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Guide to Ponta Delgada, Portugal
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Click to go to Flight Prices for Ponta Delgada
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Ponta DelgadaHundreds of miles off mainland Portugal, the Atlantic-borne archipelago known as the Azores, sits in splendid solitude amongst a vast series of subtropical aquatic life and relatively warm (year-round, that is) waters. The largest of the Azores, one of the group's easternmost islands, is home to their capital, Ponta Delgada, a flourishing city with a roadmap to a highpoint which will allegedly eclipse the heydays of popular waterborne locales such as the Bahamas, a few Eastern delights, and possibly some Equatorial attractions. Everything you'd expect from a subtropical city is here. Polished hotels, well-apportioned restaurants and plenty of cultural sites have been placed with convenience in mind to ensure travelers' satisfaction and return business. Though the Azorean capital lacks as tropical moniker and is lacking a multitude of colorful Caribbean sea creatures for its own coastal delights, the metropolis and its surroundings have much going for themselves. With a beautiful landscape, relatively unspoiled sands, and more gardens and scenic walks than one can possibly take in during a single visit, Ponta Delgada, its home, and the rest of the Azores boast a wide selection of attractions atypical to glitzy destinations around the world, effectively placing it among the few and select premier vacation hot spots on the globe.
When to go:
Despite its people's openness to foreigners of different faiths, Ponta Delgada is heavily Christian, a fact that is made oh so evident in the amount of chapels and convents on the island. You can indeed enjoy Ponta Delegada's many waterside attractions and all of its natural wonders located further inland, but its chief architectural sites are assuredly steepled, and many festivities revolve around Portuguese traditions, which, as anyone who's well aware of the nation's practices will know, are very Christ-centric. As for weather, Ponta Delgada and all of the Azores are worth visiting anytime but winter, when the waters surrounding their shores appear more restless than in warmer times.
Getting there and around:
Aeroporto Joao Paulo II, holding a name easily recognizable the world over, is the place where all international travel above the Atlantic (rather than atop the Ocean) comes to greet - or bid farewell to - the island. A few miles from the complex of hotels as well as the major sites of the city, the terminal has garnered quite a respectable ground transit system over the years. Today, though many hotels provide shuttle services of their own, it's no surprise why visitors to the island opt for buses and taxis for the journey into Ponta Delgada. Though it is compact by global standards, there's no denying the need for more than one's own set of transportation "tools." Taxis are certainly everywhere in the city, but the number of buses seems to be steadily increasing. If you find yourself low on funds for the simple task of getting places, public methods are right behind those provided by private organizations, both in terms of availability and frequency.
Attractions:
If you're short on time and would like to get the best of Ponta Delgada in one quick roundup, a trip to the three most popular sites within the city will surely be worth the effort. The churches Matriz de Sao Sebastiao, Sao Pedro, and Sao Joao are all fantastic creations, and quite different from one another.
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