The festival usually takes place biannually at the end of April or the beginning of May. It features a parade by locals as well as displays of arms and armor, a market, period recreations and costumes as well as musical performances. ![]() After a hiatus due to Covid-19, the festival returns in 2023. In 2019, the festival's theme was the discovery of the Madeira archipelago by the Portuguese explorers Bartolomeu Perestelo, Tristão Vaz Teixeira and João Gonçalves Zarco. Henry the Navigator launched many of the ships that set sail during Portugal's golden " Age of Discoveries" in the 15th and 16th centuries from the port in Lagos. The Festival dos Descobrimentos (Discoveries Festival) in Lagos celebrates Portugal's Age of Discovery. Various travel agencies and hotels in the Algarve arrange mini-bus shuttles to the fair, transporting you there are back for the evening Lagos Festival dos Descobrimentos (Discoveries Festival) Lagos Festival dos Descobrimentos (Discoveries Festival) Many people drive in from their accommodation on the coast. You would need to book a hotel in Silves far in advance to have a chance of getting a room in the town or surrounding countryside. Straw bales to be used as seats during the Silves Medieval Fair, Silves Castle, Algarve There's even a local currency - the Xilb - in use during the Fair that can be exchanged for Euros. ![]() Lots of stalls also set up under torch lights selling regional foods and drinks. Goods for sale range from dried fruits, nuts and dates from Tunisia to singing bowls and carpets from Tibet. The streets of Silves are packed with market traders who have come from all over Europe and North Africa to sell their wares. An historical re-enactment of the beheading of Ibn Qasi, Silves Medieval Fair 2016, Algarve, Portugal A horse tournament takes place twice each evening in Praça Al'Mutamid. The fun and action starts at 6 pm every evening and continues until 1 pm.Įach evening's entertainment begins with the procession through the streets by participants in period costume (visitors can hire them and join in too!), followed by music, dance, street entertainment (acrobats, court jesters, fire-eaters, jugglers, musicians, snake charmers, veiled dancers) as well as dramas relating to the history of Silves performed in the grounds of Silves Castle or outside the Sé (Cathedral). One of the main venues for the festival is Silves Castle along with Praça Al'Mutamid and the square outside Silves Cathedral. Silves Medieval Fair (Silves Feira Medieval) takes place each August in the historic city of Silves.īeginning in 2004 Silves Medieval Fair has now grown into a large 10-day event which attracts over 130,000 visitors to watch the nightly historical dramas and re-enactments of the town's Islamic history. Nuts and dried fruit on sale at one of the many market stalls at Silves Medieval Fair, Silves, Algarve, Portugal Silves Medieval Fair Map of the Obidos Medieval Fair, Portugal ![]() In 2022, the fair took place from 21 July to the 31st July. There are concerts of medieval music, dances, theater performances, food stalls and lots of people (and some animals) in period costume. Taking place from mid-July to the end of the month, the fair is the largest in Portugal and takes place both within the imposing walls of Óbidos Castle and the town as a whole. A performance of Medieval music and dance at the Obidos Medieval Fair, Portugal Óbidos Medieval Fair The fairs tend to have a theme which changes each year. Perhaps the most famous Medieval Fair is in Óbidos but there are also fairs in Silves and Lagos on the Algarve, Palmela near Setúbal, Aveiro on the Atlantic Coast, Chaves in northern Portugal and Alvalade do Sado and Marvão in the Alentejo region. Many of the traders and other participants move from fair to fair during the year. Visitors have the chance to dress up in period costumes, shop at pop-up markets, eat local delicacies and enjoy various historical reenactments and shows. These events seek to recreate the atmosphere of historical Portugal including its Islamic and in the case of Chaves in Trás-os-Montes, its Roman past. Various towns and cities throughout Portugal in the summer play host to so-called "Medieval Fairs". Feira & Mercado Medieval Stalls at the Obidos Medieval Fair with the castle illuminated at night, Portugal
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