A few weeks ago a friend of mine mentioned how fabulous she thinks Tavira is, I agree! It was thinking of that conversation with Jayne which inspired me this evening to see if I had any unshared photographs of this gorgeous town, 
and as you can see I have. This lovely red door is part of Casa das Artes which looks as though it has some interesting exhibitions and events.
It was in late April when I could no longer resist the steps on the other side of the Rio Gilão, or perhaps I should say Rio Séqua as the river changes its name at the Ponte Romana.
We park near the bus station when we visit, and usually stroll along the river pass the bus station to a small cafe near the square. On this particular day though we were so hungry that we decided to walk across the modern bridge below the viaduct and head straight for one of our favourite restaurants on Rua Joao Vaz Corte Real.
This road is named after João Vaz Corte-Real, an Algarvian sailor who is believed to have landed on the shores of North America around 20 years before Columbus. His father was also once Captain-General of Tavira. Whilst I have been able to learn more about the road, I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the restaurant!
We usually enter via its back entrance on the Rua Borda d’Agua da Assèca. Yes that does appear to be another a name for the river. This name (I’m guessing here!) reflects the river’s source, which is located in the Serra do Caldeirão mountains of the central Algarve, at the confluence of the Asseca, Zimbral and Alportel rivers.
On this particular day after joining the many locals for a delicious Pratos do dia, we went for a stroll. The walk began by leaving through the main entrance and turning left up Rua Joao Vaz Corte Real before a sharp turn right up some steep cobbled steps. We then meandered around the cobbled streets before finding ourselves in a lovely plaza with stunning views of the rest of the town.
Tavira is a perfect place to stay and also ideal for day trips as you can wander endlessly around its cobblestone streets as well as spend time exploring its churches, enjoying the view from the castle and stopping for a coffee in one of its beautiful squares. To find out more about Tavira check out some of my older posts or pop across to Jo’s lovely blog as she knows Tavira much better than me. We can’t wait to return in November – if you are there now or visited recently share your favourite places to stroll by leaving a comment below.
Great to see some more views of this lovely place – I always enjoy “visiting” with Restless Jo!
One day you’ll have to visit and then can blow us away with your photographs!
This is not too far from our house, Becky. 🙂 Sorry I just got here but thanks for the link. Life has been delightfully hectic for a while. I was trying to think which restaurant you mean because there are several along there. On our recent visit we noticed that Brisa do Rio had moved from it’s little side street to a prime location with a nice roof terrace. Unfortunately we didn’t get in to sample the wares because they were fully booked on both occasions we tried. We ended up back at ‘O Xico’ and you can’t get more Portuguese than that. 🙂
The Casa das Artes had some interesting papier mache figures on the roof. And the Santa Ana chapel is occasionally used for Music in the Churches (Saturdays at 6pm- usually Misericordia Church but sometimes others) Happy days!
oh wow that’s a gorgeous part of town to live.
I wish I could recall the name of it! Got my husband on the case now as he is confident he has written it down somewhere. I think it is located at no15 but I’ll let you know as soon as we do remember or as soon as we go back in November!
The papier mache figures sound wonderful, was that for one of the festivals?
I’m not sure if it was because of the Med Diet Fair, or just because… 🙂 We’re a bit further out- just off the E125 to Spain. Sadly not a traditional house, but maybe one day, if we are ever able to make that permanent move.
Beautiful photos, looks like an amazing place to visit
It really is 🙂
so b eautiful place and I loved your photographs. Thank you, love, nia
Thank you 🙂
Lovely little town 🙂
It certainly is 🙂