Inland the Natural Park of the Ria Formosa, is the city of Faro, capital of the municipality and district of Algarve.

A city with a population of over 51,000 inhabitants and two faces. In the historic center of Faro which lies within the ancient Roman walls dating from IX century is full of monuments as the 'Convent of Our Lady of the Assumption' now a museum, the "chapel of bones" decorated with the skulls of thousands of monks, "Sé Cathedral", to name a few. On the other hand the modern city, a big residential area with large shopping centers and the airport.
Faro airport is the only one in the Algarve, which allows many turists to say "I've been there but only passing trough with no chance to visit the Old City", which is a pity.

As Faro has no beach, we have to catch the ferry that takes us to the outer barrier islands of sand banks that constitute the Natural Park of the Ria Formosa and stretching from Faro to Tavira.
In Faro, we have the Culatra Island, Farol Island, the Deserta Island or Barreta Island and the island of Faro better known as Praia de Faro, the only island that can be reached by car.