Situated 2.5km east of Olhão is the beautiful 60-hectare Centro Educação Ambiental de Marim (commonly known as Quinta de Marim). A 3km trail takes you through various ecosystems – dunes, salt marshes, pine woodlands – as well as to a wildlife rescue centre and a historic water mill. Chameleons and purple gallinule birds are among the rare local species. The Parque Natural da Ria Formosa headquarters and environmental centre are also here.
Quinta de Marim
Olhão
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
6.62 MILES
The centrepiece of the Cidade Velha, the sé was completed in 1251 but heavily damaged in the 1755 earthquake. What you see now is a variety of Renaissance…
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo & Capela dos Ossos
6.53 MILES
One of the Algarve's most dazzling churches, this twin-towered baroque masterpiece was completed in 1719 under João V. After the 1755 earthquake, its…
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Igreja de São Lourenço de Matos
11.11 MILES
This baroque masterpiece was built on the site of a ruined chapel after locals, while digging a well, implored Saint Lawrence for help and then struck…
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9.11 MILES
Encased in azulejos, this beautifully maintained museum occupies a former cork magnate’s mansion, which retains its original kitchen. It displays an ever…
12.17 MILES
This huge white-sand beach at the island's eastern end, opposite Tavira, has operators for water sports (such as windsurfing and kitesurfing), beach bars…
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4.33 MILES
Hour-long tours at this gold medal–winning olive oil producer take you around part of the 20-hectare estate showing you the five different varieties of…
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8.05 MILES
On these fascinating behind-the-scenes cork factory tours, you'll learn about the tree's life cycle, harvesting and the manufacturing process, from drying…
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29.14 MILES
Fiesa is the world's biggest sand-sculpture contest. Artists are given 45,000 tonnes of sand to sculpt, and their truly amazing creations (up to 12m high…
Nearby Olhão attractions
4.33 MILES
Hour-long tours at this gold medal–winning olive oil producer take you around part of the 20-hectare estate showing you the five different varieties of…
2. Centro Histórico Judaico de Faro
6.11 MILES
The last vestiges of the first post-Inquisition Jewish presence in Portugal are found at this small Jewish cemetery. In use between 1838 and 1932, and…
6.39 MILES
Three of the four halls at this worthwhile museum house exhibitions on rural life in the Algarve, including mock-ups of 19th-century shops and rooms, a…
6.42 MILES
Situated 900m west of Estói, these Roman villa ruins are so large and grand they were originally thought to have been a town. The villa, inhabited from…
6.42 MILES
The foundations of this monastery's church were laid in 1679 and it was enlarged during the 18th and 19th centuries. Behind its blinding white facade are…
6.51 MILES
You can leave the Cidade Velha (Old Town) through the medieval Arco de Repouso (Gate of Rest). Apparently Afonso III, after taking Faro from the Moors,…
7. Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo & Capela dos Ossos
6.53 MILES
One of the Algarve's most dazzling churches, this twin-towered baroque masterpiece was completed in 1719 under João V. After the 1755 earthquake, its…
6.55 MILES
While the exterior of this 16th-century church is unassuming, the tri-nave interior has magnificent 18th-century azulejos and intricately carved woodwork,…