Faro is one of the most popular tourist and car hire destinations across the globe. With stunning sunshine, gorgeous beaches and so much to see and do it’s not hard to see why. With so much to cram into your next Faro trip adventure we wanted to give you a breakdown of our favourites. If you do nothing else during your next Faro trip, make sure you do these! A rental car in Faro is the easiest and quickest way to explore this stunning tourist hotspot.
Visit Faro Cathedral
This fascinating and massively varied piece of Faro culture is a must explore for every Faro adventurer. Beginning construction in 1251, the odd appearance of the square tower and the design of the windows and brickwork are owed to the towers varied history.
The square brick tower is the only part of the cathedral that are close to the original design, the rest of the stunning building was largely destroyed in an English attack in 1956. Fast forward to the 17th century when the interior was redesigned and enhanced with the fancier style of gilded woodwork and tiles that were in style at the time. This renovation carried on into the 18th century and look amazing by today’s standards too. Despite this history of change you can still feel and smell the history of the place when exploring or even climbing to the top of the tower to see all of Faro from a height.
Check out Igreja do Carmo
This is another historical gem located in Faro and is one of the Algarve’s most famous and renowned pieces of history. A stunning building filled with history and art that explores the nature of human existence.
Built in the 18th century, the signature of the entire building is unmistakably Portuguese and it’s a true wander to explore. The baroque architecture and the wonderfully detailed and exquisite sculptures will take your breath away.
If they don’t, the Capela dos Ossos or Chapel of Bones has the remains and bones of well over 1000 monks from the Carmelite cemetery, a monastery from the 14th century in Lisbon. It’s a wonderfully eerie but fascinating place to just walk through and offers a melancholic but enchanting experience for those looking to kill a few hours before dinner.
Relax and take in all of Praia de Faro
If you’ve been to Faro before then there’s a huge chance that you’ve been here before, it’s such a stunning place though we couldn’t leave it off this list. Otherwise known by the English as “Faro Beach” it’s not hard to see why. This is the most popular beach in Faro and possibly the Algarve. Plus, it can be explored right after you land, that’s right you can hit this beach before you even check in to your hotel, right after you’ve collected your hire car at Faro airport 😉.
Simply follow the road behind the airport directly to this gold sanded, blue seas haven. Located on a small peninsula called Ilha de Faro, this stunning beach is surrounded by water on both sides (being a peninsula) and is gorgeous to take in. It’s gold, soft and fine sand feels wonderful under your toes and the ocean lapping at your feet is sure to take away all the stress caused from the flight. We wouldn’t recommend taking a dip in the waters here though as the water is colder than other parts of Portugal and features underwater drop offs where the water can get quite deep very quickly.
Overall, this is one of the best beaches in the Algarve and is a must for all travellers.
Escape to the Ilha Deserta
This is one of our personal favourites. Sometimes known as Barreta island, this small, literal sand island located in Rio Formosa National park is truly something wonderful.
You won’t find the place littered with Tourists or loud traffic noise, instead what you’ll find is a quiet, tranquil necklace of sandy island filled with only the local Flamingo population. This small slither of sand and warmth slips and slithers all the way along the coast towards the Spanish border.
Much like the rest of the Algarve the water here never really gets too warm so it’s more a place for a cooling plunge on a hot day than as a replacement for your hot tub. If you’re just after a place to explore and unwind with a nice walk though, this is your place. You can walk as long as you want and barely see another person.
If cruising the sandy paths isn’t your style however and you want to the hit the water, it’s possible to hire a boat and cruise along and between the islands. It’s flash and we don’t do Zest boat hire yet but if we did this would be top of our list 😉
Explore Cidade Velha
Otherwise known as Faro’s compact Old Town, this is one of the most popular places to see and explore in all of Faro. Crowded in Rich history, the entire old town is circled by a battered but still fascinating medieval wall built over the top of even more fascinating Roman foundations.
Those walls won’t be enough to keep you out however, once inside the entire place houses a plethora of historical gems for you to explore. Cobbled pedestrian streets, orange trees and even a cathedral are waiting for you, all framed by the Arco da Vila, a gorgeous 19th century gateway you can use to enter the old town.
Inside the town there’s all plenty of restaurants, cafes and museums where you stop exploring for a minute or two to catch your breath or take a picture and tag us in it on Instagram. 😉
Unfortunately, while most of the town is free to explore and look at, some buildings aren’t open to the public. Buildings like the Paco Episcopal, located in the central square -Largo da Se – isn’t open to the public. Just opposite there in the same central square is the cathedral, this gets a big recommendation from us.
Conclusion
Faro is a popular destination for tourists worldwide and it doesn’t take much to see why. The places we’ve covered here are literally just scratches of the surface of everything Faro has to offer. We haven’t covered the Museu Municipal, Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, the land train or the Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Carmo. I guess you’ll have to explore and discover these on your own during your next Faro adventure.
