Olhão pearl of the Algarve

A good starting point for exploring the town is the tower of Our Lady of the Rosary: the baroque church in the centre.

From here you can see hundreds of typical rooftop terraces on the roofs of the whitewashed cubes from which the city derives its unique view.

Stroll through the maze of streets and white houses in the picturesque fishing district.

Olhão is a town for people who like the real Portugal, its history and culture, the beautiful islands and beaches, the nature reserve and the beautiful hinterlands. So this is not the place for clubbers, loud bar lovers etc.

We have been living for 13 years in the Algarve and consider Olhão as one of the nicest towns along the coast. While many other coastal towns thrive mainly on tourism, Olhão still has its original character with a strong Moorish influence and still functions as the main fishery port in the Algarve.

The result is that it is very lively throughout the year, while other tourist towns are often quite dead outside the tourist season.

The 1.3 km boulevard in Olhão is one of the best in the whole Algarve, due to its green parks, childrens play areas, the famous red brick buildings housing the covered daily (except Sundays) fish, fruit and vegetable markets, the local products/ gipsy market on Saturday and the many excellent cafés/coffee shops, bars and restaurants.

Many different restaurants are present, but we especially recommend the very fresh fish and other sea food (seashells, crabs and shrimps) available, which are excellent.

On the boulevard there are two ferry terminals to the islands. One is located opposite the Real Marine Hotel & Spa adjacent to the apartment and the other 10 minutes walking from the apartment, on the eastern end of the boulevard.

The centre of Olhão has a pedestrian shopping area with winding, cobbled back streets, which come out at the beautiful main avenida (avenue). Olhão has the biggest number of large supermarkets and Chinese shops of all towns in the Algarve.

Because the prices in the Olhão restaurant are about the best in the Algarve, most tourist eat outside, but guests who might still like to prepare some food themselves have many options to buy groceries.

Super markets

Continente and Lidl, along the coastal road (EN125) at walking distance from the apartment. Pão de Açúcar in Ria Shopping in Olhao along the EN125, Pingo Doce and Aldi along the EN125 to the east of Olhão, Intermaché and Pingo Doce, near the fishing port.

The new shopping mall (Ria Shopping) has 80 small shops, a large supermarket, restaurants/bars and a cinema (incl. 3D). All movies, except children's movies, are in English with Portuguese subtitles.

Recommended restaurants on the boulevard

There are many good restaurants but the following should not be missed:

O Bote Restaurante, freshly grilled fish and chicken.

Restaurante Ria Formosa, fish.

Doca’s Pizza, Italien.