Albufeira Guides
Facts about Albufeira
Albufeira is located on the Algarve Coast on the southern coast of Portugal. Albufeira is one of the leading tourist resorts in the region with a permanent population of just 13,646 which swells to 300,00 during the tourist season. Albufeira was a little fishing village until the 1960’s when tourists started to visit the Algarve for it’s beautiful and unspoilt golden beaches. Albufeira still retains some of the ‘OLD TOWN’ and you will still find the ‘Fishermans Beach’ just along the beach where the fishermen bring in their daily catch.
ENTERTAINMENT
Albufeira’ ‘Old Town’ with it’s cobbled main square, has street entertainers such as pan pipes, puppeteers and artists, this is where you will find plenty of restaurants to choose from serving both Portugese and international cuisine to suit all tastes and is quite laid back. ‘The Strip’ which starts at the Hotel Montechoro and goes right down to the beach,however ,comes alive in the evening with plenty of restaurants and bars, as well a Karaoke, Sport Bars and Tribute bands, the restaurants are mainly aimed at British and Irish tourists and is the main entertainment area for the young and young at heart.
SPORT
There are several football tournaments played in the Algarve, namely the Algarve Cup and many British teams spend their summers training in the Algarve, recently Ipswich and Sunderland have visited and played some friendly games.
GOLF
There are many World Class Golf Clubs along the Algarve Coast, the Oceanico Nick Faldo is located just along the coast in Vilamora, plus there are plenty of other Golf courses close to Albufeira such as Balaia, O’Connor and Salgados, just check the internet for a course suitable for you.
LOCAL THEME PARKS & ZOOS
Zoomarinbe is one of the most popular theme parks in the Algarve and is located just on the outskirts of Albufeira and is a mixture of Marine Centre, Amusement Park and Zoo. The main attractions at the Zoomarine are the displays of Dolphins and Sea Lions, you can SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS for a fee, and the amusement park is great for the kids.
Amongs the other theme parks close to Albufeira are Aqualand, once called The Big One, this is a family water park and is located on the main EN 125 road 15 km from Albufeira.
Slide and Splash, this is similar to Aqualand but is newer, this is located 30 minutes from Albufeira.
Aquashow, this is a great family water park with some white knuckle rides including a roller coaster. There are some gentler rides for younger children, they also have a bird show and a jacuzzi.
Atlantic used to called Wet And Wild, this is the smallest of the water theme parks on the Algarve and is aimed at much younger children where you will find bouncing castles quad bikes and daily high diving shows.
There are plenty of other amusements for you to choose from, such as a jeep safari, or take a boat ride and go Dolphin and Whale watching. There is alo Almancil Karting which offers the thrills and spills of formula one racing with several race tracks suiting different age groups, there is also a Western style theme park
ARCHITECTURE
Albufeira’s architecture ranges from the typical Algarvian narrow streets with pale white and sometimes tiled houses, to the very modern tourist developments. The newly built Marina e Bryn apartments are a unique splash of pinks, blues and yellows, dubbed ‘Lego Land’ by the locals.
REGIONAL FOOD DISHES.
Cataplana which is steamed shellfish is a very well know Algarvian dish, and you will also find on the local menu Caldeirada which is Fish Stew, also Sardines are very popular not only on the Algarve but throughout Portugal.
HISTORY
Albufeira was once a thriving seaport with it’s own castle that was later destroyed in the earthquake of 1755, fortunately, most of the older parts of the town survived and has been carefully maintained.During the Roman times it was known as Baltum, then when the Moors took over in the 8th century they changed the name to Al-Buhera.During the war of the Miguels the town was besieged and set alight. The destroyed town consequently suffered a long period of poverty and has only recently began to recover due to the tourist industry. There is a small museum of the 15th and 17th century with Ming ceramics as well as a Municipal Art Gallery that has regular exhibition throughout the year,
BEACHES
There are no less that 15 beaches in and along the Albufeira coast line.
