On the seafront halfway between the Palacio do Povo and Laginha beach stands a curious sight: a smaller-scale replica of the Torre de Belem in Lisbon, built by the Portuguese in 1932 as a customs house. The structure is recognisably its Lisbon original — the same Manueline windows, the same crenellated top, the same pale stone — but only about a third of the size.
For decades it served as the port's customs office; today it houses a small information centre and exhibition space. It is one of Mindelo's most photographed buildings, particularly at sunset when the warm light catches the carved stonework. Free to enter.