Published: 10/2/2023

What Azores souvenirs to buy on your trip to the Azores

When you’re headed to a place as unique as Portugal’s Azores in the middle of the north Atlantic Ocean, you’re going to want some souvenirs to remember your epic trip by. Happily, the Azores produce a plethora of fun products that make perfect souvenirs to share with family and friends, or (let’s be honest) keep for yourself.

Whether you’re looking for edible (or drinkable) souvenirs or something that will become a family heirloom, you’ll find plenty of amazing gifts to choose from in the Azores. These Azores gift ideas will help you share the excitement of your trip to Portugal’s remote volcanic archipelago with those who couldn’t travel with you.

Read on for my full round-up of the very best Azores souvenirs to pick up during your visit.

Headed to the Azores? Pin this Azores souvenir and gift guide!

1) Azores Wine

Hands down, the best Azores souvenir to bring home is a bottle of Azorean wine. At least I think so . . . I brought four bottles home with me!

(FYI: if you’re calculating how much weight each bottle will add to your suitcase, a good estimate is 3.2 lbs per bottle.)

Portugal is renowned for its wine, but like everything about the Azores, the wine produced on this volcanic archipelago is very different from mainland Portugal’s wine.

Due to their position in the middle of the north Atlantic, the Azores are prone to hurricanes. This means that to save the crop from possible inhalation in gale force winds, Azorean grape crops are harvested about a month earlier than anywhere else in the world. Thanks to this growing season “time constraint,” the vast majority of wine produced on the Azores is white and historically, was mainly dessert wine.

As Azorean wine producers have branched out into table wines, you’ll notice the Azores wine is very dry. The wine is also notable for its high salt content.

If you want to bring home an Azores wine souvenir that’s as “Azorean” as possible, you’ll want to grab a wine made with one of the grape varieties that grow exclusively on the Azores: Arinto dos Açores or Terrantez do Pico.

Wine to buy in the Azores

Curral Atlantis – Vinho Tinto: Made with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown on the Azores, this wine is a fun souvenir that demonstrates how much the Azores’ unique growing season impacts familiar grapes!

Terroir Vulcanico – Arinto dos Acores: This was my personal favorite of the Azorean wines we sampled. It’s a very dry white wine.

Terroir Vulcanico – Terras Delava: Definitely the wine we saw offered most frequently on the islands. Also dry, but not quite as dry as the Arinto dos Acores, this is a nice, very drinkable table wine.

2) Gin

If you’re looking for something stronger than wine, the Azores are also known for distilling gin. The most ubiquitous, but not necessarily the highest quality, gin in the Azores is Goshawk Gin. I honestly think you’ll find better gin made in Duluth, MN, but Goshawk comes in a fun bottle. The name “Goshawk” is a nod to the fact that “Açores” means “goshawks” in Portuguese.

Other Azores gins to watch for and sample during your visit include Ghosts of the Ocean and Rocha Negra.

3) Pineapples

With their temperate, subtropical climate, the Azores are the only place in the Europe that can grow a number of agricultural products, such as tea and bananas. But of all the things that can grow in the Azores, nothing garners as much pride as the pineapple.

Many claim Azorean pineapples taste sweeter and are generally more flavorful than any other pineapple. (Shh, don’t tell Hawaii!) I’m no pineapple connoisseur and I can’t say I noticed a marked difference between the pineapples I enjoyed on Azores and every other pineapple I’ve eaten. (I will say the pineapple upside down cake I enjoyed in the Cha Gorreana café was particularly delightful!) Regardless of how you feel about pineapples – Azorean or otherwise – the pineapple is an enduring symbol of the islands.

You can bring a full pineapple back to the United States as long as it’s dirt-free. In fact, many Azores souvenir shops offer pineapples conveniently packaged in their own cardboard carrying case.

If you don’t want to trot a whole pineapple home, you could opt for a much more conveniently sized pineapple mustard, jam, or liqueur from Pineapple Plantation A Arruda.

4) Cha Gorreana Tea

While I was a little “meh” about the whole Azores pineapple situation, I was very into another unique Azores crop. The Azores are the only place in Europe that can grow tea. The Cha Gorreana tea plantation on the north side of Sao Miguel has been around since the 1880s.

Today the plantation produces a wide range of black and green teas. I’m a bit of tea nerd and I can assure you, Azorean tea is delicious! I highly recommend their Green Tea Brain Health blend for a perfect afternoon pick-me-up. It’s great iced or hot.

While you can find Cha Gorreana tea in just about any tourist shop on the Azores, the plantation itself is a delightful stop that deserves a spot on any Azores itinerary. It’s true that other shops sometimes sell the tea at a lower price than you’ll find in the plantation’s own shop. However, you don’t want to miss the fun of taste testing teas in the shop’s café. The plantation also offers a free tour of their facilities and you can wander through their acres of tea plants.

Really, it’s the perfect Azores souvenir: lightweight, doesn’t take up much space in your suitcase, and consumable. My only issue is that my supply is running out . . . .

5) Basalt rock jewelry and knick-knacks

As a volcanic archipelago, a lot of the rocks on the Azores are basalt, a dark black/grey rock that forms as lava cools. I actually come from the part of the world that’s also rich in basalt rock, but the basalt on the Azores is much fresher. Because the basalt on the Azores comes from the very top of the lava flow, it’s pocked with holes where gas bubbled out.

The Azores’ basalt rock is so distinctive that there’s a whole town named after it. It’s said that Biscoitos on the north side of Terceira Island got its name because the basalt rocks found in and near the town resemble black cookies. (Biscoitos = “biscuits.) 

Basalt jewelry is a pretty popular Azores souvenir. You’ll also find the dark stone used in magnets and other souvenir knick-knacks. Just be aware that most of the basalt items you find in gift shops isn’t actually sourced from the Azores. In fact, I’d wager a bet that a lot of souvenir Azores “basalt” is actually resin. (Gasp!) 

While it’s unlikely that the basalt whale tail magnet I bought is actual Azores basalt, it’s still a poignant (and fun) reminder of the Azores’ beautiful landscape.

If you want actual Azores basalt jewelry, your best bet is to hit up a local jeweler rather than the corner souvenir shop. As you might expect, this porous stone is very brittle and requires a skilled hand to shape it.

6) Cheese

Cows are an important part of the Azores’ identity and for good reason – the cows on the nine Azores Islands produce 30% of Portugal’s milk! If you’re a cheese lover, don’t worry, plenty of that Azores milk gets converted into delicious cheese. The most commonly served local cheeses on the Azores are Sao Jorge cheese and a soft, salty fresh cheese often served with a red pepper sauce.

Of the two, Sao Jorge cheese, a mild, semi-hard yellow cheese with peppery undertones is probably the easiest to transport home. Since this cheese is often paired with jam, you can round out your Azores souvenir with a jar of locally made jam or marmalade.

7) Lace

A popular handmade Azores souvenir, especially on Terceira Island, is lace. At one point in the 20th century, more than 5000 women on Terceira worked making lace. These special textiles, usually white or raw linen colored, are made out of cotton and linen.

While I generally think of lace as a knitted product, I’d describe Azores lace as embroidery. To make the lace, floral or geometric motifs are first drawn onto a woven fabric. These designs are stamped out and the edges of the stamps are hand embroidered.

While originally this craft process was mostly used for clothing, today you can find all sorts of Azores lace products including napkins, tablecloths, place mats, and wall hangings. Even if you’re not someone who likes to collect housewares during their travels, a small piece of lace like a bookmark makes a perfect Azores souvenir.

8) Azores Handicrafts

If you want a truly one-of-a-kind souvenir from the Azores, consider picking up a handmade item. The islands are known for their pottery and wickerwork. If you’re looking for a meaningful serving platter or basket for your home, you’re in luck – Azores gift shops are positively teeming with local dishes and baskets.

Another interesting Azorean handicraft we discovered were small works of art created with fig tree pith, garlic and onion skins, and fish scales. These delicate materials were used to make tiny flower designs and are then framed in small shadow boxes.

9) Dona Amelia Cakes and Graciosa Tarts

The Azores have quite the legacy of pastries. (Maybe that’s why so many Azoreans relocated to the Boston area?) 

Several favorite Azorean bakery items are now mass produced and commercially packaged for easy transport home. One of the most ubiquitous Azorean pastries that makes a great souvenir is the Dona Amelia cakes.

These sweet, sticky corn cakes flavored with warm spices and raisins originated on Terceira Island. The recipe was adapted in 1901 to showcase the Azores’ cereal crops for the visit of the last Portuguese king and queen, D. Carlos and D. Amelia. It’s said the Queen Amelia liked the cakes so much that they became known by her name.

Another sweet Azorean treat you can bring home are Graciosa tarts. As the name implies, these pastries, which are basically a cinnamon-flavored butter tart, originated on the island of Graciosa. They are made in an unique star shape and were adapted for commercial production from a centuries-old recipes. Before you could buy them at every gift shop in the Azores, they were traditionally a feast day treat.

10) Sea Glass

Whether you call it sea glass, ocean glass, mermaid tears, or something else entirely, we cleaned up at Mosteiros Beach on Sao Miguel Island. 

My all-time favorite travel souvenirs come from beach combing. (Bonus: they’re also free!) While seashells are well and good, I really come to the beach for sea glass and Azores beaches are rich in the stuff. We had especially good luck on the famed black sand beach in Mosteiros on Sao Migeul’s west coast.

11) Your favorite travel souvenir . . . with popular Azores motifs

Pay carefully attention in Azores gift shops to make sure you don’t accidentially transport a children’s shirt across the Atlantic!

If you travel frequently, chances are, you probably have a couple default souvenirs. (Mine are t-shirts and Christmas ornaments.) Whether you go for t-shirts, magnets, bags, bookmarks, or linens, Azores souvenir shops are well-stocked with whatever travel souvenir you prefer, but made Azorean with a popular Azores motif. 

If you like tea towels, you’re really in for a treat. For whatever reason, embroidered white woven tea towels took up an inordinate amount of shelf space in every Azores souvenir shop we visited!

Popular Azores motifs:

Holy spirit – The Holy Spirit is an important part of Azorean culture. You’ll find tiny Holy Spirit chapels all over the islands. The Holy Spirit dove symbol also graces many an Azorean souvenir.

Hydrangeas – The Azores are well known for its dramatic hydrangea hedges. Unfortunately, we missed hydrangea season during our late March visit, but we certainly found plenty of hydrangea imagery in the gift shops!

Whales – Whaling was an important industry in the Azores for centuries and now many tourists visit the islands hoping to spot these magnificent animals. If you’re not lucky enough to spot a whale in the wild like we were (pinch me!), you’ll spot tons in souvenir form.

Cows – Azorean cows are said to be the happiest cows in the world. While it’s probably not practical for you to take a cow home with you, you can certainly come back from the Azores with a cow t-shirt or magnet.

Favorite souvenir stores on the Azores:

A Mulher do Capote – Angra do Heroismo and Ponta Delgada – Lots of Azores handicrafts and other handmade items. Great stop if you have pottery on your Azores shopping list.

Marina Souvenirs – Angra do Heroismo – Big selection, right across from the Cathedral

Quinta dos Açores Terceira – Angra do Heroismo – Epic gift shop, especially if your Azores souvenir list has lots of edible items.

Bordado dos Açores – Angra do Heroismo – part museum, part souvenir shop, part lace factory, this stop is the perfect place to pick up some handmade Azorean lace products in Angra do Heroismo.

Azorean Gift Shop – downtown Ponta Delgada and PDL airport – If you only hit up one souvenir shop during your Azores trips, make it this one. These shops are well stocked with every quintessential Azorean souvenir your heart desires, from shirts to gin and cheese.

Nice Souvenir Shop – Furnas – Definitely your typical Azorean gift shop with a mix of tschotskes, t-shirts, and more. Just a word of warning, the t-shirts in Azores gift shops always seem especially chaotic so double check the size before buying. I may, or may not, have *ahem* accidentally brought home a child-sized t-shirt as a gift for a very adult-sized adult.

SPAR and local grocery stores – Wherever you find yourself in the Azores, don’t forget to hit up local convenience and/or grocery stores for a great selection of local food items at non-tourist prices. I did all of my wine shopping at SPAR in Furnas and definitely saved a couple euro a bottle by not buying them in a souvenir shop.

I hope this post on the best Azores souvenirs gives you some great ideas to remember your time in this truly exceptional corner of the world. If your visit to the Azores is anything like mine, you’ll find your senses continually intrigued. Now that you know what unique Azores gifts to look for, your trip to Portugal’s Azores will be even more rewarding.

If you think I missed a must-have Azores souvenir, drop me a line and let me know. I might just add it to the list!

If you liked this guide to the best Azores souvenirs, check out my other Azores posts!