Dog-Friendly Attractions in Olhão

The twin red-brick market halls of 1916, one for fish and one for fruit and vegetables, are the beating heart of Olhão and among the best food markets in southern Portugal. Dogs cannot enter the food halls themselves, but the arcaded exterior, the Saturday farmers' stalls along the outside and the waterfront esplanade around them are a fine leashed wander, and the people-watching is superb.

Olhão's oldest quarter is a maze of whitewashed flat-roofed cube houses with outside staircases and roof terraces (açoteias), a townscape shaped by centuries of trade with North Africa and unlike anywhere else in the Algarve. It is an unbeatable free dog walk: quiet lanes, shaded corners, street art, and the parish church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário at its heart, whose exterior and square are the classic photo stop.

The 60-hectare headquarters estate of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, with a 3 km interpreted loop past dunes, salt marsh, a historic tide mill, Roman salting tanks, bird hides and the kennels of the Portuguese Water Dog, the local breed saved from extinction here. Entry costs about 3 EUR. A visitor pet policy is not published and a wildlife recovery centre operates on site, so phone +351 289 700 210 before turning up with your dog.