Flight time
2h 50m
Best season
April–June & September–October
Budget
Budget–Mid-range
Best for
Sunshine, coastline, relaxed pace
Overview
Why Faro & Algarve for a city break?
The Algarve is one of the most reliably rewarding short breaks from the UK — direct flights from virtually every UK airport, guaranteed sunshine from April through October, extraordinary coastal scenery of golden limestone cliffs and sea caves, and Faro's charming old town as a proper base for exploring. This is not the package-holiday Algarve of the resort strips — Faro itself is an authentic Portuguese city of cathedral squares, seafood restaurants and the extraordinary Ria Formosa lagoon nature reserve right on its doorstep. The combination of city-break culture and natural drama is genuinely unusual.
Faro Airport is the most connected airport in the Algarve and receives direct flights from across the UK with Ryanair, easyJet, TUI and British Airways year-round. The flight from London takes under three hours. Faro is at its best in late April, May, September and October — warm enough for beach days and coastal walks, cool enough to explore comfortably, and significantly cheaper than July and August. The Ria Formosa is one of Portugal's most important nature reserves and one of the finest lagoon landscapes in Europe; the boat trips through the barrier islands are among the most distinctive things you can do in the Algarve.
Where to stay & explore
Faro & Algarve’s best neighbourhoods
Faro Old Town (Cidade Velha)
The walled medieval quarter — the 13th-century cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace, the bone chapel of the Carmelite church, and the cobbled streets within the old walls. Compact and walkable in two hours; most beautiful at dawn and dusk when the tour groups are absent.
Olhão & Ria Formosa
The fishing town 8km east of Faro, with the finest fish market in the Algarve and the gateway to the Ria Formosa lagoon's barrier islands. The covered market on the waterfront sells the morning's catch directly; the boat ferries to Armona and Culatra leave from the harbour.
Lagos & the western coast
An hour's drive west of Faro, Lagos is the most dramatically beautiful section of the Algarve coast — the Ponta da Piedade sea caves and arches, the Praia do Camilo and Praia Dona Ana beaches, and a well-preserved old town with good restaurants. The definitive Algarve day trip.
Things to do
What to see in Faro & Algarve
1
Ria Formosa Natural Park
The Ria Formosa is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Portugal and one of the finest lagoon ecosystems in Europe — a 60km stretch of barrier islands, tidal flats, salt marshes and channels between Faro and Cacela Velha, home to flamingos, spoonbills and the extremely rare purple gallinule. The boat trips from Faro or Olhão through the lagoon to the barrier islands (Ilha da Culatra, Ilha de Armona) are outstanding: clear water, deserted beaches, genuine wilderness 15 minutes from the airport. In spring and autumn the birdwatching is exceptional. Morning trips are best for wildlife; afternoon trips for swimming.
2
Ponta da Piedade sea caves (Lagos)
The Ponta da Piedade headland south of Lagos is the most photographed section of the Algarve coast — extraordinary limestone arches, grottos and sea stacks in shades of amber, gold and orange, with emerald water in the channels between. Boat trips into the sea caves depart from Lagos beach hourly in summer (45 minutes; book at the harbour). The clifftop walk from Lagos to Ponta da Piedade (3km, 45 minutes) passes above the caves and gives the finest aerial perspective. Do both if you can.
3
Faro Old Town & bone chapel
Faro's walled old town is compact but properly atmospheric — the 13th-century cathedral (climb the bell tower for views over the Ria Formosa), the Municipal Museum in the former convent of Nossa Senhora da Assunção, and the extraordinary Igreja do Carmo with its adjacent bone chapel (a small room whose walls are entirely lined with the bones and skulls of over 1,200 monks — a Portuguese tradition of memento mori at its most confronting). The old town gates, the Archbishop's Palace and the cathedral square are all within 200 metres of each other.
4
Silves & inland Algarve
Silves, 35km north of Faro, is the former Moorish capital of the Algarve and one of the most rewarding half-day trips in the region — a Moorish castle of deep red sandstone dominating a hilltop above an orange-grove valley, with a cathedral built over the site of the former Grand Mosque and an excellent regional archaeological museum. The orange and almond orchards of the Barrocal interior, 10–15km inland from the coast, are entirely unlike the coastal tourist zone and largely unvisited by British tourists. The village of Alte is considered the most picturesque in the Algarve.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Faro & Algarve
Restaurante Dois Irmãos
Traditional Portuguese / Faro old town
Open since 1925 and still serving the finest traditional cooking in Faro — this is the definitive Faro restaurant for cataplana (the sealed copper pot dish of clams, pork, tomatoes and peppers that is the signature dish of the Algarve), grilled fish, and caldeirada (fish stew). Busy, unpretentious, excellent value. No reservations — arrive early or be prepared to wait. The queuing is worth it.
Tasca do Ricky
Petiscos & natural wine / Faro
The best contemporary restaurant in Faro — a small, modern tasca serving petiscos (Portuguese-style small plates) with a serious natural wine list. The grilled octopus, the cured meats and the desserts are outstanding. Convivial, packed most evenings, the kind of place that makes you glad you chose Faro over Albufeira. Book ahead for dinner.
Veneza
Seafood / Olhão market
The best seafood restaurant in the Olhão waterfront area — a simple, busy place serving the morning's catch from the market next door: grilled sea bream, fried cuttlefish, ameijoas (clams in garlic and white wine) and percebes (barnacles) with good local wine. The market itself is worth visiting regardless of whether you eat at Veneza — one of the finest fish markets in Portugal.
Itinerary
3 days in Faro & Algarve — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Faro Old Town, Ria Formosa, evening seafood
Arrive at Faro Airport — the city centre is 6km away by bus (line 14, €1.85) or taxi (€10–15). Check in near the old town. Morning walk through the Cidade Velha — the cathedral bell tower (views over the Ria Formosa), the bone chapel at the Igreja do Carmo, the Archbishop's Palace square. Lunch at Dois Irmãos — the cataplana, the grilled sea bream. Afternoon: hire a bike or walk the waterfront to the Ria Formosa — the Ludo Trail (4km loop through the lagoon reserve, flamingos in spring and autumn) starts near the airport. Alternatively, take the afternoon boat trip to Ilha de Culatra for a swim on a Ria Formosa barrier island. Evening back in Faro — Tasca do Ricky for petiscos and natural wine.
Day 2
Lagos, Ponta da Piedade and the western coast
Bus or hire car west to Lagos (1 hour, bus from Faro station €6). Walk the old town — the Slave Market Museum (the oldest in Europe, sobering), the Igreja de Santo António, the fort. Down to the beach and the waterfront — book a sea cave boat trip into Ponta da Piedade (45 minutes, €20 per person) and then walk the clifftop path above the arches. The light in the late afternoon turns the limestone extraordinary shades of amber. Swim at Praia do Camilo (steps cut into the cliff, one of the finest beaches in the Algarve). Return to Faro by 7pm; dinner in Olhão — Veneza for the freshest fish you will eat this year.
Day 3
Silves, the inland orchards and a slow morning
Hire a car or join a day tour east toward Silves and the inland Algarve. The Moorish castle at Silves opens at 9am — the red sandstone battlements, the cisterns, the views over orange groves to the coast. The Regional Archaeology Museum below the castle (the 8th-century Moorish cistern is remarkable). Lunch in one of the Silves restaurants — the grilled chicken (frango na brasa) from the charcoal houses near the market is definitive. Drive or bus back through the Barrocal — the almond and citrus interior, the village of Alte if time allows. Return Faro for a final evening at the old town before early flight home.
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