Edit No.36
Portugal, Between Faro and the Sea
3HB Faro · 2 Passos · The Campus · Pizzeria Casavostra · Faro Old Town
Portugal, Between Faro and the Sea begins in Faro, the regional capital most visitors drive straight past, where 3HB Faro has turned a derelict cinema into the city's first five-star hotel — with a rooftop pool looking out over the Ria Formosa and twenty centuries of history a short walk away.
Out on the dunes at Praia do Ancão, 2 Passos has served fresh fish from a timber restaurant on stilts since 1982 — here before the resorts of Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo grew up around it, and still run by the founding family's second generation.
Inland at Quinta do Lago, The Campus puts six padel courts alongside a high-performance centre where international football and rugby teams train — serious sport in a place better known for golf, though getting a court takes planning.
In Almancil, Pizzeria Casavostra is a family restaurant set inside a former design showroom, pouring wine from the owners' own Douro and Alentejo estates and still full on a Monday night in October.
Back in Faro, a walk through the walled old town runs from the Arco da Vila to Largo da Sé and the gates on the lagoon — twenty centuries of Roman, Islamic and Portuguese history in a few compact streets.
In this edit
Experience
Faro Old Town — The City Behind the Walls
Behind Faro's monumental gateway lies a compact Portuguese city shaped by Romans, Islamic rulers, medieval kings, an English invasion and a devastating earthquake. The best way to understand it is on foot.
Place
Pizzeria Casavostra — All in the Family
A family business with roots in interiors and design has created one of Almancil's most enduring restaurants, where the wine comes from the owners' own estates and the vegetables from a plot a kilometre up the road.
Movement
The Campus — Padel with a Purpose
In a corner of the Algarve better known for golf and luxury villas, The Campus has built something different: a serious sporting environment where holidaymakers play padel alongside facilities designed for professional athletes.
Place
2 Passos — Fresh Fish, Without the Fuss
A family-run restaurant on stilts above the dunes at Praia do Ancão has spent more than four decades doing what the Algarve does best: serving fresh fish in a setting that needs no embellishment.
Living
3HB Faro — A Different Side of the Algarve
A five-star hotel built into a former cinema offers something the Algarve's coastal resorts cannot: a stay in a working Portuguese city, with twenty centuries of history immediately outside the door.
Questions
- What is in this edit?
- So far, 3HB Faro, a five-star city hotel in a converted cinema in central Faro; 2 Passos, a family-run fish and seafood restaurant on the beach at Praia do Ancão; and The Campus, a high-performance sports complex with padel courts at Quinta do Lago; and Pizzeria Casavostra, a family-run pizzeria in a former design showroom in Almancil; and a self-guided walk through Faro Old Town.
- Is Faro worth staying in rather than driving through?
- Yes. It has Roman, Islamic and Portuguese layers, a walkable historic quarter and direct access to the Ria Formosa — a different proposition from the Algarve's beach and golf resorts.
- Where is 2 Passos?
- At Praia do Ancão, near Almancil, between Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo. Parking is followed by a short walk along wooden paths over the dunes.
- Can visitors play padel at The Campus?
- Yes, subject to availability — though availability is the problem. Book well ahead rather than on the day.
- Where is Pizzeria Casavostra?
- Avenida 5 de Outubro 302, Almancil, close to Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo.
- How long does the Faro Old Town walk take?
- Around 75 to 90 minutes at a relaxed pace, or two to three hours if you go into the cathedral and the Municipal Museum.