The little town of Tavira (altitude: sea level), straddling the mouth of the Rio Gilao, or Rio Séqua, in the "sandy Algarve" part of the Algarve, has a Moorish look about it. Compared with other places on the Algarve it still has a certain restfulness, with tourism kept within reasonable bounds. Tavira is the center of the Algarve's tunafisheries
, and has extensive saltpans in the river estuary.
Townscape
Tavira is one of the prettiest little towns in the Algarve. As it had to be rebuilt following the 1755 earthquake few of the buildings are more than 250 years old. Nevertheless it still presents a very harmonious picture; typical are the many old hiproofed houses, a feature which has also been introduced into the more modern buildings.