Madalena do Pico on foot: the church, the wine museum, the dragon trees and the islets

Plenty of visitors see Madalena from the ferry ramp and then drive straight out of it, to the mountain, the vineyards or the cave. If you arrive from Horta in the morning, or you are staying in town, it is worth a few hours on foot. The parish church, two islets with a crater between them, a wine museum in a friars' summer house and a prize-winning bar on the shore are all within about twenty minutes' walk of the harbour.

Madalena became a municipality on 8 March 1723. It prospered in the 18th-century wine trade, and its harbour became the island's main link to Faial, seven kilometres away across the channel. It still is. The Linha Azul ferry crosses all year in about half an hour, and in 2026 a one-way adult ticket cost 8.20 euros for non-residents.

The Igreja de Santa Maria Madalena stands in the centre of town. The church was founded in the 17th century and largely remodelled in the 19th, which is when it got its present front: white tiles, black basalt corners and two bell towers. The interior is plain and roomy. The piece to look for is the gilded baroque altarpiece behind the high altar, carved in the late 17th century and one of the few things kept from the older church.

The town's feast day is 22 July, with a procession. In 2026 the Festas da Madalena ran from 17 to 22 July. No visiting hours are published, so the door may be locked outside services.

From the harbour wall you look straight at the Ilhéus da Madalena, about 900 metres offshore. The lower one is Ilhéu Deitado, the "lying down" islet, about 52 metres high. The taller Ilhéu em Pé, the "standing" one, is about 59 metres. Both are what is left of a submarine volcano, and the gap between them is part of its old crater, about 20 metres deep.

You cannot walk out to them, and they are a protected Natura 2000 site where common and roseate terns and Cory's shearwaters shelter. Experienced divers visit the bay between the islets, where the channel currents are strong; our diving and snorkelling guide covers the channel sites. Everyone else sees them best from the Horta ferry.

The Museu do Vinho is on Rua do Carmo, about 1.3 kilometres from the ferry terminal, around 18 minutes on foot. It occupies the farm buildings of the Carmelite friars of Horta, who used the house as a summer retreat and made wine here in the 17th and 18th centuries. The municipality bought the property, about a hectare, in 1982.

There are four parts. The friars' house, which had living rooms upstairs and a cellar below, holds the main exhibition. The old warehouse has the stills and a stone press. A newer building houses a three-beam stone press, the only one of its kind in the Azores, and you reach it only by walking through the wood of dragon trees. That grove is the largest stand of dragon trees in the archipelago. A wooden lookout at the end looks over walled vineyard plots.

The museum is closed on Mondays and public holidays. Published hours differ from one listing to the next, so ring +351 292 679 348 before you go, especially between October and March.

From the museum, Barca is about 15 minutes' walk to the north. Cella Bar started as a small abandoned stone building. FCC Arquitectura and the designer Paulo Lobo restored its walls and roof and added a curved wooden extension shaped after rocks, whales and wine casks. It opened in 2015 and won ArchDaily's Building of the Year 2016 in the hospitality category. The sea damaged it in 2017 and it was rebuilt.

It is a bar and restaurant looking across the channel to Faial, which makes it the obvious place to end the walk at sunset. Listed opening times vary, so check before walking out for dinner.

Barca is also an official bathing area, and so is the zone listed simply as Madalena. Both were rated Gold Quality for water in 2026, with the bathing season running from June to September. Our swimming guide compares them with the rest of the island.

Start at the church, walk down to the harbour for the islets, then head to the wine museum. From there it is about 1.1 kilometres, or 15 minutes, to Cella Bar. Walking back from Barca to the harbour is about the same distance again, so the loop comes to roughly four kilometres.

If you have a car and a second half-day, the PR05PIC trail through the vineyards of Criação Velha ends near Porto da Areia Larga on the southern edge of town. It is 7 kilometres one way and takes about two hours. The vineyards guide has the details. Gruta das Torres, which reopened on 19 July 2026, is about 10 minutes away by car. For a tasting, the Picowines cooperative in Madalena charged 20, 25 or 35 euros per person in 2026 and asks you to confirm in advance.

Is Madalena worth exploring, or just a ferry port? It is worth a few hours. The church, the islets, the wine museum and Cella Bar all lie within about 20 minutes' walk of the ferry terminal.

Can you visit the Madalena islets? Not on foot. They are a protected site. Experienced divers visit the bay between them, and you get a good look from the Horta ferry.

When is the wine museum open? It is closed on Mondays and public holidays. Hours vary between sources, so phone +351 292 679 348 first.

Can you do Madalena as a day trip from Faial? Yes. In 2026 the Horta ferry crossed in about 30 minutes all year and cost 8.20 euros one way for a non-resident adult. Our day-trip guide has the timetable.