A town gate, a bone chapel and a lagoon

Everything here is within walking distance of Largo de São Francisco except the lagoon, which starts at the quay. With one afternoon: the arch, the cathedral square, the bone chapel.

1. Enter through the Arco da Vila

The Arco da Vila was commissioned in 1812 and designed by Francisco Xavier Fabri. The room above has a view over the Ria Formosa. It's the right way into the old town.

2. Stand in the cathedral square

The Sé de Faro was rebuilt after the Earl of Essex's raid in 1596. Inside is an 18th-century organ by Johann Heinrich Hulenkampf.

3. Give the museum an hour

The Museu Municipal fills a former convent inside the walls. Adults pay €4; closed Mondays.

4. Visit the bone chapel at noon

Behind the Igreja do Carmo, the Capela dos Ossos of 1816 is lined with 1,245 skulls. Guides give €2 and a 13:00–15:00 lunch closure, so go before one.

5. Find the old Jewish cemetery

The Jewish cemetery took burials from 1838 to 1932. It sits beside the Telpark car park, so it's a stop on the way out.

6. Take a boat into the Ria Formosa

The Ria Formosa lagoon runs 60 km along the coast and has been a nature park since 1987. Boats leave from the quay; I'd pick a small one to the barrier islands.

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Copper pans, clams and a sweet from Lagos

1. Order the cataplana for two

A cataplana is a hinged copper pan that seals like a clam. The classic filling is clams with pork. It's slow, so order early.

2. Try the clam xarém

Xarém is a cornmeal porridge, and with clams it's the Algarve answer to risotto. Faz Gostos inside the walls lists it, Tuesday to Saturday.

3. Watch sunset at O Castelo

O Castelo serves octopus with sweet potato on the old town wall. I'd go for the view and order the octopus.

4. End with a dom rodrigo

The dom rodrigo is egg threads, almond and cinnamon wrapped in coloured foil, a sweet from Lagos.

5. Shop at the market

The Mercado Municipal is open 07:00–20:00 every day.

A fair on the car park and 17,000 motorbikes

1. Check October before you drive

The Feira de Santa Iria fills Largo de São Francisco for about ten days. 2026 dates weren't published when I checked; 2025 ran 16–26 October.

2. Avoid mid-July 2027 unless you ride

The Concentração Internacional de Motos de Faro returns 15–18 July 2027 at Vale das Almas, its 45th edition. About 17,000 people came in 2026. I'd book parking early that week.

An Earl, a bishop and a library in Oxford

1. Don't credit the wrong bishop

In July 1596 the Earl of Essex sacked Faro and took the bishop's books to Oxford's Bodleian Library. The story often names Jerónimo Osório, but he died in 1580. The library belonged to Bishop Fernando Martins Mascarenhas; 65 titles still carry his arms.

2. Look for the older gate

Excavations in 1992 found an 11th-century horseshoe-arch gate from the Arab walls beneath the Arco da Vila.