See

Fort Ruins

Fortim do Porto da Cruz

Walk up a small hill on the waterfront (behind the rum factory) to see the stone ruins of an 18th-century fort.

Listing from Wikivoyage: Porto da Cruz, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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Do
Public swimming pools
Piscinas Municipais
There are public swimming pools below the fort ruins where you can swim with an ocean view.
€1.50 adult, 75¢ child
See
Companhia dos Engenhos do Norte & Casa do Rum
Rum Factory & tasting house
Museum showing the workings of a now-defunct sugarcane and rum processing plant. Operating during the Industrial Revolution, all the machinery is steam-powered. The steam was produced by burning the chaff of the sugarcane. Quick, self-guided tour of the equipment in Portuguese, English, French, and German. Next door is a tasting room.
Mon–Sat 09:00–18:00Free
Eat
Snackbar Piscinas
There is a handful of restaurants along the waterfront, all virtually the same quality and price, although you'll get a somewhat wider view of the ocean at Snackbar Piscinas. Reviews are decidedly mixed.
Daily 10:00-21:00
Eat
Snackbar a Pipa
Always busy with locals, regarded as the best and most popular restaurant, as it serves extremely fresh fish caught that day.
Tue–Fri 12:00-00:00, Sat Sun 09:00-22:00€30 covers mains for two including drinks