 Tavira
Tavira lies at the centre of the "Eastern Algarve" coast and is its most picturesque town. It sits on both sides of the river Gilão, linked by four road bridges, a train bridge and an ancient pedestrian bridge. The atmosphere is calm and relaxed. Its a big enough town to have everything you want, yet small enough to walk from one side to the other in 15 minutes.
At the centre, on a hill rising above Tavira's characteristic pitched roofs, is the castle and the landmark clock tower of Igreja de Santa Maria do Castelo. The town is full of old buildings - some dilapidated, others newly renovated. The recently renovated Palacio de Galleria houses art exhibitions. Close by is the novel new attraction of the camera obscurer - don't know what it is ? - try it out. Tavira is most famous for its churches - there's loads of them, though nobody quite agrees on the actual number. The most important are Igreja da Misericórdia and Igreja do Carmo.
The idle can sit and watch the world go by from an abundance of pavement cafe's, or else, be real tourists and take a tour of the whole town in its miniature train. Tavira ha a huge choice of restaurants, many specialising in sea food. Self-caterers should head for the fantastic municipal market where a wealth of fresh food is on offer each morning: fish, seafood, meat, deli, fruit and vegetables - much of it caught, reared, killed, made, grown and picked locally.
During the summer months, you'll find a good program of evening entertainment, much of it open air and much of it free. The open air Festival of European films is a treat not to miss for discerning cinema goers. Between the city and the sea, you'll find the extensive sea salt industry, oyster and fish farming, many wading birds including stork, flamingo (winter) and avocets, and finally, Tavira's fabulous and - in the summer - busy, beach.
Tavira even has its own observatory on a great site just north of the city (see link below).
Tavira highlights
A sunset drink on the roof terrace of the Hotel Porta Nova, with panoramic views over Tavira and the surrounding area
Open air festival of European films (July)
Concerts in the Igreja do Carmo
The view from the camera obscurer
The daily food market
The fish market
The island / beach
History
The Roman town of Balsa, sited close to Tavira, was a major settlement from the 1st Century BC, important for the fish salting industry. During five centuries of Moorish rule beginning in the 8th century, Tavira became one of the largest towns in the Algarve, of strategic importance for its castle and safe harbour. The Portuguese, under King Afonso III conquered Tavira in 1242 from near-by Cacela. Tavira prospered under the early Portuguese expansion overseas into north Africa, becoming the pre-eminent port for supply for the North African colonies in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was made a city in 1520. In the 17th and !8th centuries however, Tavira's fortunes waned, with the plague striking in 1645/6, the gradual silting-up of the harbour and finally the destruction wrought by the great earthquake of 1755. Tavira recovered some of its former importance in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century as it became the main port for the valuable tuna fishing industry. The tuna catch declined rapidly in the 1960's and the tuna stopped running altogether in the early 1970's. During the 1980's and 1990's Tavira's fortunes have once again begun to look up under the influence of EU membership, tourism and ex-patriot investment.
Links
For information on the observatory and camera obscurer - www.cdepa.pt
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