Vila Adentro (Cidade Velha)

Vila Adentro (Cidade Velha)
Passing through Arco da Vila (Town's Arch), at the top of the Manuel Bivar gardens, is like entering another world, travelling through centuries of history to find the Arab and Medieval city.

At Vila-Adentro (Old City, as the people of Faro call it), it seems that one can still hear the hubbub of the Moors echoing through the cobbled streets and squares.

However, at Praça Afonso III, the statue of this king, still vigilant, confirms undeniably the Christian reconquest of the city.

To walk through the narrow streets, full of hide-outs within the fortified walls and often connected by arches, is the only way to absorb the quiet charm of Vila-Adentro.

Here are some of the most important and ancient monuments of the city, landmarks of the successive invasions and customs.

Among the sites to visit, there are the city walls, built by the Arabs in the 9th century; the Cathedral and the medieval Castle; the Our Lady of Ó Chapel, built over the walls and reconstructed after the 1755 earthquake; the Our Lady of Repose Chapel, situated within one of the Arab arches, but built in the 18th century.

At the same zone you can find the Archaeological Museum, housed in the former Convent of Our Lady of the Assumption, which dates from the 16th century; two municipal galleries (Trem and Arco), used for exhibitions of Portuguese modern art and installed in former military quarters; close to the city walls, the buildings that lodge the Civil Government and the City Council, built at the beginning of the 19th century.