São Vicente

The little town of São Vicente is nestled in a narrow gully just inland from the dramatic north coast. Most of the central streets are pedestrianized and it is delightful to walk the cobbled alleys around the town’s colorful indigenous garden, and whitewashed 17th-century church. There's also a tiny chapel built into basalt rock at the mouth of a stream that runs through the town, while nearby you can explore laurel forests and volcanic caves. Watch the sunset from São Vicente's pebbled beach with very few other tourists in sight.