Free walking tours in Horta and what to see

Must-sees

Horta is the main town on Faial island and looks straight across the channel at Pico mountain. Its marina is a classic stop for yachts crossing the Atlantic, and its quays are covered in paintings left by sailors as a souvenir of their passage. By the harbour is the sailors' café, a meeting point for crews from all over the world, with a small museum of scrimshaw, carving on sperm-whale teeth and bone.

Along the seafront you will see churches, manor houses and the clock tower. To the south, the bay of Porto Pim has a sandy beach below Monte da Guia, and an old whaling factory explains whale hunting on the island. Outside town, the Caldeira is a large crater at Faial's highest point, and at the western tip the Capelinhos volcano, which erupted in 1957 and 1958, has an interpretation centre half buried in the ash.

Free tours and guided visits

There are no regular free walking tours in Horta. What is on offer are island and sea activities: half-day tours of Faial with stops at the Caldeira and Capelinhos, open-ocean snorkelling with sharks and trips to Pico island, combined with the ferry across the channel. Whale-watching trips also leave from the marina.

How long to spend

The town, the marina and Porto Pim can be seen in a relaxed day. To tour the island, with the Caldeira and Capelinhos, you need another day with a car or on an organised trip. With three or four days you can cross to Pico, go out to sea and walk one of Faial's trails.

Where to stay

The most practical option is to stay in the centre of Horta, near the marina and the seafront, where there are hotels, guesthouses and apartments with restaurants and the Pico ferry on foot. The Porto Pim area is quieter and next to the beach. For countryside, the inland parishes have rural houses, although you will need a car there.