
Museum Francisco Lacerda
Built on the ruins of the former “Marie d'Anjou Tuna Canning Factory” on the steep slope, overlooking the Vila da Calheta harbor, the Francisco de Lacerda Museum has the mission of studying, preserving, enhancing and publicizing the heritage of São Jorge Island and its community.
The Francisco de Lacerda Museum assimilates its origins - the Ethnographic House and the São Jorge Museum, which precedes it - and the local culture throughout collections based on the themes of São Jorge Island, Music (classical, folk from Francisco Lacerda and its philharmonics) and the Tuna Canning Industry, among others.
You will be able to enjoy other spaces, such as the documentation centre, the auditorium reserved for events, the temporary exhibition room and leisure areas inside and outside. The visits to the museum’s reserves (collections) will also be available at specified periods.
Assuming the motto “The Museum of All” and aware of the mission to promote the São Jorge's Island tangible and intangible heritage, we will work among the community with the responsibility to do more and better.

Pico da Esperança
1,053-metres high, this is the highest peak of São Jorge from where one can see the other islands of the central group.

Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo
A nature reserve and special ecological area, it is considered to be a sanctuary for body boarding and surfing. It is the only place in the archipelago where clams (Tapes decussatus), a local delicacy, grow.

Fajã de São João
Typical homes built in black stone with sash windows, and small farms, whose production is all for the farmer's own consumption. This fajã is one of the most pictoresque on the island.

Fajã dos Vimes
Weaving in manual looms has subsisted in this fajã since the sixteenth century. Various stitching techniques are applied to produce beautiful bedspreads and carpets. Because of the micro climate of this fajã, coffee is planted here for local consumption.

Urzelina Rural Exhibition Center
In addition to providing ethnographical information on the island, this center exhibits several pieces, including pieces related to agriculture and flax production.

Poça dos Frades
This geologically-formed pool is located in Velas. It is one of the most well-known natural pools in the Azores.

Velas Sacred Art Museum
This museum displays a large collection of religious statues and silver pieces.

Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Livramento
This church from 1700 stands out for its stonework.

São Jorge Church
Church built in the 17th century and likely to have been the first church on the island. It was built under the order of D. Henrique with the purpose of replacing a 15th century temple.

Ponta do Topo Islet
A nesting place for birds on the eastern side of the island. During the summer, cows swim to the islet to graze there. Topo is also well known for the quality of its cheese.

Auditório Municipal e Centro Cultural das Velas

São Francisco Church
This church stands as the last remains of São Francisco Convent.

Rosais Lighthouse
Located in the northwestern coast of the island, this lighthouse started functioning in 1958. It is currently abandoned and quite degraded due to the 1980 earthquake.

Ponta de Rosais

Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo Interpretation Centre
The Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo Interpretation Centre (CIFCSC) was created in order for visitors to learn about the geological, biological and human history of the Fajãs de São Jorge (coves), in particular, the fajãs of Caldeira de Santo Cristo and of Cubres.
The building was originated from the reconstruction of an old housing and its support house, which retains the original and traditional frontage.
It was a highlight target in several websites and architecture magazines and was the cover of the C3 Korean magazine. It integrated the “Mostra Ibérica de Património Arquitéctonico – La MIPA” project, within the Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2013 "Close, Closer".
At the reception you can enjoy a rest area and see the space which recreates an old oven, decorated with reproductions of support tools.
In the exhibition room, visitors can find technical information in a multimedia kiosk and take a trip through time from the formation of fajãs up to today. You can also see several documentaries about the Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo and others of ethnographic character.
Geography
With a length of 54 km and a maximum width of 6.9 km, São Jorge Island features a long volcanic ridge stretching from northwest to southeast. The area of the island reaches 243.9 sq. km, and it is the home to 9.171 inhabitants (2011 data). The island of São Jorge is part of the Central Group and is one of the corners of the so-called "triangle islands" together with Faial and Pico, the latter of which is 18.5 km away. At an altitude of 1,053 m, Pico da Esperança is the highest point of the island and is located at 38°39'02'' north latitude and 28°04'27'' west longitude.