Albufeira is an historic town with some nice streets with flourishing restaurants, bars, cafes and shops, located in the central Algarve region of Portugal. Once visiting the town of Albufeira it is easy to understand why it attracts so many of visitors every year. The colored houses in the Albufeira marina, the beautiful sandy beaches and the lively nightlife in São João are wonderful tourism attractions. In Albufeira you can find something for all kind of visitors, it is perfect for families, but also for couples, singles and actually people of all ages. It is also easy to visit the town because of its close distance to the Faro Airport.
The town has a long history and existed already in Roman times under the name Baltum. Then in the 8th century the city was taken by the Moors and called Al-buhera. Finally the city was taken from the Moors by the Knights of the Order of Santiago in the 13th century. The city used to have a castle dating back from Roman times, but like many others in the region it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755.
Until the 1960s Albufeira was a small Portuguese fishing village. Then the arrival of tourism changed the town into a major holiday destination. At the moment there are more than 100 hotels to be found in Albufeira and also holiday rentals and bungalows are very popular with tourists in the area.
The nice thing of the Albufeira as well as many places in Portugal that it is a perfect tourism destination al year through. The streets especially fill up in the summer months, but also autumn and winter are very good seasons to visit. The climate is very soothing and the bars, restaurants and shops in the whole Algarve don’t close down.
