Silves
A historic municipality centred on the former Moorish city of Silves, with a hilltop castle, orange groves and a slice of coast.
Silves is one of the Algarve's largest municipalities, reaching from hilly farmland in the interior down to the sea at Armação de Pêra. Its seat, the town of Silves, was the most important city of the region under Moorish rule. The castle on the hilltop is one of the finest examples of Islamic military architecture in Portugal, and the mainly Gothic cathedral stands just below it.
The Arade river runs past the town, and its waters fill the Arade and Funcho reservoirs upstream. Orange groves cover much of the valley. Other places to explore include Alcantarilha, Algoz and São Bartolomeu de Messines.