Small, warm and welcoming, Faro has long been the sun-seeker’s gateway to the pretty coastal stretches of the Portuguese Algarve, touting a gamut of rustic eateries, its very own cobblestone historic centre, a vibrant harbourside and a pristine run of shimmering yellow sand to its front.

In the summer, many visitors make a beeline straight for the Praia de Faro, where clusters of cocktail bars and seafood joints abut a long stretch of Mediterranean shore. Others linger betwixt the old facades of the Cidade Velha, sampling tipples of Portuguese white and red while gawping at the macabre faces of the famous Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel, or the majestic Moorish architecture that coalesces around the city cathedral. During the winter low-season, Faro’s students take over and the town dons its Sunday best for a session of hedonistic sangria nights set to the thumping tunes of Euro pop. And there are treasures aplenty further afield too, with Faro’s peripheries beckoning history buffs with the mosaics and digs of Roman Milreu, nature lovers with the coastal wonders of Ilhas Desertas, and divers with the scintillating waters of the Cape St Mary.