Vila Real Santo António - The City

ABOUT Vila Real de Santo António

Vila Real de Santo António is a city, civil parish, and municipality in the Algarve, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,156, in an area of 61.25 km². It is one of the few municipalities in Portugal without territorial continuity: its territory comprehends two parts, with the municipal seat located in the eastern part. Both the city and the municipality are the southeasternmost of Portugal. Vila Real de Santo António was founded after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, and largely expanded in 1774 using the same architectural and construction techniques employed in the reconstruction of Lisbon after the disaster.

You're as likely to hear Spanish spoken here as Portuguese for this is about as near to Spain as you can get without actually crossing the frontier. Indeed, the shops and markets of Vila Real de Santo António are geared towards visiting Spaniards, but this pleasant border town also has a number of tourist attractions worth investigating. The excellent Arquivo Histórico Municipal on Avenida da República chronicles the region's almost vanished sardine and tuna canning industry with a spirited interactive exhibition that's free to visit. The handsome main square, Praça Marques de Pombal, features an eye-catching mosaic sun burst radiating from a central obelisk and is ringed by orange trees and lots of inviting cafés and restaurants. A fun-filled diversion is to take the ferry from the quay near the marina to the Spanish border town of Ayamonte, with its colorful tapas bars and traditionally styled delicatessens. The ferry, which also carries cars, takes around 20 minutes to cross the River Guadiana.

A ten-minute drive north of Vila Real is the spruce village of Castro Marim, which is dominated by an imposing 13th-century castle. Open to the public, its massive ramparts afford fine views over the surrounding coastal Reserva Natural do Sapal nature park.

HOW TO GET TO Vila Real Santo António