ARCHITECTURE + AIRBORNE European Travels: TAVIRA, PORTUGAL

October 9, 2015
PJ's 4-day weekend happened to fall when the Telliers were in town visiting us, so I planned a Spain and Portugal trip for those four days. We flew into Seville, Spain, hopped into a rental car, and headed to Tavira, Portugal.

Tavira is a fishing town along the Algarve coast that was under Arab rule between the 8th to 13th century until its conquest by the Knights of the Order of Santiago in 1242. It was considered to be a major trading port between the 16th and 18th centuries. Since then, it has been upgraded to a city and has managed to hold onto its traditional aspects, which makes it a perfect place to stop while driving along the coast.

We parked in a small lot and then walked along the water until we entered Praça da República, the central square of the city. Tavira is full of the traditional white stone streets and tile buildings, with colorful street signs along the way. Câmara Municipal de Tavira is located within the main square, as well as some cafes, a small amphitheater, a monument and a fountain. I enjoyed the lack of tourists during our visit!

Along the Gilao River

Praça da República

Jardim Público de Tavira

Praça da República

Ponte Romana

Gilao River

Ponte Romana

Rua António Cabreira

Door knocker in the shape of a hand -
A Moorish legacy

Tile facade

Rua 5 de Outubro

The five of us walked across the Roman Bridge and had a delicious lunch of Bife a Portuguesa at Restaurante Abstracto. It is a nice restaurant with some outdoor tables along a narrow, cobblestone street. Another must try when in Portugal is the traditional Francesinha, although we didn't have any on this particular holiday.

After lunch we headed out to see some of the sights. We were on a slight time crunch because we were heading to Lagos next and wanted to arrive before sunset, but we had a decent amount of time to explore. The city itself isn't too large and was relatively easy to meander through, especially during lunch when most people were relaxing.