Ponta Delgada Favorite Tips by cachaseiro Top 5 Page for this destination

Nice pavements.

Favorite thing: Ponta Delgada has some really nice pavements that are quite typical for Portugal.
They did originally originate in Mesopotamia and were brought to Portugal by the moors, but these days it´s considerd an old portugese tradition to use basalt and limestone to pave the sidewalks in this nice manner.
These pavements are not the cheapest or the most practical, but they are sure pretty and let´s hope for the future that they keep this tradition.

The prison is in an old monestary.

Favorite thing: In 1834 all religious orders were prohibited in Portugal for a period of a few decades and in that period many monestarys were converted in to various other things and in Ponta Delgada they have a pretty big former monestary that has now become the towns prison.
It´s situated right by the sea and the prisoners surely have a good view from there.

Goncalo Velho Cabral.

Favorite thing: Goncalo Velho Cabral was the person who made the first settlement in Sao Miguel.
He was a munk from the order of Christ, who under the their leader Henry the navigator set sails to explore the new world.
These days he is honored with a statue on the main square in Ponta Delgada where he stands right in from of the city gate and looks out towards the sea.

Go for a swim in the harbour.

Favorite thing: Ponta Delgada does not really have much in way of beaches, but they have compensated for that by fencing off part of the harbour and build facilities for swimmers and sun seekers, so you can now safely go for a swim right in the center of the harbour in Ponta Delgada.

Ponta Delgada is a cruise ship harbour.

Favorite thing: Ponta Delgada has a pretty big harbour that is capable of taking in really big ships including cruise ships.
That makes it a natural port of call for cruise ships crossing the Atlantic and a lot of cruise ships stop by Ponta Delgada.
The local tourist information is quite good at dealing with the influx of the many tourists from the ships and they employ quite a few young people to walk around the harbour area and give the visitors advice while the cruise ships are in the harbour.
The harbour is right in the middle of Ponta Delgada so it´s a nice place to dock with a cruise ship as you can easily take a walk around the town by yourself.