Pronounced 'ol-ee-ow', Olhão is a busy modern town with a gem of a waterfront. Its fishing port is the most important in the eastern Algarve and its fish market is the biggest. It also has many shops, restaurants and an entire summer festival devoted to sea food. Olhão is very Portuguese, very Algarvian and very un-touristic. The pedestrian shopping area winds via cobbled streets through the moorish-looking old town to the waterfront with its markets (fruit, veg, meat, deli as well as fish), its café bars, restaurants, parks and sparkling views out over the Ria Formosa lagoons. From the pier, you can take ferryboats or water taxis to the island villages and uncrowded beaches of Armona, Culatra and Farol. The Ria Formosa nature reserve is just outside Olhão.
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