Environment
Faro is located in the south of Portugal - in the region of Algarve. Here you will find 205 km of
coastline with the finest golden sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean.
Crystal clear waters, clear blue skies and vivid green grass - a paradise for all kinds of watersports.
Algarve is, above all, most famous for it's championship golf courses - some of the worlds best ranked golfcourses lies in Algarve.
Some distances of interest
The closest airport is Faro Internationale Airport, located 10 km away.
It is 40 km to the mountains and 30 km to the nearest river.
In Portugal the Atlantic Ocean is always "close by" - distances from estern inland border will
maximum be a two hour drive. The closest beach is 5 km away.
Climate : Ocean clima with nice hot humid summers and with a cool breeze from the sea in wintertime Town character : Historical town Primary Industry : Tourism
The city proper has 42.000 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58.000 inhabitants.
The southernmost town in Portugal, it is a seaport from which fish, fruit (especially dried figs), wine, and cork are exported. Tourism now dominates the economy.
Faro is the administrative centre for the whole of the Algarve region and is located next to the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nature reserve of over 170 square kilometres and a stopping place for hundreds of different species of birds during the spring and autumn migratory periods.
The beach is roughly seven kilometres from the city, and consists of a long sandy spit reached through a bridge.
History Faro is the chief city in the Portuguese region of Algarve.The Ria Formosa lagoon attracted human occupants from the Palaeolithic age until the end of pre-history.
During that time a settlement grew up - Ossonoba - which was an important town during the period of Roman occupation and, the forerunner of present-day Faro.
The city was very important under the Moors, and was retaken in 1249.
Tourism Faro International Airport is a few kilometers away from the city itself. In recent years the numbers of visitors travelling through the airport has increased as more and more low-cost airlines compete to offer cheap flights to the Algarve.
Golf at the Algarve boasts of over 300 days of sunny weather making it the ideal European golf holiday. The Algarve coastline has over 25 courses - all within one and a half hours drive from the Faro International Airport.
To play golf in Algarve is only a few hours flying from northern Europe, so it's no wonder this is known to be "the main golf-destination" in europe!
Events in Faro: March - Traditional Burial Procession June - Feira de Arte e Artenasanato (Art & Handicrafts) July - Concentração Internacional de Motos (Motorbikes) October - Feira de Santa Iria
The Faro International Motorcycle Rally is a famous festival, renowned in Europe for being one of the biggest of its kind.
The students' festival (Semana Académica da Universidade do Algarve), organized every year by students from the University of the Algarve, is also an important event in Faro.
Wine from the region of Algarve
Portugal produces some of the world's finest, oldest, unique and highest value-added wines.
The country has a large variety of native breeds - about 285 - producing a very wide
variety of different wines with distinctive personality.
