Tavira is a lovely old town which stands on either side of the river Giláo. Its two halves are connected by a seven-arched Roman bridge. A small, medieval castle on a low hill in the center of the town presides over all. Next to the castle is the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo, which contains the tomb of the town´s liberator during the 13th century Christian reconquest, Dom Paio Peres Correia.

Nowhere else in the Algarve has so many churches. The Misericórdia, Carmo, Sáo Francisco and Ondas churches are decoratively the most interesting. Grapes for the table and for wine-making are grown in surroundings fields. Salt is produced, as it has been for many centuries, from seawater in nearby pans. Just offshore, easily reached by ferry-boat, a long, sand-split island called Ilha de Tavira is great for peaceful bathing.