Fun Things You Should Do in Tavira, Portugal, Tavira, Portugal

Tavira, Portugal was by far our favourite town in the Algarve. We had taken a five-day road trip through the Algarve from Sagres to Tavira. Have to say, the coastal scenery along the way in the Algarve is spectacular, as were some of the inland villages and towns we drove through. But we weren’t impressed with the massive high rises and many ugly looking coastal resorts that we passed in central Algarve.

We liked Tavira because it still retained its charm. The town had yet to be ruined with randomly built ugly looking apartment blocks nor packed with bars and restaurants offering a Full English Breakfast. Although we have to confess we did enjoy an enormous fry-up after a night in Albufeira.

The charming town of Tavira straddles the Gilão River as it enters the Atlantic Ocean at the Ria Formosa natural park. It was just a beautiful town, and it was fun roaming the old streets and narrow alleys found on both sides of the river. We enjoyed it so much that we stayed an extra day!

Tavira Castle is located at the highest point of Tavira and has excellent views over the town and national park. It was built to guard the once small fishing town from raiders and pirates from North Africa. It’s not a particularly big castle, but it’s free to enter and also features a garden filled with bougainvillea. There’s a watchtower you can climb for an even better view which is typical of Moorish fortresses. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).