{"id":298,"date":"2012-04-09T05:23:22","date_gmt":"2012-04-09T05:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.noplacetobe.com\/featured\/?p=298"},"modified":"2012-04-09T05:23:22","modified_gmt":"2012-04-09T05:23:22","slug":"faro-not-just-an-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.noplacetobe.com\/featured\/faro-not-just-an-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Faro: Not Just an Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Algarve is well renowned amongst European travellers as one of the best summer\u00a0holiday destinations. The resort towns of Villamoura and Albufeira have that distinct balance\u00a0between the party attitude you\u2019d find in the Spanish Costas, and the laid back serenity\u00a0normally restricted to islands like Menorca.<\/p>\n

If, like me, you travel frequently to Portugal you\u2019ll be more than familiar with the Faro flights<\/a>.\u00a0Flights within Europe to Faro are generally quite cheap, particularly from the likes of Ryanair,\u00a0Easyjet and Thomson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Like most tourists I usually jump straight into my hire car and head out to the resorts, or to\u00a0visit family in Silves. Until recently it hadn\u2019t really occurred to me to visit the City of Faro itself,\u00a0but now that I have I wish I\u2019d done it earlier.<\/p>\n

The first thing you\u2019ll notice about Faro, if you\u2019re in a car anyway, is the complicated system\u00a0of one-way streets. This is why I would personally recommend taking the bus or train for your\u00a0day trip in Faro: or towards the end of your holiday when you\u2019re comfortable driving on the\u00a0right hand side of the road. There is paid parking by the marina, if you can find a space, or\u00a0you can struggle with other drivers on side streets. The choice is yours.<\/p>\n

So once you arrive safely in Faro, what exactly is there to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Explore the Old Town<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that the old town (Cidade Velha) is the most interesting quarter. Medieval\u00a0and Moorish architecture elicits gasps at every corner turned. Take it slowly and by foot\u00a0to really get the most out of the area. Walk through the Arco Da Vila and discover an 11th
\nCentury Moorish horseshoe gate. Admire the 13th Century cathedral, which combines Gothic,\u00a0Renaissance, and Baroque architecture. Or simply walk around the castle walls, the oldest\u00a0parts of which date back to Roman times.<\/p>\n

\"Arco<\/a>

Arco Da Vila - Flickr: Astacus<\/p><\/div>\n

If the years of history have left you feeling peckish, never fear. The old town is home to lots of\u00a0enticing caf\u00e9s and restaurants: ranging from the simple (grilling sardines over an oil drum) to\u00a0the more elaborate (featured in the Michelin Guide).<\/p>\n

Visit a Desert Island<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the hustle and bustle of the city is proving a bit too much for you, escape by boat to one of\u00a0the desert islands surrounding Faro. You\u2019ll notice as you\u2019re descending into the airport that\u00a0the coast around Faro is surrounded by small islands and sandbars, known as Ria Formosa.\u00a0This structure has played an important role in the history of Faro: when the Lisbon earthquake\u00a0caused a tsunami in 1755, the current capital of the region, Lagos, was almost razed. Many\u00a0Algarve coastal cities suffered the same fate, but Faro was left completely unscathed.<\/p>\n

There is one island in Ria Formosa that you can visit: an 11km stretch of sand, with only one\u00a0restaurant. It\u2019s the perfect place to while away a few relaxing hours in the summer. Just you,\u00a0the sand, the turquoise sea\u2026 and any other tourists that arrived with you.<\/p>\n

Be Macabre at the Chapel of Bones<\/strong><\/p>\n

Evora in the Alentejo region is famous for its chapel of bones, but if you\u2019re not planning on\u00a0heading North you don\u2019t need to miss out. Apparently building chapels out of the bones of\u00a0monks is a quintessentially Portuguese past time, as the Igreja do Carmo church on Largo\u00a0do Carmo has its very own bone chapel too. If you\u2019re in a particularly morbid mood, don\u2019t let\u00a0the 1 Euro entry fee stop you: nor the inscription above the door that reads, \u201cStop now and\u00a0consider your fate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chapel<\/a>

Flickr: Black Nothing<\/p><\/div>\n

Shop \u2018til You Drop<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the Algarve is famous for gorgeous beaches, golf, and peri peri chicken, its shops\u00a0aren\u2019t usually anything to write home about. Usually shopping is restricted to souvenir and\u00a0bric-a-brac stores. In Faro, however, it\u2019s not so: as the city is less tourist focussed, there are\u00a0more recognisable high street brands. Don\u2019t forget to visit the flagship mall, Forum Algarve,\u00a0either for some air-conditioned comfort.<\/p>\n

So next time you visit the Algarve, give Faro a try. You might just be surprised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Algarve is well renowned amongst European travellers as one of the best summer\u00a0holiday destinations. The resort towns of Villamoura and Albufeira have that distinct balance\u00a0between the party attitude you\u2019d find in the Spanish Costas, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nFaro: Not just an airport.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Algarve is well renowned amongst European travellers as one of the best summer holiday destinations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.noplacetobe.com\/featured\/faro-not-just-an-airport\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta 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