Tavira is a small town on the Algarve coast of Portugal. It crosses the Gilão River, which flows into the sea through the Ria Formosa Natural Park’s inlets and lagoons. Tavira Island includes a large, sandy beach as well as salt pans where flamingos, spoonbills, and other wading birds can be found. Tavira is an ancient Roman seaport that was formerly occupied by the Moors, and a town famed for carpet making and tuna fishing. Tavira, like many other cities in Portugal’s southern region, was largely damaged by the Great Earthquake of 1755, therefore many of its magnificent buildings date from the 18th century.
The town, which is located on the Gilão River, welcomes visitors to explore a maze of cobblestone alleys, ancient white-washed houses, and dozens of churches, many of which feature stunning azulejos, the traditional blue and white tiles popular in Portugal. The Ria Formosa Natural Park protects waterways, mudflats, bird sanctuaries, and salt pans to the south of the city.
Tavira’s old castle lies in partial ruins, yet still offers excellent vistas. A magnificent garden may be found within the castle walls. You may enjoy even greater views of the city by climbing up old stone stairs within the walls. Another attraction: a camera obscura in the historic water tower close to the castle provides tourists with a 360-degree virtual tour of the city. The tombs of seven knights killed by the Moors are housed at the Santa María do Castelo Church.
Head to the dock at Quatro Águas. Catch a ferry to one of Portugal’s most beautiful beaches. On the island of Tavira, you’ll find a long stretch of white sand beach bordered by dunes, a half-dozen restaurants serving fresh seafood, tropical-style outdoor bars, and a smattering of sellers selling handicrafts at reasonable prices.
In the vicinity, there are world-class golf courses as well as excellent snorkelling and scuba diving.
The former fishing camp Arraial Ferreira Neto, where tuna fishermen used to live, is now the hotel Vila Galé Albacora. Their lodging has been transformed into a hotel and is located in the Ria Formosa Natural Park. The ancient church now hosts weddings and christenings, while the former bakery is now a modest tuna industry museum.
Sign up for a boating adventure with one of the many firms that provide excursions to try your hand at fishing, including for marlin and sharks. Make the drive only a few miles outside of Tavirato Praia do Barril if you’d like to learn more about the area’s fishing history. Rows of rusty anchors have been laid to rest on this lovely beach. The Anchor Cemetery is more than just a beautiful photo op; it pays special tribute to the men and women whose lives were inexorably linked to the sea.
Tavira is a great place to sit in a plaza or a riverbank café with a cup of freshly pressed coffee and do some serious people-watching. InPraça da República, near the Mercado da Ribeira, to the left of the Roman bridge, and on Rua Borda d’gua da Assêca, to the right of the bridge, there are various cafés with outdoor seating.
Things to Do in Tavira
- Cabanas Beach
Praia de Cabanas is one of the wildest strands in the Algarve, with more than 7km (4.3mi) of dune-backed, resort-free sand: imagine a long sand spit, littered with millions of shells, open to the Mediterranean on one side and overlooking the Ria Formosa waterfowl preserve on the other. It’s one of the few beach segments in the Algarve that is guaranteed to be crowd-free even during peak season, and it’s only accessible by boat from Tavira.
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Praia Verde
Praia Verde, lapped by calm waves, dominates the middle of a seemingly endless white strand that stretches from the Ria Formosa reserve’s end to the Guadiana River on the Spanish border. In the beachside parking lot, there’s a tiny seafood restaurant where the crowds congregate. Even in the busy season, stroll a few hundred metres east or west down the sand and you’ll discover unoccupied locations where you may drape a towel and be alone.
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Praia da Ilha de Tavira
© Parallax Visual Media / Alamy Stock Photo
Tavira’s main beach is a long stretch of white sand with a dune-backed backdrop, sprinkled with a few restaurants and seaside shack-bars. Even when the town is crowded, you’ll soon find a spot to yourself if you go away from the main area. The beach is located at the end of a long sand spit island that is separated from Tavira by the Ria Formosa lagoon. The only way in is by boat, which departs from the Cais das Quatro Guas jetty near the Gilo river mouth.
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Igreja da Misericórdia
© dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo
It’s nestled away down a side street off Praça da República, with a sombre neoclassical front — little wonder so many people stroll right past it. Step inside, however, and you’ll find one of the Algarve’s most impressive church interiors: walls adorned with magnificent 18th-century azulejo tiles depicting scenes from Christ’s life; gargoyle-topped columns rising to the ornate ceiling; and a series of exquisitely carved, gold-glistening altar baroque pieces.
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Castelo de Tavira
From the craggy battlements of this Moorish citadel, take in panoramic views of the cityscape, from terracotta roofs of Tavira to the meandering Gilão river and distant ocean. The castle is one of Europe’s oldest, with ruins dating back to the 8th century BCE in Phoenician times. The current structure shows substantial restoration during the Portuguese Reconquest – new defences erected on the Islamic walls in the 13th century – which accounts for its picturesque appeal.
- Islamic Museum
The Algarve region had outposts of Moorish caliphates, one after the other, administered from Cordoba, Seville, and Granada in modern-day Spain for more than 500 years. Tavira’s modest museum, housed in the remains of one of the Algarve’s few surviving Islamic structures, offers light on the town’s Muslim history with exhibitions, films, and recovered objects: seek for ceramics and architectural elements.
- Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo
This convent church’s humble whitewashed exterior conceals a sumptuous interior – all paid for by a wealthy lay brotherhood, reflecting Tavira’s prosperity in the 18th century, when it was one of Iberia’s most significant trading ports. Step inside and crane your necks at the rococo carvings, coloured marble, and Murillo-inspired trompe l’oeil ceiling painting of the Virgin and Child. The gleaming altar items are some of the best in all of southern Portugal.
