Although we flew into Faro airport last Saturday we didn’t see anything of Faro itself and as it’s an historic city as well as being the capital of the Algarve we thought it would be a good place to visit. Trains from Lagos to Faro take 1 hour 50 minutes and an adult return journey costs €14.80. There wasn’t too much to see from the train window apart from the occasional golf course and much parched scrubland so we just sat back relaxing reading our Kindles.
The railway station in Faro is located in the centre of town between the bus station and the marina and so we began our tour of the city with a stroll along the waterfront. As there is a height restriction at the marina entrance because of the railway bridge, only small motorboats can moor here.
Across from the marina lies the Jardin Manuel Bivar, a small park with flowering bougainvillea and large trees providing welcome shade in the summer months. Next, we admired the ‘Arco da Villa’ an ornate archway which leads into the old town ‘Citade Velha’. This gate was designed in the 19th century and is positioned in front of the ancient city walls.
Strolling through the arch we continued along a narrow cobbled lane which took us to the Old Town Square, home to both the City Hall and the 13th century Cathedral which had to be rebuilt after suffering earthquake damage in 1775. Entrance to the cathedral costs €3.50 which includes access to the bell tower affording some splendid views over the Atlantic coast, outlying islands as well as the terracotta tiled rooftops of Faro down below.
After spending more time exploring the maze of narrow alleyways we found an inviting bar for lunch then made our way over to the newer part of town. The town centre is quite compact but we enjoyed wandering along the pedestrianised Rua de Santa Antonia with its mosaic tiled pavements. Here we found a mix of designer stores, shops, galleries and cafes whilst buskers entertained shoppers with catchy tunes on their piano accordions.
Returning to the seafront through the Western Gate ‘Porto da Sol’ we noticed kiosks offering one hour boat trips to the Ria Formosa Natural Park so we booked tickets for the 3.00 pm departure costing €10 each. Just four of us were taken out of the harbour in a small wooden boat, heading to the Natural Park which is a protected wilderness of salt water lagoons and tidal flatlands attracting around 270 species of birds and wildlife. High tide had just occurred an hour earlier covering the mudflats with approximately 10 metres of salt water.
The mudflats are covered in samphire, a vegetable that grows naturally in saltwater marshlands. Our skipper turned off the engine at several locations, allowing the boat to drift slowly and for us to try and spot some of the birds who live in this natural habitat. Many birds could be seen in the distance and I could hear the sounds of a curlew, but without binoculars it wasn’t possible to see any close up.
Before returning to the shore we were taken along the coast for some views of the city. It felt quite chilly on the water as there was a stiff breeze blowing but we soon warmed up when we were back on land.
We returned on a late afternoon train arriving back into Lagos around 6.00 pm. Two hours by train each way was quite a distance but we felt the journey had been worthwhile as Faro is an interesting city, albeit smaller than we had expected but with plenty to see and do during our visit.
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Being a nature person, my favorite part would have been the boat trip to the park. They should have binoculars for rent. Looks like another great day.
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Yes, definitely needed binoculars available but otherwise very good, thanks for reading!
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Absolutely loved the look of Faro Town Centre!! Great post. 🙂 Sigh, we wish Schengen visa rules for people already living in the UK were a bit relaxed so we could take trips like this 😦
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Thank you for reading and commenting on my post. I hope you get an opportunity to visit Faro and the rest of the Algarve soon!
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Looks beautiful!
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Thank you Rashmi!
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Faro looks like a very inviting place, I actually might have visited Faro a very very long time ago 🙂
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Faro was looking very, very quiet as tourists just seem to arrive into Faro airport and head off to their resorts never to see the town itself, such a pity. I like it so much now that I write a blog diary as hopefully in many years time I’ll be able to look back on my trips this way. Thank you for your much appreciated comments.
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Faro looks beautiful! I’m definitely putting it in my list of places to visit. Thank you for the tour!
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Its a pleasure, I’m so pleased you are enjoying reading my posts.
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Very lovely journey You made. Faro seems to be very beautiful and worth for a visit. Thank You.
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Thank you Matti, it was a lovely autumn trip away from the cold weather of Northern Europe!
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Very pretty and of course the marina is gorgeous 😊
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Thanks Suvi, but there again the Finnish marinas are gorgeous too!
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I will send your travel piece to a friend. He’s planning to move to, maybe, the Azores or the Algarve. Not the first American to be repulsed by the president-elect. (Not my president either.) Perhaps you can make recommendations on places to become an ex-pat.
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Thank you Susan, there are many British expats in the Algarve so perhaps some US citizens will be joining them soon! Interesting to read this, as you might imagine the U.K. News is focusing on this constantly!
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Looks lovely. I have never been to Faro…yet! Thanks for dropping in to my site “Travel Wise”. I’ve just started blogging and have lots more to add to the trip to Malta and Sicily and many, many other places. Plus many anecdotes! Happy traveling..
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Thanks Elaine, we are visiting Malta for the first time soon.
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You will love Malta and it’s fascinating temple culture and history of the knights of st. John.
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Thank you
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Faro looks beautiful! Thanks for the tips.
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Thank you Kelsey for your kind words, Faro is a lovely place to visit.
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it seems you´re having a great time in my country 🙂 regards PedroL
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Yes, The Algarve is beautiful, thank you for your comments Pedrol.
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What an interesting day. We didn’t make it to Faro – wish now we had, the architecture and whole place looks beautiful. The boat trip sounds great too – I love samphire but have never seen it growing!!
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Faro is a real gem of a place and definitely a good spot to visit if you return to the Algarve. Very few tourists when we were there despite being so close to the airport!
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Faro looks interesting and a lovely place.
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Thanks Miriam, it is a very interesting town with a welcoming feel.
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Nice tour of Faro, I missed that when I visited the Algarve.
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Thanks Andrew, perhaps you can take a look at Faro next time as it’s a very attractive place with plenty to see and do.
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