Albufeira old town

Albufeira is called the gateway to Algarve, it is the largest, liveliest and most exciting of all the resort towns that line the southern Portugal's beautiful Algarve coastline It is a charming town with rich history, unique architecture with a quaint character. The Old Town is of chief interest to visitors, as it is one of the few fishing villages along this coast that hasn’t been replaced with modern buildings.

First stop the Old town of Albufeira. We parked our car about 5 minutes from the Old Town and we are now entering the Old Town with cobbled streets and the beach is at the end of the town.

The name Albufeira is from the Arabic “Al-buhera“, which means “the Sea Castle.” There was indeed a castle in Albufeira at one time. Very little of it remains today because much of the town was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake and subsequent tidal wave.

Praca Miguel Bombarda-Church of Saint Sebastion and Museum of Sacred Art.

In the Miguel Bombarda Square stand this church built at the end of the 18th Century in honor of St. Sebastian

Streets in the Old Town.

A typical Portuguese porch and window with blue tiles.

This is the upper part of the Old City with panoramic view of the beach and the town above.

Below is Praia dos Pescadores (Fisherman's beach) which is the one of the main beaches in Albufeira.

Art work hanging along the promenade.

Closer view of the art work.

In the center of the beach is a huge restaurant/bar.

Restaruant with a pananoramic view on top of the hill.

Rocky cliff.

We are walking toward the tall elevator at the end of the promenade.

Peneco Elevator is a vertical elevator for public transportation.

Very impressive elevation construction was financially supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Polis de Albufeira program for a cost of EUR 687,000.

The elevator connect the upper part of the city with Peneco beach.

It has a height of 92 ft. and can hold 13 people. It has been in operation since June 2008, being managed by the Municipality of Albufeira.

Roca restaurant and bar just in the middle of the beach

View of the town from the beach.

All the beaches of Albufeira have rock formations protecting the beaches. You will find signs advising you not to stay close to the rocks. Due to potential rockfall, it can be dangerous to sit just below the rocks.

These benches and umbrellas are for rent.

More view of the town from the beach.

From the beach there is Tunnel leading to the main square in the old town.

Entering the Old Town.

Lots of shops.

Souvenirs shops all around.

Cobbles street, really clean.

This is another square with lots of restaurants and shops.

This area is very lively with lots of people and plenty of restaurants/coffee shops/and Bar.

Church of Santana, 18th century church situated on a hill within the old town. It was built after a great earthquake that destroyed the previous temple.

We are now done with the visit headed back to Faro. It took us a while to find our car as the streets are hilly, narrow and they all looked alike.

NEXT.... Day 5-Stroll in Faro