Praia da Vitória

On the east coast of Terceira, the city of Praia da Vitória faces the island’s great bay: a long sweep of sand at the foot of a town of stone houses, forts and church towers, with the green wall of the Serra do Cume rising behind. It is Terceira’s second city, and the island’s front door: the airport and the ocean port stand on its plain.

A name won on the water

The town began as the seat of the island’s first captaincy in the fifteenth century and grew on pastel and wheat. Its name remembers the sea: in 1829 a Miguelist landing fleet was repelled in the bay during the Portuguese civil war, and the queen later granted the town the title of Victory, which it still carries. The old quarter keeps the matrix church of Santa Cruz, the town hall and forts along the shore, and the bay’s wide sandy beach — the island’s main one — draws swimmers and surfers through the summer.

Viewpoints, plains and the island beyond

Behind the city the Serra do Cume rises in a long green wall, and its viewpoint over the zigzag fields of the Ramo Grande plain is one of the classic panoramas of the Azores. The airport plain and the port give the municipality its working character, while the island’s landscapes — the Serreta highlands, the north coast of Terceira Island and the rival old capital of Angra do Heroísmo — lie within easy reach of the bay.

What to see

• The bay and its wide sandy beach
• The old quarter and the matrix church of Santa Cruz
• The viewpoint of the Serra do Cume over the plain
• The ocean port and marina

Practical information

Praia da Vitória lies on the northeast coast of Terceira, around the airport plain, half an hour from Angra do Heroísmo by road. Atlantic water is cool: bring a wetsuit for water sports, wind protection for the viewpoints, and check the official websites before setting out.

Image credit: Vista de Praia da Vitória by Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.