Just yesterday we´ve been on a daytrip to the beautiful city of Silves, that once was the capital of the Algarve. But Silves was not only the capital of the Algarve, in the 9-12 centuries it was also under the rule of the Moors. It was one of the most important trading centers and the Arade, the river that flows through the city, was used as a waterway on the way to North Africa.
This rather small city has a lot to offer and it starts with the famous Bridge over the Arade, which was probably built on the remains of a Roman bridge.
Opposite of that bridge, which you are not allowed to cross by the way is a beautiful park that reminds a bit at North Africa. I really liked the combination of the colours and the palmtrees. It looks very different to what we have seen so far here on the Algarve.
Furthermore, the wall paintings give an idea of who was in charge here.
But these aren't the only remnants of an illustrious past. There is a lot more to see in this little town, like a castle, an insurmountable city wall as well as a very special cathedral.
Best is to just work your way up to the castle, at least thats what we didi. So from that park we went straight into Rua Elias Garcia, the most beautiful street I´ve seen here so far, full of small restaurants and shops.
From there it goes a little uphill, past beautiful old houses, to the Praça do Município, the town hall square with its mighty city wall. It is the best preserved part of the city wall with the so-called Porta da Cidade de Silves, a very narrow city gate.
Walking through that narrow gate and further uphill will lead you to Sé Catedral de Silves, a cathedral that was built on the remains of a mosque. This cathedral was destroyed in an earthquake in 1755, but the main gate was preserved and is characterized by a Gothic style.
And as always we´ve met a friendly cat chilling in the sun directly in front of the cathedral. At this point I´ve to say it again how impressed I am with the camera of the Iphone 12. It´s so much fun to take photos with it.
From here it is only a stone throw from the Castelo de Silves with its red bricks. This once was the seat of the Moors over the entire Algarve. It does cost an entry of 2,60 Euro, but I would say it is worth it.
After about 30 min walking through this castle and seeing these ripe olives I got hungry. On the way up I saw a sign that caught my attention, it said Tapas and wine with a view.
So we went back to this place called Segredo dos Mouros and the sign has kept what it promised. A beautiful small restaurant on the hill with views over Silves and amazing tapas. It was that good that we definitely will be back. I can also recommend to visit that place and have a tapas platter and some drinks.
Since Silves is the absolute opposite of all the other places on the Algarve, as most of them are very hectic touristic, I can highly recommend visiting Silves. I would say best is to go on a weekday and not in the middle of the summer season as I guess it can get pretty crowded here as well.