Faro Travel Forum

We will be arriving in Faro and traveling to Portimao. Are there any grocery stores open on Sunday?
Are there any open air market days in the area?
What would be some suggestions of the best places to sample the foods of Portugal?
Thank you for any suggestions you may have, we are quite excited to experience this beautiful area.

Grocery shops are not normally open on a Sunday but you might find the mini mart open in Portimao (sea front) for essentials. For real Portuguese food it is best to get out into the countryside and eat where the locals go.
Enjoy your holiday...

In advance of a visit I like to check the local news.
http://www.algarveresident.com/main.asp
Here is a list of markets, I see there is one in Faro every second Sunday.
http://algarve.angloinfo.com/information/33/markets.asp
We visitied the gypsy market in Lagoa and the local farmer's market in Loule. The days of operation change so check the list and ask locally when you get there.

Most of the large supermarkets close at 1pm on Sundays. However the medium sized and small ones often stay open all day, especially in tourist zones.

Portimao has a 'proper' indoor market in the city centre every weekday and Saturday morning (except holidays)and by proper market I mean one that caters mainly for local shoppers and is not selling rubbish to tourists. It is in the city centre, look for signs 'Mercado' and don't even think of driving there.

I have to warn you that many of the outdoor markets have been taken over by traders selling counterfeit DVD's and other such things. Some may be better than others but it is a long time since I bothered visiting.

There is an outdoor market not far away from Portimao at Torralta/Alvor on the 2nd Tuesday of the month.

Otherwise, avoid the obvious tourist trap restaurants and seek out the smaller places in the side streets.

There is a very large supermarket in the Forum Algarve called Jumbo. It is where the locals shop and it is open till 11pm on Sunday.

The best outdoor market in the Algarve is in Quarteira every Wednesday. Just make your way to Quarteira and you cannot miss the market. It takes up a very large area.

I can suggest Guia for chicken (when in Guia, it is a town basically consisting of an intersection..ask someone on the street to point you to the famous rotiserie) , Portimao for Sardines (ask to be directed to the restaurants under the bridge..everyone will know what you are talking about)there is a few really good restaurants in Faro marina area that serve steak on a stone...really good. And a great local resto called McTosta near the Seu Cafe in Faro...ask someone to direct you (order the Frango com Alho tosta..you wont regret it!)

There is a very good bakery in Loule called Amendoal to sample authentic Algarvian sweets.

Make sure you buy a bottle of BrandyMel liquor from any grocery store. It is a dessert liquor made of Brandy and Honey and available only in the Algarve.