10 of the best things to do in the Azores

Now on the UK’s travel green list, the Portuguese archipelago offers stunning volcanic landscapes and its own delicious cuisine, wines and even coffee

The Azores archipelago (Açores in Portuguese) lies about 1,000 miles west of mainland Europe and is made up of nine volcanic islands: São Miguel (the largest), São Jorge, Terceira, Pico, Faial, Ilha das Flores, Santa Maria, Graciosa and Corvo, which you can cross by ferry or plane.

Colonised by the Portuguese in 1432, the Azores is now an autonomous region. During the period known as the Discoveries, Portugal had the largest high-seas fleet in the world, with many of its ships stopping to replenish stocks in the Azores as they travelled back and forth to Brazil, India, Japan and elsewhere, bringing with them spices that changed Azorean cuisine from simple. plain dishes to ones spiced and flavoured with new-world produce, such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes and yams.