Café Nunes: the Only Coffee Grown and Served in Europe
In Fajã dos Vimes, the Nunes family has grown about 600 organic coffee plants for over two decades, served in the very house where it is picked and roasted.
Fajã dos Cubres: the Sea Village That Won Portugal’s 7 Wonders Award
Destroyed by the 1757 earthquake and later rebuilt, this fajã holds a Ramsar-classified lagoon and won the Sea Villages category in Portugal’s 7 Wonders in 2017.
São Jorge Cheese: 500 Years of Tradition Brought by Flemish Settlers
Produced since the island’s settlement in the 15th century, this raw-milk cured cheese is Portugal’s most-produced PDO cheese, with nearly 2,200 tonnes a year.
Fajã do Ouvidor: Basalt Pools Beneath a 400-Metre Cliff
Poça de Simão Dias, considered one of Portugal’s most beautiful natural pools, was born from lava erupted 2,530 years ago by Pico Areeiro.
Francisco de Lacerda Museum: From Ethnography to Music, in a Former Cannery
Housed since 2020 in the former Marie d’Anjou cannery, São Jorge’s museum honours the local-born composer who worked with Debussy and conducted orchestras in Paris.
Rosais Lighthouse: the Ghost Beacon Abandoned After Two Earthquakes
Opened in 1958 as Portugal’s most advanced lighthouse, Rosais Lighthouse was evacuated in 1964 and again for good in 1980, leaving ruins atop 260-metre cliffs.
Ponta do Topo Islet: a Bird Refuge 1.3 Million Years in the Making
Separated from the coast by just 400 metres, this islet formed from ancient lava flows is a special protection zone and one of São Jorge’s best diving spots.
Pico da Esperança: the 1,053 Metres That Rule Over São Jorge
Formed about 5,500 years ago, the island’s highest point reveals lakes inside extinct craters and Europe’s rarest orchid, the Platanthera azorica.
Vila das Velas: the Capital Founded Around 1490
Built beside São Jorge’s oldest harbour, Velas withstood a French corsair attack in 1708 and still keeps its 18th-century Sea Gate standing today.
Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo: Clams, Surf, and a One-of-a-Kind Lagoon
A Nature Reserve since 1984 and a Ramsar wetland, this is the only fajã in the Azores where clams are harvested, and one of the archipelago’s most sought-after surf sanctuaries.
Sete Fontes Forest Park: São Jorge’s Cool Retreat at the Island’s Edge
Created in 1962 on the island’s northwestern tip, this park of cryptomeria trees and small lakes offers viewpoints over Pico, Faial, and Graciosa, plus a small zoo.
