Faro Marina

It can be fun to spend some time admiring the flashy yachts on display in the marina, maybe stopping off for refreshments in one of the waterside cafes.  Just around the corner is the Porta Nova Pier, from which boats take day trippers out to enjoy the birdlife and beaches of the Ria Formosa Natural Park.  On balmy summer nights, it’s a pleasant stroll from the marina, down the waterfront promenade to the Old Town.

Also worth a look is Faro's Maritime Museum which is found on the waterfront at the north-west end of the marina. Although quite small, it has some interesting displays relating to Portugal’s Age of Discovery, including a model of one of the boats in which Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to India in 1498.