Albufeira began as a small fishing village huddled in narrow alleys. Early expansion along the east coast changed the once separate communities to one large proud white city with several tourist centres.

Approximately three and a half kilometres to the east of the old town is the most famous area which is known as “The Strip”, an Avenida of shops, bars, restaurants and clubs which runs from Montechoro to the beach at Praia da Oura. For many visitors the golden sandy beach and the vibrant nightlife offered here provide the perfect holiday ingredients.

The western part of Albufeira is nowadays dominated by the brand new marina – a modern colourful cluster of interesting buildings cluttered around a busy harbour that holds the most fabulous sailing boats of all classes and prices.

Albufeira’s history

In Roman times Albufeira was called Baltum. There are Roman bridges in Paderne and Guia. Arabs occupied the town in the 8th century and renamed it Al- Buhera, which means, "Castle on the Sea". During 5 centuries of Arabian rule, Al-Buhera had an intensive trade with North Africa. Together with Faro it was one of the last Arabian strongholds to be conquered by the Portuguese in 1250. King Manuel gave Albufeira a new charter in 1404, granting it the status of town. The earthquake of 1755 damaged a great part of Albufeira. A second disaster happened in 1833 during a civil war between liberals and absolutists.

Albufeira had been one of the first towns in the Algarve to support the liberal ideals. Later, during the civil war, it was attacked and the guerrillas, who controlled the town for 4 years, destroyed some buildings. In the old part of the town you still can see ruins of the old city walls. Until the 1960´s Albufeira was a small fishing village. Nowadays it is the major tourism centre of the Algarve.