The beautiful little seaside city loved by tourists on the border of Spain and Portugal
Balancing between the Spanish-Portuguese border, you'll find a beautiful little seaside city labelled the "Venice of the Algarve".
Balancing between the Spanish-Portuguese border, you’ll find a small unspoilt fishing town labelled the "Venice of the Algarve".
Set on either side of the meandering Rio Gilã the charming town of Tavira sits in the calmer eastern side of the Algarve combining two Mediterranean staples: Moorish architecture and a golden beach.
The Moorish occupation of Tavira between the eighth and 13th centuries left its mark on the agriculture, architecture and culture of the area.
As you wander around the beautiful cobbled streets you will notice the influence can still be seen today with the whitewashed buildings and those iconic terracotta-tiled rooftops.
White sand beach Ilha de Tavira, also known as Tavira Island, is famous for being one of the best beaches near Tavira. The beach is around two miles from Tavira town, perfect for a day trip. From the riverfront, there’s a ferry every 30 minutes and the journey takes around 20 minutes.
On the way, you’ll pass through the salt pans and wetlands of international importance of the Ria Formosa.
Stretching 37 miles along the Algarve coast, Ria Formosa is a maze of canals, islands, marshes and barrier islands. The saltpans are also easily reached on foot by crossing the main road bridge, Ponte dos Descobrimentos.
Tavira is certainly the city with the most churches with a whopping 37. Castelo de Tavira has arguably the best viewpoint over the town, here you can spot the domes of churches and take in the glistening blue line of the sea.
The castle is a partially ruined fortress that once guarded the fishing town from North African raiders and pirates. Now consisting of remains, the castle has two square towers, one octagonal tower and walls on three sides.
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Sitting 18 miles east of Faro and 15 miles west of the Spanish border, Tavira is a short 25-minute drive away from Spain.
The beautiful town is only 105 miles from the city of oranges, Seville. By car, the journey takes just over an hour and 40 minutes or you can get a bus from Tavira bus station straight to Seville in two hours.
Tavira has a wide range of accommodation options from large hotel complexes on the edge of town to characterful centrally-located hotels and a flurry of apartments.
Faro Airport is the international airport of the Algarve and is just 22 miles away from Tavira.
