The Medieval Fair held in the historic town of Silves is our favourite event of the year. In fact, we enjoy it so much it’s always the first social event flagged, in advance, on our Calender. If you live in the Algarve and have never been to the Silves Medieval fair you must go once, to at least savour the experience. And if you are on holiday it’s definitely worth a visit. Our family members from the UK book their annual holiday in August to coincide with the fair so they can enjoy the ambience and festivities.
The steep cobbled streets in Silves are lined with a great variety of stalls selling amazing handcrafted jewellery, wooden toys, wooden masks, unusual clothes and costumes, dried fruit and nuts, armour, candles and liquors to list just a few of the items on offer. There is also a host of street entertainment throughout the evening.
We arrived about 18.00, so we were in good time to see the opening procession.
After the procession we took a leisurely wander round the stalls armed with mugs of Sangria, purchased en route! You are charged for the pottery mug so hang on to it as there are several stalls selling Sangria and you then only buy refils. The rustic terracotta mugs also make a great keepsake – I now have several in my collection.
As you can see from the photographs the best time to look round the stalls is before the crowds arrive. Later, sharp elbows are needed to edge your way through the throng to see the stalls! There are plenty of bargains to be had, so take courage and haggle on price. You may not always be successful, but our son saved over €10 on his purchases.
Several Sangrias later we walked down to the arena to watch the jousting. It was not jousting as we know it in the UK, but was fun nevertheless. The horsemanship was amazing! Here is a short video.
And my favourite photograph!
Hungry after the jousting we walked back up the hill to buy something to eat from one of the food stalls. I personally wanted the comfort of a restaurant rather than sitting on spikey straw bales. However, Mr. Piglet and son wanted hog roast and a more “rustic” ambience. Hmmm nice, not! Next year I choose!
Tip: Never mind dainty fashion shoes, the streets are steep and the calçada (cobbled stone) is like black ice and extremely slippery – wear something flat and practical with a non-slip sole.
Related posts:
Silves Medieval Fair: 9th – 15th August, 2011
Silves Medieval Fair 2010
Piglet in Portugal 
Looks like a great place to wander . . . sangria in hand! 😀
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looks like it was a great fair. Great pics too. I went to the perceves fair at Vila do Bispo at the weekend. Not one for the calendar. I will definatley go to Silves next year.
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Hi Clara, Silves is most def worth a visit. I know people who go a couple of times in one week!
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This looks like great fun. I love fairs; there’s always so much to look at. The opening processing had my feet tapping in time. That wooden puppet on the right looked like it could be Pinocchio, but maybe I’m mistaken.
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Thanks for sharing this experience, looks amazing. The white stallion is beautiful. There is something special about fairs and and fetes in those old hill towns dotted around Europe, just love exploring whenever I get the chance.
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Hi 40again, if you are ever in the Algarve this one should def be on your list 🙂
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Reblogged this on BetterWAY2MkLIVING and commented:
I’ve been following this blog to learn more about my own heritage. My grandmother’s family was from the Algarves.
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Hi vm, not sure you will learn much from me…Portugal still remains much of a mystery to me LOL 🙂
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Very interesting! This was the first year I was in the Algarve while the fair was on but I didn’t go. I was lucky enough to go north before the one in Santa Ma. da Feira ended though.
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Looks like fun. Thanks for sharing!
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It was great fun, and already looking forward to next year 🙂
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That must have been a great evening, PiP 🙂 And like you, I love the photo of the white stallion, beautiful! The short films are very nice.
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It was a brilliant evening. Shame I did not have my camera on the right setting for the action shots of the horses, though.
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