Tavira, Faro, Portugal

The guide books describe this town as ‘pretty’ and they’re not wrong. As you drive into the old part of the town the cobbled streets make you slow down and look around.

There has been a substantial town here since Roman times and later the Moors considered it their most important settlement in the Algarve due to accessibility of the wide Gilao River but a plague decimated the town’s population in 1645/6 and, along with the river silting up, the town lost the trading ships and subsequently its importance and wealth.

However, what has been left are beautiful mansions with filigree balconies built by the wealthy merchants all along each side of the river, along with some interesting churches (which annoyingly are kept locked), a castle and some pretty gardens.

We set the Sat nav for ‘centro’ and it literally took us there, right down the Main Street to the Roman Bridge / Ponte Romano (which is now pedestrianised) so we swiftly swerved to the left and found a parking space, we eventually sussed out the parking metre despite some ‘help’ from a local woman who spoke no English. She snatched up the coins which the meter had spat back out and proceeded to do exactly what we had done, then tutted disparagingly when it didn’t work for her either, she then stalked off leaving us to it. We realised you had to put in exactly the correct coinage and hey presto, out come a ticket.

The houses have been built around the castle walls

A slow walk over the bridge allowed us to enjoy the vista of the lovely houses either side of the river, the boats along the harbour and the river itself. The east side of the old town has many meandering cobbled streets with lots of touristy shops selling a cornucopia of touristy stuff, from all things made of pottery – plates, egg cups, mugs, wall hangings; linen – bags, hats, blankets, towels and a vast array of soap, jewellery and bits n bobs you don’t need. Not forgetting the ‘tat’ shops, as I call them, which have the obligatory fridge magnets, post cards and plastic toys to keep young children amused (and quiet for a nano second).

We found ourselves in a little square with a lovely, very well kept garden with a statue in the middle. Of the half a dozen restaurants which lined the square two were Indian restaurants. For weeks we’d been fancying and Indian meal and hadn’t found one open, and here were two, right next door to each other. Reminiscent of buses when you want one! On our second visit to Tavira we did indulge and we were not disappointed.

Back across Ponte Romana the cobbled steps take you up to the church and the castle, amazingly called Castelo de Tavira!

There’s only a small section left, a couple of towers with connecting ramparts and again a well cared for garden with each shrub meticulously name tagged.

The castle has a turbulent history. It is thought that the Phoenicians had a settlement somewhere around this spot as far back as the 7th or 8th century BC. The Moors who later occupied this area built a stronghold here, although the town was conquered by the Portuguese in June 1239.

The oldest part of the current structure is thought to date back to the 12th or 13th century. After the Moors were driven out, the castle played a role in the defence against North African pirates who raided the nearby coastal areas.

One of the stories surround these romantic ruins, is the legend that on the night of Midsummer’s Day, (24th June) the ghost of the long-lost daughter of the Moorish castle governor, defeated in 1239, is heard to cry out in the darkness.

The building was significantly damaged in the devastating earthquake of 1755 of course!

Just down from the castle if the main church, Santa Maria do Castelo (yup there’s a theme here) and an old convent, Convento da Gracia, which has been converted into a hotel.

The only thing we missed on the top here was the Camera Obscura Tower. Never mind, we’ll go there next time.

As we made our way down towards the river we did the usual “shall we go down this way or that way” choice and luckily enough we came across another church, Igreja da Misericórdia, which was open (hooray) and inside was absolutely stunning, decorated with tiles depicting the 14 Works of Mercy and scenes from the life of Christ.

Whilst we were in the Church we could near strains of beautiful Fado singing, we couldn’t make out where it was coming from so we asked at reception and she said yes there will be a performance in the next building at 3:15 today, as it was getting on for 3 o’clock we hightailed it round there and bought some tickets. What a fantastic performance.