Nine islands adrift in the Atlantic, each one stranger and more beautiful than the last.
Nine islands, one deep breath
The Azores sit a third of the way to America, green and volcanic and gloriously under-visited. Sao Miguel, the largest, folds around crater lakes — Sete Cidades, twinned blue and green, is the postcard, but the smaller Lagoa do Fogo, reached on foot, is the one you remember.
The weather here does what it likes; locals shrug and call it four seasons in a day. Pack a shell jacket, expect a shower, and be rewarded with rainbows over hydrangea-lined roads.
What to do with a long weekend
- Soak in the iron-rich thermal pools at Furnas, then eat cozido cooked underground by volcanic steam.
- Whale-watch off Ponta Delgada — sperm whales and dolphins are near year-round.
- Hop a short flight to Pico and climb, or simply drink the volcanic wine grown in its lava-walled vineyards.
The Azores reward the unhurried. Give them three days and you will spend the flight home working out when you can give them a week.
