Towns and Villages

Ponta Delgada began as a simple fishing village whose fishermen were once attracted by its safe coves, but soon began to play the role of main port of the São Miguel Island.

The city grew and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the convents, churches and manor houses flourished and still today they integrate the historic centre.

Ponta Delgada is today a cosmopolitan city, outward looking, with a lively economic and cultural life. The extensive coastline road, which borders the harbour and the sea outlining the city, is the expression of its dynamism, adapting to new times and also the access road to the city.

Boasting a history of over five centuries and precious testimonies of the past, Ponta Delgada is a multifaceted city where tradition lives hand-in-hand with the present and cosmopolitanism with wholesome tranquility of the Azorean life.

When in Ponta Delgada be sure to visit  the Igreja de São Sebastião, the Igreja de São Pedro and Igreja São José, the Convent and Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Esperança, the Tesouro do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, the Carlos Machado Museum, the City Gates and the Jose do Canto Garden.