Praia da Vitoria

Praia da Vitoria, located in Terceira Azores, has the feel of an American seaside resort town, dropped into Europe. When you park your car in Praia, and walk through town to the beach area, you will see the old European architecture along the cobblestone streets and will know you are in Europe. But once you get to the beach, it will feel more like any American seaside town. The US Army has an airbase at the nearby Lajes Feild Airport and the troops spend a good amount of their downtime at the beach.

If you go when there is going to be a festival, the streets will be decorated and music will be playing all through the town, as you can see in the first picture. This main street is empty, but the beach was packed on this particular hot summer day.

A popular bar and grill in Praia:

And part of the beach

There is a lot more to see in Praia than these few pictures. I highly recommend spending at least a half day there on any visit to Terceira Azores

Click here to visit Magical Azores Islands home page (leave Praia da Vitoria page)