Vila Nova Sintra is the only real town on Brava, perched at about 500 metres in the island's interior. It is a quiet place of around 1,500 people, reached in about fifteen minutes from the port at Furna.
The town is small and easily walked. The Praça Central has the post office and bank, a couple of churches — Catholic and Nazarene — and benches where life unfolds at island pace. The main reasons to linger are the climate (mild and pleasant year-round) and the town's connection to Eugénio Tavares, one of the most celebrated figures in Cape Verdean literature, who lived here and wrote many of the mornas that became the foundation of the national musical tradition. A bust of Tavares stands in the square.
For walkers, the island's interior is the prize. Monte Fontainhas, Brava's volcanic high point at around 976 metres, can be reached on foot from town in a few hours. Old bridle paths also lead to Nossa Senhora do Monte and beyond to the coast village of Fajã d'Água. There are a few simple restaurants and guesthouses in town; for anything more than basics, plan ahead.