The Fortim d'El-Rei is a small nineteenth-century Portuguese fortress on a low hill overlooking the western edge of Mindelo bay. The walls and a single round bastion are all that survive — the fort was never really tested in combat — but the position is wonderful: a panoramic view of the whole arc of Porto Grande bay, the city, the ferry port, and the dark mountainous silhouette of Santo Antao across the channel.
It is a fifteen-minute uphill walk from the seafront or a short taxi ride. Late afternoon is the best time, when the light catches the pastel buildings of central Mindelo and the bay turns a deep blue. The fort itself is freely accessible.