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Faro is a small provincial capital of the Algarve with a population of about 40,000 inhabitants.

 It’s located on the southern tip of Portugal and serves as the gateway to the many resorts that dot the surrounding area.
From a short distance of the harbour is the main modern shopping and dinning street of Rua de Santo Antonio.
For night life, you will have to go to Rua do Prior and to Conselheiro Bivar for outdoor cafes and bars. The biggest attraction of the town is the beach of Praia de Farot, it’s possible to take a ferry there from the jetty beside the Old City, or 'Cidade Velha'.
 The old walled neighbourhood of Cidade Velha at the southern end of the harbour is where the town began as a Moorish settlement. Christians replaced the mosque with the Sé, or cathedral. The nearby Museo Arqueologico displays some impressive ancient Roman artefacts. Don't miss the bizarre secret in the back yard of the Igreja do Carmo church, near the central Post Office on Largo do Carmo: the Capela dos Ossos, or Chapel of Bones, which is decorated with the remains of 1,200 monks. In order to find typical goods from Faro, go to the morning market on Largo de Sa Carneiro which is open from 6.30am till 1.30pm. The mid-13th Century small Cathedral in the centre of the Largo de Sé was probably built on the site of a Moorish mosque. The fine old buildings on the perimeter of the square include an 18th Century Episcopal palace and the current Town Hall. The statue in the square is of Bishop Francisco Gomes, who co-ordinated the rebuilding of Faro after it was destroyed by the great earthquake of 1755. You can visit three museums in Faro: the Lapidary Museum, the Ethnological Museum and the Maritime Museum which has lots of models, including Vasco da Gama’s ship São Gabriel. Ria Formosa lagoon is a nature reserve of over 17.000 hectares and a stopping place for hundreds of different birds during the spring and autumn migratory periods. The beach is almost 7 kms distant from the city and is a long sandy spit reached by crossing a bridge not far from the International Airport.
Historically the oldest city Faro hosts paramount values of the cultural patrimony, namely its cathedral, the. "Arco do Repouso" and the "Nossa Senhora da Assunção Convent".  
Its Culture and traditional dress is reflected in its whitewashed houses, with characteristic roots, arches and narrow streets  Enjoyable are the wonderful, quiet islands, situated in the Rio Formosa, who access is obtained by boat, You con also go to Faro beach, a spit separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Ria Formosa Nature Reserve.
The city has both Arab and Roman ruins but most of the present attractive older buildings were constructed after the disastrous earthquake of 1755 and the earlier one of 1532. Particularly attractive is the old part of the city surrounded still by the Roman walls which date back to the 9th. Inside a spacious open square that was once the site of the Roman Forum is a 13th Century Cathedral that faces the 18th Century Episcopal palace.