Arco da Calheta

A sixteenth-century chapel, begun around 1510 as the oratory of the houses of Pedro Gonçalves da Câmara, son of Funchal's second captain. The Renaissance marble holy water font was set here in 1530. The architecture mixes Manueline and Revivalist, the latter above all in the wide rectangular galilee opened on the main front, carried on marble columns with Corinthian capitals. Inside, a painted Way of the Cross and above all an octagonal Mudéjar alfarje ceiling, white and blue, with white and gilded cordage. Classified a Monument of Public Interest.

Also called "Farol Verde", this viewpoint stands on top of the Achada de Santo Antão cliff, in the parish of Arco da Calheta, one of the first places on the island to be settled and farmed after the discovery. The irregular coastline separates the blue of the Atlantic from the green mantle of the slopes; you overlook Arco da Calheta and see Madalena do Mar, a parish of Ponta do Sol known for its fishermen's quarter. A well-known paragliding take-off.

The pebble beach of Calheta, a step from the town centre, quieter than the big imported-sand beach opened in 2004 right beside it. Calheta is one of the least rainy municipalities in the archipelago, which lengthens the bathing season. Several fish restaurants stand close by.