Heritage of buildings revealing traditions

With distinctive features that set it apart from the rest of the country, traditional Algarvian architecture, strongly influenced by its Moorish heritage over many centuries, reflects the combination of history, popular taste and practical necessity in this warm and sunny region.

Apart from being beautiful and picturesque, these houses display architectural features such as ornate chimneys, colourful mouldings, cool roof terraces, and whitewashed walls, which all hark back to the practical needs of daily life in former times. 

While whitewashed square houses are common throughout the region, there are some exceptions, also adapted to the area’s climatic conditions, which add to the wealth of the region’s architectural heritage. 

These include four-sided or hipped roofs, common in Tavira and Faro, windmills and tide mills, and water irrigation devices which together form part of Algarve’s historical legacy.