Things to do in São Miguel

São Miguel is the largest island of the Azores: about 744 km², 65 km long and 8-15 km wide, home to roughly 137,000 people, over half the archipelago's population. The high point is Pico da Vara at 1,103 m.

It sits in the middle of the North Atlantic, around 1,400 km west of Lisbon, and the only way in is by air — Lisbon to Ponta Delgada takes roughly 2h15 to 2h30, with no ferry from the mainland.

This is one volcanic island, not the whole archipelago: the UNESCO-listed vineyards are on Pico and the UNESCO old town is on Terceira, both a flight away, not a day trip from here. What follows is the island-wide picture; each region — Ponta Delgada, Sete Cidades, Furnas and the rest — has its own detailed page.