Local Tourist Attractions near Dona Filipa Hotel

Loulé Fair

The weekly Loulé Fair attracts tourists from all along the Algarve looking for locally hand crafted traditional items. The increased popularity in recent years has allowed this 12th century castle town to expand beyond its original fortress walls and has blossomed in size.

Carnival

An important event is the annual carnival held in February that is considered to be one of the best in Portugal. In the town there is a museum that is devoted to the local industry of dried fruits and it is interesting to see how these products are prepared for the public.

To the west of the town is a hill-top church that is built on the site of a 16^th    century chapel. This is the destination of an annual religious procession that requires some physical effort on the part of the bearers of the church's religious shrines.

Alte

Further inland is the small village of Alte, a village that is known for its unspoilt rural architecture and its enthusiasm for folk music.

Paderne

Another inland village is Paderne that has a romantic 13^th century castle in ruins sitting alone on the crest of a deserted hilltop.

Quarteira

The coastal town of Quarteira that was once a fishing village is now converted into a multi-apartment tourist location. Not too far away from Loulé is the village of Querença with its stalactite caves.

Salir

The village of Salir with ruins of a castle and a nearby two 800 meters long walls from the Neolithic period is also very popular with tourists visiting the Algarve.

Benafim

The small village of Benafim existing from Arab times and within easy reach of Loulé, still reflects rural life from the early part of the last century.

São Brás de Alportel & Santa Bárbara de Nexe

The towns of São Brás de Alportel and Santa Bárbara de Nexe are both small and also demonstrate the fast disappearing Portuguese traditions reflecting the rural social style of life.

São Bras de Alportel has an interesting museum that houses a permanent collection of rural artefacts and costumes, reflecting bygone traditions of living in the Algarve.