Albufeira is a city in Portugal. It is the seat of Albufeira Municipality. It is a main tourist destination, due its coastal location. The city has a population of 13,646. It is 250 kilometres (160 mi) from Lisboa, and is within close proximity of Paderne Castle. Lagos is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the west, and Faro 45 kilometres (28 mi) to the south-east. Albufeira is one of the leading tourist resorts of the region. Facilities include a marina, golf courses plus innumerable hotels, apartment blocks, restaurants and bars for the annual flood of visitors.

Under the Romans the city was named Baltum, and initially grew the city, with an aqueduct of which parts still remain. Trade with the North Africans garnered the city its name, which is derived from the Arabic البحيرة (Al-Buhera). The Arabs also helped grow the city, teaching agricultural methods of sustaining what had, till then been a solely fishing community.

The Christian conquest of the region began at the end of the 12th Century. The Moors were driven out in 1249, in the reign of King D. Afonso III. The town became part of the kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves. King D. Manuel I awarded Charter to the Town of Albufeira on 20 August 1504 and from that day the town was governed according to the legislation in force for the rest of the country.