Villas in Faro

Faro is the largest city in the Algarve and the gateway to southern Portugal. This is a destination blessed with rich natural and cultural wealth and an eclectic choice of visitor attractions, traditional restaurants, and inexpensive shopping. Most people who holiday in the Algarve choose to rent a villa, and there are hundreds of villas within a short drive of Faro ready to welcome you. If you want to be right on the coast, there is a fabulous array of villas in the area of San Lorenzo golf course. Prefer to be in the olive-strewn hills 15 minutes’ drive inland? Look around Santa Barbara de Nexa, a pretty, local town with all the amenities for a comfortable holiday.

There are comfortable, well-equipped villas in the Faro area for all budgets. Big or small, a private swimming pool and lounge area is practically a given, providing the peace and tranquillity that you are looking for. Choose from the many villas in on the coast, footsteps away from the wide sandy beach stretching west of Faro, or in the rolling hills behind Faro, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Faro’s nightlife reflects this attractive Portuguese town’s mixed heritage, a titillating blend of sedate restaurants and vibrant bars, traditional entertainment, and modern upbeat sounds. Faro is a university city, meaning that it has an exciting nightlife all year round, and not only in summer like some of the resorts along the coast. For the young at heart, Thursday is student night and is considered the biggest night out in the town, with bars and clubs packed until dawn and cut-price club entry prices.

Faro does not have a beach right in the town, but getting to the nearest beaches is a fun adventure! The gorgeous sandy beaches of Ilha da Culatra, with its charming lighthouse, and the wild Ilha Deserta are accessible via a short adventure across the lagoon by ferry. The beaches draw sun worshippers, snorkellers and birdwatchers alike. Looking for a beach easily accessible by car? Praia da Faro is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Understandably, this is the town’s most popular beach, and it has all the facilities to boot, including numerous great priced cafes and restaurants.

Faro is in the heart of the Algarve, which is world-famous for its golfing culture and golf courses - all self-respecting golfers simply must make the pilgrimage to the Algarve at least once in their lifetime! Faro golf courses are notable for their outstanding quality and facilities. The golfing mecca in the Faro area has to be Quinta do Lago, set in 2000-acres of sparkling gardens, umbrella pines and perfectly rolling greens.

The coast stretching to the south of Faro is a huge nature reserve protecting a lagoon that spans 60 kilometres. It is a haven for birdwatchers, with incredibly rich birdlife including flamingos, storks, and the fantastically colourful florid purple swamphen.

Family days don’t get much more memorable than Zoomarine! Open from March to October, Zoomarine is Portugal’s best oceanographic park and a roll call of thrilling rides and amusements, awesome waterslides and wave pools, exotic birds of prey, and a 4D cinema!

Opened over 120 years ago, this is the second oldest museum in the Algarve. It boasts a fine collection of archaeological items, primarily from the Roman era. A lovely, cloistered building, with wonderfully presented exhibits, some good paintings including a Tower of Babel – well worth wandering around

Aquashow Park is Portugal’s largest and highest rated waterpark, located just down the road in the neighbouring village of Quarteira. But do you dare take on the biggest FreeFall slide in Europe, at 129 meters in length?

Curious about how life was in the Algarve before it became a globally renowned tourist destination? The above named museum shows you just that, retelling the story of Faro’s once prosperous fishing industry, with displays of items such as authentic navigation instruments and model ships, and photographic accounts of life in Faro in bygone times.

Take a day trip to Olhos d'Agua, a compact fishermen's village 25 minutes’ drive from Faro. The village is just so pretty! Park at the top, and follow the narrow, windy, cobblestone streets past scenes of local Algarvian life down to the gorgeous beach at the bottom, replete with pine-clad cliffs and rocky promontories.

Exploring Faro's compact old town is life affirming. Walk its cobbled streets and encounter centuries-old architectural sights, Roman passageways, cosy cafes, houses decorated with colourful flowers, and gorgeous little shops and bars. This is why we go on holiday!