| PONTA
DELGADA |
Largest place in the Azores and capital of São Miguel
since 1522, Ponta Delgada is a flat town that stretches along
a bay on the island's south coast. Boasting many impressive
churches, convents and majestic white houses, visitors are constantly
reminded of its wealthy and illustrious past, when the port
was a crucial staging post between Europe and the New World
during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries.
What to see. Founded in 1533, the parish church of São
Sebastião is notable for its Manueline façade
and two outstanding Baroque doorways, as well as an impressive
high altar of carved cedar wood. Occupying the former monastery
of Santo André, the Carlos Machado Museum portrays the
development of the region's fishing and farming industries over
the centuries.
Nearby. Ponta Delgada is a good base from which to make
day tours of the volcanic crater lakes and thermal springs in
the centre of the island. A short drive north-west of the city
is the spectacular setting of Caldeira das Sete Cidades, an
extinct volcano which holds two adjoining lakes, one emerald-green
and the other sapphire-blue. On the east side of the island
and within easy driving distance from the capital lies the spa
resort of Furnas. Alive with steam vents, thermal pools, hot
springs and boiling mud, Furnas is the best place to witness
the geothermal activity taking place beneath the surface of
the Azores. |
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| © 2007 Maisturismo |
