Loulé's most impressive piece of architectural heritage is its art-nouveau market, a 1908 revivalist neo-Arab confection with four cupolas at the four corners and Moorish features picked out in raspberry-red against cream-coloured walls. Inside you'll find a fish market, cheap cafes and local produce such as orange-blossom honey, fig 'cheese' (not cheese at all) and Cliff Richard's Algarve-produced wine.
Mercado Municipal
The Algarve
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
23.27 MILES
Just below the castle is the sé, built in 1189 on the site of an earlier mosque, then rebuilt after the 1249 Reconquista and subsequently restored several…
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28.29 MILES
Housed in a 19th-century fish cannery, the ultramodern, award-winning Museu de Portimão is the city's number-one draw. The museum focuses on three areas:…
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7.58 MILES
Encased in azulejos, this beautifully maintained museum occupies a former cork magnate’s mansion, which retains its original kitchen. It displays an ever…
22.28 MILES
This huge white-sand beach at the island's eastern end, opposite Tavira, has operators for water sports (such as windsurfing and kitesurfing), beach bars…
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13.59 MILES
Hour-long tours at this gold medal–winning olive oil producer take you around part of the 20-hectare estate showing you the five different varieties of…
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8.55 MILES
On these fascinating behind-the-scenes cork factory tours, you'll learn about the tree's life cycle, harvesting and the manufacturing process, from drying…
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17.07 MILES
Fiesa is the world's biggest sand-sculpture contest. Artists are given 45,000 tonnes of sand to sculpt, and their truly amazing creations (up to 12m high…
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8.47 MILES
One of the Algarve's most impressive beaches is this 6km-long strip of sand backed by stunning cliffs in several shades of ochre. Starting 8.5km east of…
Nearby The Algarve attractions
0.1 MILES
Situated opposite Loulé's castle, the mid-17th century chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição possesses three impressive elements: a heavily gilded baroque…
0.11 MILES
Loulé's restored castle is the setting for its municipal museum. The archaeology section's homo erectus kicks things off, and via dusty collections of…
4.57 MILES
On the village square, this small museum has a model of a waterwheel as well as information panels (in Portuguese) on water use. There's also a tourist…
7.19 MILES
Situated 900m west of Estói, these Roman villa ruins are so large and grand they were originally thought to have been a town. The villa, inhabited from…
7.31 MILES
Within the area encompassed by what remains of Salir's ruined castle, this little museum has a glass floor above the 12th-century Moorish foundations…
7.4 MILES
Built in 1587 and renovated several times after the 1755 earthquake, this church has three naves separated by Tuscan columns, 17th-century paintings and…
7. Calçadinha de São Brás de Alportel
7.46 MILES
Constructed during Roman times, this ancient road is thought to have linked Faro (Ossonoba) with Beja (Pax Julia). It was used by mules and shepherds…
7.53 MILES
This interpretive centre has a small exhibition on Moorish and Roman history in the area, and information on the Calçadinha de São Brás de Alportel, an…