Castelo de Silves

Silves, a few kilometres inland from the Algarve coast, was once an important Moorish city, and its castle is the best-preserved reminder. Silves council calls it one of the most notable works of military architecture the Moors left in Portugal. Its walls are made of rammed earth covered in the local red sandstone, the grés de Silves, so the whole castle glows red on the highest point of the hill. From the streets below it looks like a storybook castle.

Inside, children can walk round the top of the walls, find the deep well and go down into a huge underground cistern. The ticket is cheap, and the town’s archaeology museum, built round another medieval well, is a short walk away on a joint ticket.

The first written mention of the castle, by the historian al-Razi, dates from the 10th century. Silves was an administrative centre under Islamic rule, and the Almohads held it from 1121 to 1269. In 1189 King Sancho I of Portugal captured it with the help of crusaders on their way to the Holy Land, though the Moors took it back soon after. A bronze statue of Sancho I stands at the main entrance.

Earthquakes damaged the castle again and again (in 1504, 1587, 1719, 1722, 1755 and 1856), and by the 20th century it was in poor shape. It was restored in the 1940s, finishing in 1948, and again under the Polis programme up to 2009, when an Islamic-style garden was added.

The walls form an irregular ring round the hilltop, enclosing about 12,000 square metres. Eleven towers are linked by a walkway of about 388 metres along the top of the walls, which is the part energetic children love. You go in through a double gate. Look for the second, hidden entrance, called the Porta da Traição (the Traitor’s Gate), and ask children why a castle might want a secret way out.

Archaeologists also found the remains of an Almohad palace from the 12th and 13th centuries, with two floors, an inner garden and baths. It was lived in for about a century and abandoned after a fire following the Christian conquest.

Water is the best story here. Under siege, a castle without water falls quickly, so the Almohads built the Aljibe, a huge rectangular cistern 20 metres long, 16 metres wide and 7 metres high. Its roof is four barrel vaults held up by 12 columns. It held about 1.3 million litres, which the council says was enough for 1,200 people for about a year, and it still supplied water to Silves until the 1990s.

The castle also has the Cisterna dos Cães (the dogs’ cistern), a well more than 40 metres deep. Archaeologists found medieval pottery in it and remains of Islamic-period devices for lifting water. Forty metres is about as tall as a 13-storey building, which makes a good number for children to picture. Please don’t let them drop anything in.

Down in the town, the Museu Municipal de Arqueologia was built around a poço-cisterna, a well-cistern from the 12th and 13th centuries, found during excavations in the 1980s and now a National Monument. The museum’s displays wrap around it and take in a stretch of the old city wall. The collection runs in eight sections from the Palaeolithic to the 17th century, and it’s strongest on the Muslim period (8th to 13th centuries), with plenty of Almohad pottery and objects.

For children, seeing a second medieval well after the castle’s cistern makes the water story stick: this is how a whole city drank. The museum is at Rua da Porta de Loulé 8 and opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00. Tickets were €2.10 for adults and €1.05 for children when checked in September 2026, or €3.90 for a joint ticket with the castle.

• Ages 4 to 7 love running along the walls and peering at the well and cistern (hold hands near the edges).
• Ages 8 to 12 get the story of the Moors, the crusaders and the siege, and the science of storing water.
• Teenagers studying medieval history or Islamic Iberia get the most from the palace remains and the museum.
• Toddlers can come, but the steps, walls and uphill walk make a buggy hard work.

When checked in September 2026 the castle cost €2.80 for adults and €1.40 for children, students and over-65s, and groups of 20 or more paid €2.20 each. The joint castle and museum ticket was €3.90. Silves residents and people born in the municipality go free. The castle opens every day except 25 December and 1 January, from 09:00 to 18:00 in the cooler months and until 20:00 in summer.

The castle is on the hilltop, so expect an uphill walk from wherever you park. It’s mostly open air, so bring hats and water in summer and aim for the morning. The cistern is a cool break on a hot day. Keep younger children close on the wall walk and near the well.

Every summer Silves holds a medieval fair in the streets below the castle; see our What’s on page for when it runs. On the coast, Sand City near Lagoa has giant sand sculptures and is open into the evening in summer. Castle collectors can compare Silves with the Fortaleza de Sagres further west or the Castelo de Palmela near Setúbal.

How much is Silves Castle for children?

€1.40 when checked in September 2026. Adults paid €2.80, and a joint ticket with the archaeology museum was €3.90.

What are the opening hours of Silves Castle?

Every day except 25 December and 1 January, from 09:00. It closes at 18:00 from October to April and at 20:00 in summer.

Can you walk on the walls?

Yes. A walkway of about 388 metres runs along the walls between the eleven towers.

Is the castle at Silves good for young children?

Yes, for walkers. It’s small enough to manage, cheap, and the walls and well keep them busy. It’s hard going with a buggy.

How long do you need?

About an hour for the castle and another for the museum.