Faro

The Ria Formosa lagoon attracted humans from the Palaeolithic age until the end of prehistory. The first settlements date from the fourth century BC, during the period of Phoenician colonization of the western Mediterranean. At the time, the area was known as Ossonoba, and was the most important urban centre of southern Portugal and commercial port for agricultural products, fish, and minerals. Between the second and eighth centuries, the city was under the domain of the Romans, then the Byzantines, and later Visigoths, before being conquered by the Arabic-speaking Muslims known as Moors in 713. From the third century onwards and during the Visigothic period, it was the site of an Episcopal see, the Ancient Diocese of Ossonoba (306-688). The Byzantine presence has endured in the towers of the city walls that were built during the Byzantine period. …

The municipality of Faro is divided into two distinct areas, the coastline, part of the Nature Park of Ria Formosa and the barrocal, characterized by hills and valleys, populated with typical Algarvian vegetation. The coastal area includes the Praia de Faro community on the Ancão Peninsula and the Barreta and Culatra islands. The nature park was created by Decree-Law 373/87, on 8 December 1987, and is considered one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal, with a beach that is around 7 km (4 mi) from the downtown. It includes the river and a lagoon system, interspersed with dunes, forming a small islands and peninsulas, that protect a large area of marshes, channels, and islets. The beaches in Faro are situated on the peninsula of Ancão and island of Culatra, along the corridor of the nature park. …

The Faro city holiday is on 7 September. The students' festival (Semana Académica da Universidade do Algarve), organized every year by students from the University of Algarve, is also an important event in Faro. The Faro motorcycle club is responsible for one of the largest motorcycle events in Portugal and Europe. A 30,000-seat stadium Estádio Algarve, shared by the cities of Faro and Loulé, was one of the venues of the Euro 2004 football championship. Louletano Desportos Clube (a club from the city of Loulé) and Sporting Clube Farense (from Faro) also use smaller municipal stadiums. The stadium is also used for concerts, festivals, and other events.

Faro is served by a transport network connecting it to the Algarve, and by extension, other European markets. Faro is about 3 hours and 30 minutes by air from the principal European destinations. By car, it is about 2 hours and 30 minutes from Lisbon, along the A2, and less than 1 hour from Andalusia, along the A22. Faro international Airport managed, as of 2025, more than 10 million passengers, with 45 airlines serving this airport, including many low-cost airlines. In recent years, the number of visitors travelling through the airport has increased as more and more low-cost airlines compete to offer cheap flights to the Algarve. The transport facilities to and from Faro airport and the centre of Faro include taxicabs and a bus line. Faro is served by the centrally located Faro railway station, and a smaller halt in the east of the city at Bom João. …

Bakr Ben Yahia, important Marrano figure in Gharb al-Andalus Madragana (born c. 1230), mistress to king Afonso III of Portugal Brites de Almeida (born 1350), known as the Baker of Aljubarrota, a legendary figure and Portuguese heroine whose name is associated with the victory of the Portuguese, against Castilian forces, at the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385 Francisco Barreto (1520–1573), soldier, explorer and an officer in Morocco José Maria da Ponte e Horta (1824–1892), Portuguese noble, Governor of Angola, Macau and Mozambique Sebastião Custódio de Sousa Teles (1847–1921), senior politician and military officer Maria Veleda (1871–1955), educator, journalist and activist Raul Pires Ferreira Chaves (1889–1967), civil engineer and inventor Adelino da Palma Carlos (1905–1992), first Prime Minister of Portugal after the Carnation Revolution of 1974 Carlos Quintas (born 1951), stage and TV ac …