Faro

Two years ago we visited Faro on what was, unknown to us, an obscure Municipal holiday, when everything except a couple of shops and cafés were closed. We walked around a fair bit on that day, but as it was difficult to get a real feel for the place, we decided that it was time to return - this time when everything was open!
A city with lots of history, interesting sights and many tourist attractions, Faro is often “missed” or overlooked. Situated almost in the centre of this coast - the airport that services the Alvarve is here - so most people just “pass through,” but they’re missing a lot. Similar to many other towns in this area, Faro gives access to the Ria Formosa park - with its saltwater lagoons and mudflats that are a bird & nature lovers paradise....and with 3 pristine sandbar islands just off its coast, there’s no shortage of sand here for beach lovers!
Faro, however, is much more - it has a lovely old historical area with ancient walls, peaceful plazas, and a pedestrianized shopping area that fills quite a few streets in the city’s centre. For more serious shoppers there’s the Forum Algarve Shopping Mall, which is easily reached as it’s on the main road from Faro to the airport. A large galleried area, it has an open central square with cafés.....and lots of brand name shops.
We’ve heard that with a student population of 8,000 there’s a lively nightlife in Faro - we can’t personally vouch for that - but we can attest to the daytime ambience of the city, which is pleasantly relaxed and unhurried. Less than 5 minutes out of the train station we were at the marina, where only small boats can fit, due to the height limitations of the railway bridge at its entrance. This small area is a pleasant place to walk around or just sit - there are 3 or 4 cafés that can be found right alongside the water. We continued through a small, shady park - the Jardim Manuel Bivar - where old men sit to chat and play cards - it also has views of the water and the marina.....and....It’s a nesting place for storks, if you’re looking enough to see them!
Across from the park, we entered the old town through the neoclassical Arco da Vila - a decorative gate that was designed in the 19th century. This huge entrance sits on the site of an old gate that was part of the original Moorish walls. Walking uphill along the cobbled streets, we reached the Cathedral and the lovely main square of the old town, which also houses the the City Hall.
Entrance to the cathedral includes access to a small museum, a couple of chapels and (if desired) a climb up to the clock/bell tower. After paying the entrance fee, we were immediately in the lovely little courtyard which houses the chapels - one of which is a shrine made up of human bones! The cathedral, which was built in 1251, but heavily damaged in the 1755 earthquake, is now a mix of Renaissance and Gothic, with some Baroque features! It sits on the site of what was once a Roman temple and afterwards a Moorish mosque.
Inside the cathedral, the main alter is flanked by matching vaulted Gothic chapels and there’s also a couple of interesting side altars. One is an elaborate Baroque altarpiece, dated 1724, that’s surrounded by lovely blue and white azulejo tiles. The other is a 14th century Gothic chapel that also has some gorgeous multicoloured tile-work. The area underneath the beautifully carved and painted wooden choir stalls contains a tile “carpet,” which was laid during a restoration in 1664. The best view of the Baroque organ is from the cathedral’s balcony, which also houses a small museum containing an assortment of priestly vestments, chalices plus some grisly religious relics!
After seeing the inside of the cathedral, we climbed up the winding, narrow and worn stone steps to the top. The fantastic views from this bell tower are well worth the effort - although the climb down can be tricky when passing someone on their way up! From this high viewpoint both the city and the waters of the Ria Formosa park can be seen, together with the startlingly white “Bishops Square” far below. Another impressive sight from up here are close-up views of planes as they adjust their flaps for landing at the airport close by.
We left the cathedral, and took a route around the castle walls, which leads down to the waterfront promenade where there are some interesting old, graffiti-covered cabanas. The promenade is also the place where booths sell tickets for a variety of boat tours. After walking the waterfront, we made our way back through a different set of cobbled streets, which led up and around the old walls - having spotted what looked like a nice place to take a rest! Atop the castle walls we found “O Costelo” - situated in an old courtyard, filled with flowering bougainvillea and some funky posters - this restaurant and bar has tables looking out over the water. The outdoor terrace has some large “sails” to provide shade from the sun......it’s a perfect spot for a cold beer!
A different gate - Porta Nova - led us through into a short street of the same name, where we found a “magical” workshop that we’d researched on-line, but just about given up on. Simply put - entering The Galeria da Sé is like stepping into another world or an alternate time - it’s a workshop where the owner (surely a craftsman from another era?), restores and sells old tiles. Small and dusty, the light just about filters through into his treasure-trove of antique tiles - piles of them, and boxes full of them, are stacked haphazardly..... everywhere - with some large pieces either on or leaning up against the walls ...........the whole place is overwhelming and indescribable! With twists, turns, nooks, and crannies we made our way through this artist’s warren, before reluctantly stepping back onto the Rua Porta Nova, and the real world. It was 5 pm and as he closed the door behind us, we were left wondering if we’d imagined it all? No photographs are allowed.....so if you’re ever in Faro, I hope you find it!
Out last stop before leaving (and before it closed) was The Municipal Museum which is at the back of the Cathedral and can easily be reached through the North Gate entrance to the old city.
Voted the best museum in Portugal for 3 years running, it’s primarily archaeological in its content - displaying prehistoric, Roman and Medieval artifacts. It does, from time to time, have modern art exhibitions and it regularly hosts Fado performances. Only the 2nd museum to be created in the Algarve, The Museum Archeologico was inaugurated in 1894, on the 500th anniversary of the birth of Infante Dom Henrique (Henry the Navigator). Admission is, as always in Portugal, inexpensive, but even at a much higher price it would still be a bargain just to enter the 16th century convent where it’s located. This lovely Renaissance style building has a church with a baroque dome - but it’s the cloisters, which we entered immediately after entering, that gave us goosebumps as we wandered around their two floors of exhibits.
In the Municipal Museum we learned the history of Faro through the cataloguing of artifacts of this ancient city that was known as Ossonoba. We saw gravestones of Roman citizens and busts of their Emperors, glass jars and oil lamps from the first century plus amphorae from the same era, that were used to transport fish oil. Coats of arms, chiseled in stone, spanning the medieval era are on display as is a small Mother of Pearl safe from the 16th century.
Our favourite exhibit, which fills a whole room, is a large, 3rd century Roman mosaic, showing Oceanus, the Greek god of the sea - which was discovered near Faro railway station in 1926. The names of who commissioned the work are inscribed on the bottom edge of this beautiful mosaic......it’s impressive!
This convent of Nossa Senhora da Assunçäo, which was built on the former grounds of a prosperous Jewish area, was completed in 1550 and sustained major damage in the 1755 earthquake. After it was abandoned by the nuns in the 19th century, it was used as a cork factory. In 1948 it was classified as a National Monument, and with restoration completed in the late 60s, it was designated as the Faro Municipal Museum in 1973.
We were the last remaining visitors of the day as the museum staff were preparing to lock up and leave, but they were kind - and understanding enough - to allow us just a few extra minutes to take the last of our pictures and to admire, for one last time, the early evening light in the beautiful old cloisters......we could almost imagine we were in that ancient city of Ossonoba.