Precisely 232,090 visitors visited Silves castle in 2015, an average of 640 a day and continues the positive trend for the Silves areas' main cultural tourist attraction.
"This represents an increase of 27,318 people, up 13.3% from 2014 and clearly an important contribution to the development of the local economy," commented a council spokesman.
The city’s Museum of Archaeology also saw numbers rise, by 22% with 29,047 people visiting last year despite a location tucked away in a narrow street near the Torreão da Porta da Cidade (pictured).
These figures are ahead of the overall growth in tourism in the Algarve for 2015 and may reflect the start of a shift from 'sun and sand' holidays to those with a bit of culture thrown in. Better publicity and signage have helped, as Silves becomes better attuned to the needs and desires of those visiting the former regional capital.
"The city of Silves has consolidated its position as a cultural destination in the Algarve region, including in its five national monuments: the Cruz de Portugal, the walls and tower gateway, the Arabic cistern, the Cathedral and of course the castle, the latter being one of the most visited monuments in the region," reports a delighted council.
Currently, there is an exhibition at the castle, "The path of the Iberian Lynx" resulting from a partnership between Silves council and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.
The visuals show the history of the lynx in Iberia, its recent disappearance from Portuguese territory, and the efforts that have been made for its reintroduction into the wild.
Silves is a mostly rural council area which lacks an extensive seafront with resorts and more expensive homes from which to raise council rates.
The council's focus on tourism in the city has been notable in recent years and these results are a vindication of this work.
