Ohlão today
It has been one year since our “focus on” Olhão, so we thought we’d see what was new and upcoming for this charming fishing town. For those of you who don’t know, Olhão is a major port and actually the largest fishing port in the Algarve.
Olhão is full of character with Moorish-style houses, an influence from the commercial links with Africa. Although Olhão only really became a town of note in the 19th century, it was first mentioned in 1378. At this time it would have been a very small fishing settlement of a handful of people, living in huts made of wood, reeds and straw on the beach. The museum in Olhão recently had an exhibition showing the restoration of Olhão during the 200 years following the French invasion. It currently displays original documents and artifacts from the opening of the market buildings.
Olhão is a town of many ‘faces’ – if you approach from the fishing port side it looks, and is, very industrial and, unless you are particularly interested in fishing boats and warehousing it doesn’t look very attractive. However, around the corner from the dock, the road runs along the water front. If you are driving into Olhão, there is plenty of parking along this water front road – the stretch in front of the town is pay and display, but go a little further, and just before the road splits into a dual carriageway, there is a free carpark on the water front side. On the opposite side is the Olhão marina village which is now near completion. The five star hotel is due for completion in May, and we have heard, from a council spokesperson, of plans to build a new aquarium next to the site, which will display the flora and fauna of the Ria Formosa. More plans for this year include a skate park and a public garden with picnic area. There are two more purpose built warehouses planned for the docks, one solely for the canned fish industry and the other for the processing of fresh fish and seafood, both creating much needed employment opportunites for the locals.
If you head into the centre of Olhão you may have seen the newly opened Ria shopping centre, complete with shops, food court, cinema and ample parking. There are two market buildings side by side along the water front, which are a ‘must visit’ for the huge variety of extremely fresh fish and seafood straight from the port and the vast array of locally grown, fresh fruit and vegetables. If you arrive at 5 or 6 in the morning, the fish are still alive, they don’t get fresher than that! During August, Olhão hosts a seafood festival which is extremely popular and was attended by 60,000 people last year, and celebrates its silver anniversary this year.
The market halls are surrounded by pavement cafes, and it’s a great place to sit and enjoy the view of the boats, moored along the water-front in the marina, and the hustle and bustle of the market. Why not spend a lovely afternoon in Olhão, it is steeped in history with its churches and museum, full of excellent restaurants and bursting with culture.