Private Jet to Faro

Faro is the capital city of the beautiful Algarve, the area of Portugal most visited by tourists. While it has an extensive modern area and an international airport, it retains a very traditional Portuguese atmosphere. It’s famous for its Ria Formosa Natural Park, with its stunning lagoons and beaches, and its Arab Gateway. This 11th-century structure is the oldest horseshoe arch in the country.

Faro has around 63,000 residents, with 42,000 people living within the city itself. This makes it Algarve’s largest city, but Loule, 10 miles north, is the most populous Algarve metropolitan area. The city has a lively nightlife, thanks partly to the presence of the University of the Algarve.

Faro has over 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. Before you book your private jet to Faro, here’s a tip: August has the warmest sea temperatures and most sunshine hours. Summers are warm and mainly dry, and winters are mild; temperatures rarely drop below 4 °C (39 °F).

Faro is separated from the coast by the lagoons of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, beach causeways, and islands, including Ilha de Faro to the southwest and Ilha Deserta to the south. This large, beautiful nature reserve is well worth a visit, home to an array of wildlife, and a stopover spot for migrating birds. There are lovely marshland walks and quiet, sandy beaches, including Ilha Deserta beach, nearly 4 miles long. You can also take whale and dolphin-watching boat trips from Faro.

For a relaxed walk or refreshment stop, head to Faro’s immaculate plazas or parks, or its marina area, with its cafés, restaurants, and performance spaces. Nearby are the Manuel Bivar Gardens. Here, you can enjoy refreshments on a terrace overlooking the marina, Ria Formosa Park, and the sea. For a more active day, try windsurfing, paragliding, scuba diving, kayaking, or hiking.

Although much of Faro was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, some buildings from earlier periods still survive, as do many of the fine buildings built directly after as the city was restored. The city’s historical and cultural highlights include:

·         the Municipal Museum at the 16th-century Convent of Nossa Senhora da Assunção 

·         the Old Town, with its cobbled, narrow streets, medieval walls, and 11th-century Arab Gateway

·         the Largo de Sé, a historic plaza that’s home to the old, ornate Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace

·         the Church of São Francisco, with its ornate interior

·         the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, with its macabre bone chapel

·         the Jewish Historical Cemetery and its Museum

Shoppers can head to the modern Forum Algarve mall, with its two floors of shops. For more diverse, traditional goods, head to the cobbled, pedestrianized Rua de Santo António.