Residencial in Portugal

Residenciais (singular residencial) are very similar accommodations to pensoes (pensao) but don't serve meals. Residenciais equate with pensions or guesthouses and the distiction between residencial and pensao can be rather blurred.

Residenciais in Portugal are usually family run and offer a more homely and personal feel to big hotels.

Portugal is scattered with residenciais in its towns and cities and along the Algarve coast.

Residencial Dandy
Rua Filipe Alistao 62
8000 Faro
Portugal Tel: +351 289 824 791


Residencial Oceano
Travessa Ivens 21
8000 Faro
Portugal Tel: +351 289 823 349


Accommodation in Portugal - Bookings
Budget Hotels - Portugal
Budget Hotels - Spain
Hotels in Portugal - Agoda
Tags
Portugal
Lisbon

Hotel Baco Seville

A recommended place to stay in Seville in south western Spain if you have made the bus journey from the Algarve is the excellent Hotel Baco in Plaza Ponce de Leon.

The historic building now housing the hotel was once a labor union office building and the staircases and little anterooms are covered in beautiful tile-work. The 25 available rooms are quite small but are spotlessly clean and all have wireless internet connections. The staff were remarkably friendly and helpful and spoke English.

The Hotel Baco is close to the historic tapas bar El Rinconcillo, the Iglesia de Santa Catalina and the Iglesia de San Pedro, where the painter Velazquez was baptized.

Hotel Baco is also a short walk past the Metropol Parasol Seville to Seville's Cathedral and La Giralda. The street the Hotel Baco is located on has some excellent bars and cafes for breakfast and an evening tipple.

The Plaza Ponce de Leon has a small bus station where travelers can catch a number #32 bus to Santa Justa Station.

Hotel Baco
Plaza Ponce de León, 15
Casco Antiguo
41003 Seville
Spain

Budget Hotels - Spain
Hotels in Spain - Agoda
Tags
Sevilla Hotels
Spain Hotels

Statue of King Afonso III Faro

Located in the square in front of the Infante Dom Henrique Archeological Museum, now housed within the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Assuncao in Faro, is a statue of King Afonso III (1210-1279), the fifth king of Portugal.

King Afonso III is remembered for his wise and fair reign and it was he who won back the town of Faro from the Moors in 1249. Afonso was succeeded by his son Diniz. King Afonso III called a parliament known as the Cortes of Leiria in 1254, which was the first gathering to include commoners, so Afonso has some claim to be considered the grandfather of Portugal's present day democracy.

Bookings - Hotels in Portugal
Budget Hotels - Portugal
Hotels in Portugal - Agoda
Tags
Portugal
Faro
Algarve

Bacalhau

Bacalhau is representative of Portuguese cuisine as much as roast beef and fish and chips are quintessentially British. Bacalhau is dried and salted cod and there are many Portuguese recipes that include this iconic ingredient.

Nowadays cod for bacalhau is normally caught off the coasts of Norway, Iceland and Newfoundland though over-fishing has led to the depletion of cod stocks and a subsequent rise in the price of bacalhau.

In Catholic Portugal bacalhau was often eaten on Fridays when the consumption of meat was proscribed by the church.

Some common bacalhau dishes include Bacalhau Gratinado, Bacalhau ao Vinho do Porto, Bacalhau com todos, usually made with boiled potato, carrots and cabbage plus hard boiled eggs and Bacalhau à Brás, prepared with onions and finely sliced fried potatoes mixed with scrambled eggs and garnished with black olives.

Hotels in Portugal - Bookings
Budget Hotels - Portugal
Hotels in Portugal - Agoda
Tags
Portugal
Bacalhau

Arco da Vila Faro

The neoclassical Arco da Vila in Faro is a main entry gate into Faro's Old Town (Cidade Velha). The Arco da Vila was designed by Genoese architect Francesco Xavier Fabri, commissioned by Bishop Francisco Gomes, who supervised the reconstruction of Faro after the devastating earthquake of 1755.

The top of the arch of Arco da Vila includes a clock and bell and the figure in the niche at the front of the arch is St. Thomas Aquinas. The archway stands on the site of the ancient entry gate into the Moorish city. Nesting storks may also be seen here.

Architect Francesco Xavier Fabri (1761-1817) was responsible for the design of the nearby Igreja da Misericórdia, the Seminário Episcopal and the Ermida de São Luís. The Tourist Information Center is virtually next door, to the left as you look at the arch. Walk through the arch and up to Largo da Se (Cathedral Square).

Hotels in Portugal - Bookings
Budget Hotels - Portugal
Budget Hotels - Spain
Hotels in Portugal - Agoda
Tags
Algarve
Faro

Igreja da Misericórdia Faro

The Igreja da Misericórdia on Praça D. Francisco Gomes in Faro dates from 1581 and is a noted historic building in the town.

The church was built on the site of the earlier Igreja Manuelina do Espírito Santo.

The Igreja da Misericórdia is designed in the shape of a Greek Cross. The facade and attached hospital were rebuilt by the noted Italian architect Francesco Xavier Fabri (1761-1817), who was responsible for the design of a number of buildings in Faro including the Arco da Vila, the Seminário Episcopal and the Ermida de São Luís.

Hotels in Portugal - Bookings
Budget Hotels - Portugal
Budget Hotels - Spain
Hotels in Portugal - Agoda
Tags
Algarve
Faro

Murals in Faro

Faro has some good murals on the walls of shops and other city walls and is relatively free of the graffiti that scars much of the Portuguese capital Lisbon.

Other attractions in Faro include the Maritime Museum (Museu Maritimo) on the marina (Doca de Recreio) close to Faro Railway Station, the Adega Nova Faro restaurant and the Comboio Turistico tourist train.

Hotels in Portugal - Bookings
Hotels in Portugal - Agoda

Tags
Algarve
Faro