3 Best Sights in São Roque do Pico, Pico

About a 15-minute drive east of Madalena is the postcard-perfect town of Lajido, filled with charming all-black and black-and-white volcanic houses with striking red and green doors and shutters.

The unique volcanic landscape of the nine Azores islands is explored in this jam-packed museum. Visits are by 45-minute guided tour, which must be booked in advance. The topics covered at Casa dos Vulcões range from the broad, like how the universe was formed, to the more specific, like the geological history of tiny Pico, the youngest island in the Azores. The main reasons to visit the museum, however, are to take the journey to the center of the earth, by way of a 360-degree film, and to try the earthquake simulator, which uses VR headsets for a very realistic seismic experience.

This small wine museum isn’t worth making a detour for, but if you’re already visiting the charming town of Lajido it’s well worth a short stop. You’ll find exhibits in English and Portuguese about wine production in Pico, covering topics including vineyard landscapes, the local climate, and indigenous flora and fauna.