nossa Senhora do Carmo is fascinating and inspires much mortal contemplation.

The outskirts of Faro are a mass of new apartment blocks.
Portugal's beaches all the way from Faro to Tavira in the eastern Algarve are basically huge sandbanks that you need a short ferry ride to access, with the exception of this one, Praia de Faro, which has a small bridge to aid access for sand snugglers and the wealthy few who actually live on the sandbank.
The big trouble with Praia de Faro is it's near the airport, which is a long and inconvenient hike from Faro's tourist centre, unless you have a hire car.
Still, once you get there the sand is soft and it's very spacious.

Faro, the provincial capital, stands on a fertile plain rich with orange and olive groves, fruit trees, figs, almonds and maize fields. The town's capture on 12 March, 1249, marked the end of Moorish rule in the Algarve, the last Muslim province in Portugal.

The Romans made it an important centre and called it Ossónoba. Under the Moors it was a large port and a vital link to Portugal's interior. Today the town serves as a gateway to the south for millions of holidaymakers, mainly Europeans, who flock to the Algarve for a few days of fun in the sun.

What to see. At the heart of the old part of the city, the Largo da Sé is a peaceful square lined with orange trees and flanked by the bishops' palace, which is still in use. Just outside the city's ancient walls through a Moorish archway, the 18th-century curch of São Francisco is impressively decorated with tiled scenes of the life of St Francis. Further north is the 17th-century chapel of Pé da Cruz with interesting oil panels of stories from Genesis, such as the creation of the sun and stars. The town's maritime museum housed in the harbour master's building on the waterfront, has an extensive collection of oceanographic instruments and model ships.

Nearby. Nature lovers exploring the Ria Formosa Natural Park will find numerous wildfowl and waders, snakes, chameleons and various other species. 8 km north of Faro, the peaceful village of Estoi boasts an exquisite pink-coloured Rococo palace and a Roman complex dating from the 1st century.

PRAIA DA ILHA DE FARO
This beach is a long narrow sandy bar that is accessed by a road traversing a lagoon just south of the Faro airport. Being near to the principal town of the Algarve it is usually very busy and there are many water sports faculties and plenty of restaurants.

Faro - History
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. The Moors who occupied the town in the 8th Century originally gave the city it the name of Ossónoba and developed it into a trading port until 1249. They were then defeated by the forces of Dom Afonso III. With the decline of the importance of the city of Silves this town took over the role of administration of the Algarve area. The Earl of Essex sacked the town in 1596 with his fellow crusaders on their journey to the Holy Land and the collection of books taken from the palace of the Bishop of Faro became an important part of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England. Another interesting point is that during the 500 years of Moorish occupation there were some Jewish inhabitants in Faro who were kept busy printing copies of the Old Testament.

Faro - Description
Particularly attractive is the old part of the city surrounded still by the Roman walls which date back to the 9th. 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 Carmo 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 1.200 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 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.

The beach is almost 7 Kms distant from the city and is a long sandy spit reached by crossing a bridge not far from the International Airport. The municipal council has an active cultural department organizing different and various events during the year.

Faro - Nearby Locations
Near to Faro is the small town of Almancil where nearby can be found the church of São Lourenço de Matos renown for its 18th Century blue tiles.

To the north of Faro at the inland village of Estói there are some notable roman ruins of Milreu depicting a 3rd Century Roman home that enjoyed more comforts than some of the newly built villas in today's world. The Parish Church was built in the 16th century on the site of a previous chapel. Here, may be found the Manor House know as "Palácio de Estoi" which is due to be converted into a Pousada. Further to the north of this village is the town of Santa Barbára de Nexe with a bronze age hilltop fort nearby.

The well-known developments of Quinta do Lago and Vale de Lobo, both five star holiday areas are located west of Faro. Together they provide 7 top quality golf courses, tennis centres, riding schools, hotels, holiday resorts and villas.