Vila Algarve is a striking and disquieting building. Built in 1934 as a private mansion by the Portuguese coffee merchant José Tinoco, it is covered in elaborate blue and white azulejo tiles imported from the Algarve — the most extensive azulejo facade in the country. After the merchant's death the house was rented to the colonial state and converted to the headquarters of the Portuguese secret police.
The building today is an empty shell, its windows broken, its roof partly collapsed, its tiles slowly disappearing into private collections. It stands on the corner of Avenida Mártires da Machava and Avenida Ahmed Sékou Touré, ten minutes' walk from the centre. It is worth a visit, but it is also one of the saddest sights in the city.