FOLKFARO — Festival Internacional de Folclore

A 13th-century Gothic-Renaissance cathedral built over a former Arab mosque, with a climbable bell tower offering views over the Ria Formosa and the old town. Inside, Baroque azulejos mix with a gilded organ and a small necropolis. It's Faro's most photographed monument.

A monumental neoclassical marble gate built in 1812 over the remains of an old Arab gateway, the main entrance into Faro's walled Cidade Velha. A pair of storks — the city's symbol — regularly nests atop the arch. It marks the start of the pedestrian historic quarter.

A walled neighbourhood of Arab and Roman origin, with cobbled streets, whitewashed buildings, the Sé Cathedral and the Paço Episcopal. Its medieval walls still ring part of the enclosure. It's the oldest and best-preserved historic core in the Algarve.

An 18th-century Baroque church with a gilded carved facade and, in its rear courtyard, the unsettling Capela dos Ossos, its walls covered with the bones and skulls of more than a thousand Carmelite monks exhumed in the 19th century. One of only two bone chapels in Portugal.

A system of lagoons, channels, dunes and barrier islands stretching along the coast at Faro, a key habitat for flamingos and the endangered Mediterranean chameleon. Boats leave from the harbour for sandy islands such as Ilha Deserta and Ilha de Faro. A nature reserve of internationally recognised importance.

Housed in the former 16th-century Convento de Nossa Senhora da Assunção, it holds the Roman Oceanus mosaic, artefacts from ancient Ossonoba and religious art. The Renaissance cloister is itself one of Faro's architectural gems.

Faro's patron saint fair traces back to 1596, when the Earl of Essex sacked and burned the city, forcing it to bounce back with a tax-free open fair. It still runs at Largo de São Francisco in the second half of October: crafts, food stalls, loud rides, and free entry to the grounds.

Festival F takes over Faro's old town: the baixa and the walled Cidade Velha fill with named stages (Arco, Sé, Museu, Ria) in early September. It's a paid event — day or festival pass via Ticketline — and it bills itself as "o último grande festival de verão," Portugal's last big summer send-off.

Cádiz Carnival is officially recognized as a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest, and it has nothing to do with float parades. Here, the coupla song rules. Two carnivals run in parallel: the official contest (COAC) at the Gran Teatro Falla, ticketed, and the street carnival, free and stageless, where the so-called "illegal" groups sing on any corner.

About 30 brotherhoods make their official penitential walk to Cádiz Cathedral, and the whole official route fits inside the old town: Calle Nueva, San Juan de Dios, Pelota and Plaza de la Catedral. The date moves every year, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Watching the processions from the street costs nothing.

Seville's Holy Week is free and open to all: you only pay for seats and grandstands along the Official Route. In 2026 it runs from 29 March to 5 April, with the eve celebrations on the 27th. Its peak is La Madrugá, when five major brotherhoods process from 1:00 a.m. until noon.