Faro's small walled centre is enclosed by ramparts begun by the Moors in the 9th century and rebuilt many times since. Inside, three or four cobbled lanes connect the cathedral square (Largo da Sé), the bishop's palace, the seminary and the Municipal Museum.
It is a quiet, restrained district — almost no commerce, no traffic, no noise — and rewards a slow wander. The Arco da Vila is the formal entrance from the harbour; the more atmospheric way in is the Arco do Repouso on the eastern side, where Afonso III reportedly rested after his troops took the city from the Moors in 1249.