Biblioteca Municipal Álvaro de Campos

Tavira


Architecture buffs should pay a visit to Tavira’s municipal library, which was originally the town prison. Architect João Luís Carrilho da Graça sympathetically converted the former prison’s facade and cells into a modern, harmonious cultural space in 2005, which hosts occasional exhibitions.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Tavira attractions

1. Porta de Dom Manuel

0.28 MILES

Built in 1520 when Dom Manuel I made Tavira a city, this stone archway is one of the few surviving sections of the former city walls.

2. Núcleo Islâmico

0.28 MILES

Built around the remains of an Islamic-era structure, this small 21st-century museum exhibits impressive Islamic pieces discovered in various excavations…

3. Ruínas Fenícias de Tavira

0.28 MILES

Astonishing archaeological remains found on this site just below the castelo date from the 8th century BC through to the 18th century AD. Digs have…

4. Igreja da Misericórdia

0.29 MILES

Built between 1541 and 1551, this church is the Algarve's most important Renaissance monument, with a magnificent carved, arched doorway. Inside, the…

5. Castelo

0.29 MILES

Tavira's ruined castle rises high and mighty above the town. Possibly dating back to Neolithic times, the structure was rebuilt by Phoenicians and later…

6. Praça da República

0.3 MILES

For centuries this town square on the riverfront served as a promenade and a marketplace, where slaves were traded along with fish and fruit. Today a…

7. Igreja de Santiago

0.3 MILES

Just south of Tavira's castle is the whitewashed 17th-century Igreja de Santiago, thought to have been built where a small mosque once stood. The park…

8. Igreja de Santa Maria do Castelo

0.3 MILES

Built in Gothic style over a mosque, then rebuilt by an Italian neoclassicist following earthquake damage 500 years later, this church by the castle…