Silves

Silves of the monuments, the sweet oranges, the good wines, the gastronomy and the rich traditions, the blue ocean, the authenticity of its people…

Explore Silves, from the mountains to the sea.

With an area of 263 square miles, Silves is one of the largest and oldest municipalities in the Algarve and in Portugal, where the past joins the present to turn each visit into an unforgettable memory.

Silves – Fonte: Município de Silves

The red sandstone brick of the massive battlements of the Silves Castle, one of the most remarkable works of military architecture, built during the Moorish occupation in Portugal, dominates the city and the surrounding landscape. In the streets of white houses that reflect the sun and the blue sky, there are traces of the Arabic and Jewish presence and one can glimpse the architecture of its Cathedral, made of light and art in Gothic style, around which is held and stretched the annual Silves Medieval Fair, an event of regional and national reference. A city of poets and the ancient capital of the Algarve, it presents a vast legacy of King-Poet Al-Mu’tamid, an old governor of Silves; and of Islamic culture, so evident in Museu Municipal de Arqueologia (Municipal Archaeological Museum}, built around an astonishing Almohad rain-fed cistern, a national monument.

Silves Medieval Fair – Fonte: Município de Silves

Besides the unavoidable historic center, the municipality of Silves is provided with interesting tourist attractions in all its eight civil parishes, stretching from the mountains to the sea. From the traditional knowledge shaped in the fine bobbin lace or in the works of esparto grass weaving that are still undertaken by the people of the small settlements of the municipality, also evident in Folar (traditional Easter cake) Fair, at São Marcos da Serra, and in Dried Fruits Fair, at Alcantarilha; going through a cultural route, in São Bartolomeu de Messines, inserted in the aspiring Algarvensis Geopark, which discloses not only the legacy of the poet and pedagogue João de Deus, the author of Cartilha Maternal (methodology for teaching children to read), through its Museum House, but also memories of life in the countryside which are clearly illustrated in Museu do Traje e das Tradições (Museum of Costume and Traditions); the inland part of the municipality offers countless possibilities of enjoyment of the nature in all its splendour.

Folar Fair, São Marcos da Serra – Fonte: Município de Silves

Museum of Costume and Traditions, São Bartolomeu de Messines – Fonte: Município de Silves

Equally remarkable is Rota da Laranja (Orange Route), whose app – Silves RA- Rota da Laranja may be downloaded via Google Play Store and IStore, covering all the municipality and that include, among many available activities, visits to orange producers (groves and factories) and wine producers (cellars), with the admirable Wines of Silves, internationally recognized and awarded, besides chats with historical characters and 360° photographs, in an invitation to the visitor to explore the Heritage and the History, in a creative way. Going up Arade river, in a nice boat trip, it is also possible, depending on the area (mountain, barrocal (hinterland), litoral) to enjoy the food pleasures, like Ensopado de Javali (boar stew), Cataptana (chicken, fish or seafood stew), Galinha com Grão (chicken with chickpeas), Cozido (Portuguese stew), Sopa de Lebre (hare soup), Coelho Bravo Frito (fried wild rabbit), Perdiz Estufada (stewed partridge), Papas de Milho (cornmeal), Caldeirada (octopus or fish stew), Sardinhas Albardadas (sardines coated in batter), Carapaus Alimados (horse mackerel), Morgado de Silves (traditional sweet made of almonds and eggs), Lesmas (stuffed with soft eggs) and Folhados Messinenses (pastries). And of course, to complete the meal, you cannot miss the sweet and juicy oranges (the queens in the annual Show “Silves, the Orange Capital ”), as well as the pomegranates, the grapes and the figs grown in the fertile orchad that covers a great part of the municipality of Silves, particularly Algoz and Pêra. The honey, with rosemary and lavender flavour, and the medronho (arbutus) brandy from the settlements of the mountains are a “must“.

Arade River – Fonte: Município de Silves

Annual Show ‘Silves, Capital da Laranja’ (Silves, the Orange Capital) – Fonte: Município de Silves

Armaçao de Pêra – Fonte: Município de Silves

Finally, you cannot fail to swim in the ocean, at Armação de Pêra, where the seaside resort gathers pace, as well as the water sport activities that underline the relevance of the preservation of the Algarve Reef – Pedra do Valado, while enjoying a weekend at Festival da Caldeirada e do Mar (Stew and Sea Festival).

We await you in Silves, from the mountains to the sea.

Useful Contacts

Câmara Municipal de Silves (Townhall)

Largo do Município, 8300-117 Silves

Tel. 282 440 800

email: expediente@cm-silves.pt

Bombeiros Voluntários de Silves (Silves Volunteer Firefighters)

Tel. 282 442 411

Junta de Freguesia de Armação de Pêra

Tel. 282 310 800

email: geral@jf-armacaodepera.com

Junta de Freguesia de São Bartolomeu de Messines