The Algarve’s new noise and opening hours regulations

Faro, the Algarve’s busiest city will have new regulations on the opening hours of businesses in the municipality and new noise regulations.

After a hearing of interested parties and public scrutiny – namely by residents’ associations, business leaders, residents and traders – the new regulations will come into force in March. The previous regulation on opening hours came into force in 2017 and has remained unchanged since then, while the current noise regulations came into force in 2012.

The regulations now approved define that catering, drinking or mixed establishments (restaurants, cafés or pastry shops, among others) can operate every day between 6am and 2am the following day.

Licensed drinking and catering establishments (bars, concert halls, theatres, cinemas, entertainment venues, among others) can operate between 10am and 3am the following day, from Sunday to Wednesday, and between 10am and 4am the following day on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays.

Businesses located in residential buildings can only operate between 8am and midnight. Exceptionally, they can adopt the hours set for other establishments if they obtain the prior consent of the building’s owner or from the administrators.

The municipal noise regulation aims to adopt procedures that allow for better action in the prevention, inspection and penalisation of practices that do not comply with the new regulations with a view to continuous improvement to guarantee the expectations of residents.