Albufeira, Algarve

Welcome to AlbufeiraUncovered.com! Your guide to Albufeira, in central Algarve. For information about the town, its beaches, restaurants, bars, shops, things to do and in fact, all things Albufeira!

In Roman times Albufeira was known as Baltum and then re-named Al-Buhera by the Moorish settlers in the 8th Century. It was finally taken from the Moors in the middle of the 13th Century by the 'Knights of the Order of Santiago'.

Albufeira, like many towns in the Algarve, has the remains of a castle dating from Roman times, but most of the castle along with the town, was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake.The most visible pointer to the castle remains is the Torre do Relógio (clock tower), which was built on one of the old castle towers, and is normally lit up on festive occasions.

Albufeira was a small fishing village until the arrival of tourism in the 1960s. Substantial developments since then have turned it into a major holiday resort. Albufeira is hugely popular and it's easy to understand why. It has some beautiful beaches, a new marina and a vast selection of places to stay. With approximately 35,000 permanent residents there is an all round vibrancy and in the summer months Albufeira is full to the brim with holidaymakers.

The narrow streets of the 'old town' are full of cafes, bars and restaurants to cater for every taste.There are shops and outside stalls all trying to tempt people to shop! In the middle of the network of meandering streets and alleyways is the newly re-done centre square, with it's large raised 'stage' and surrounded by plenty of outside seating at various bars and restaurants. All of this pedestrianised area has been re-newed during 2006 and has plenty of benches along its tree-lined route to rest for a moment and watch the world go by!

There are two main beaches in Albufeira itself - 'Fishermans beach' (Praia dos Pescadores) is overlooked by a variety of restaurants and there is always the tempting aroma of barbecued fish in the air. Here it's possible to walk straight onto the beach without the need for steps. Adjoining Fishermans beach is Praia de Albufeira, slightly to the west through the tunnel near the tourist office. There are more bars and restaurants here and steps down to the beach.

Away from the 'old town' and to the east is an area known as 'the strip' in Areias de São João, where nightclubs, discos and bars come to life in the evening and you can party until the early hours. There is always lots going on in this lively area and there is a huge selection of places to shop, eat and drink! 'The strip' (Av. Dr Francisco Sà Carneiro) is obviously extremely busy in summer, and the cafés, bars and restaurants compete with each other for trade.

If you are staying in this area, a car really isn't necessary; in fact, particularly if you are new to driving in the Algarve, it can be quite nerve wracking in the summer months when Albufeira is so busy, and parking can be difficult too. A 'tourist train' runs from the 'strip' into Albufeira 'old town' every 20 minutes and will cost about 2€; if you don't fancy the walk to or from the beach - a taxi will only cost around 5€ and your hotel / apartment reception will happily call one for you.

If you want to visit one of the water parks or theme parks, there are several agencies in Albufeira offering very reasonable prices for transportation and tickets. One that we visited (June 2007), for a return journey to Zoomarine or Aqualand, charged around 5€ per adult and 3€ for children 2-12 years (children under 2 going free); an outing to Lagos and Sagres was around 15€. At these sort of prices (and often there are offers on as well), it can be cheaper than hiring a car.

Albufeira has a lovely marina on the outskirts of town. It is a beautiful area with apartments, rows of shops along the road into the marina and some bars and restaurants along the marina itself. It is a brilliant place to spend an afternoon, have a drink or a meal, or just sit in the sun and watch the boats & people strolling by. If you go for nothing else, go to see the amazing colours of the buildings! They are all painted in blue, pink, orange, green and yellow squares! There are also some lovely dolphin statues raised on poles along the marina walkway and each has been individually decorated with a different design.