Loule
With a population of over 20,000 this tourist town is mainly concerned with developing memento products. With products made out of leather, cane, wood and copperware the town concentrates on making products aimed towards the visitors to the popular holiday town.
The busy weekly fair attracts holidaymakers from all over the Algarve.
Another significant event is the annual Carnival held every February. This huge event is largely considered to be one of the best in Portugal.
Due to the demands of tourism, this town has bloomed and grown in size.
The rural administrative and active market town still has some remains of a castle dating back to the 12th Century. Most of this Arab castle was more or less destroyed leaving just some walls still standing. These remains are now surrounded by modern buildings.
Similar to most lot towns in the Algarve, most of the older potentially interesting buildings were destroyed by an earthquake some 250 years ago.
However within the remaining walls is a lovely museum with an extensive explanation of what was in the past the grandeur of the castle. Unfortunately the various earthquakes that it has suffered through time have damaged the 13th Century Church of S�o Clemente.
On a hilltop just to the west of the town Church .This is the home of a yearly religious procession that asks some physical effort on the part of the bearers of the church's religious shrines.
Luckily its Gothic arches and side chapels from the 16th Century have survived.
Also situated in the centre of the town there is a Museum dedicated to the local industry. Popular amongst both local recipients and visitors to the area, many people find it interesting to see how these dried fruit products are developed for the public.