madeira travel guide

Expertly restored and tastefully pedestrianised in recent years, the atmospheric Zona Velha (historic quarter) is now a vibrant tourist hub in the heart of old Funchal, capital of Madeira island.

One of the most idyllically-situated towns in the whole of Portugal is Vila Baleira, an ocean-side paradise and capital of Porto Santo Island in the Atlantic archipelago of Madeira.

Once visited, never forgotten. It’s little wonder that the enchanting island of Madeira attracts more repeat visitors than any other part of the country.

From Atlantic-fresh fish to the wild meats of the mountains, Portuguese food is distinctive and varied with many of the most popular regional dishes having evolved from age-old recipes based on locally-grown ingredients.

Sweeping across much of the northern and central parts of Madeira island in the Atlantic, the world’s largest remaining expanse of primeval laurel forest not only dates back to the dinosaurs but has somehow survived almost six hundred years of … Read more

The age-old custom of hurtling visitors downhill at breakneck speed in something resembling an over-sized laundry basket is thankfully very much alive on the Atlantic island of Madeira.

Located high in the Madeira hills at an altitude of 700 metres (2,296 feet), Camacha is a pretty little place situated just a few kilometres north-east of the island’s capital, Funchal.

Nestling in a vast mountain bowl a thousand metres deep, the small whitewashed village of Curral das Freiras is one of Europe’s hidden gems and the most majestic place on the Atlantic island of Madeira.

One of the jewels in Madeira’s glittering tourism crown is without doubt the magnificent Jardim Botânico (Botanical Gardens) located a short drive east of the centre of Funchal.

Set high on a hill looking over the seafront, Porto Moniz is a remote coastal town located at the north-westernmost point of Madeira, well sheltered by a narrow peninsula that points toward a picturesque islet called Ilhéu Mole.

The levadas of Madeira are a hiker’s dream come true; hewn from the hard basalt rock, they skirt mountain ridges and descend slopes of all different gradients to offer the most spectacular views in Portugal.

Nestled midway along Madeira‘s more densely populated south coast, just 9 kilometres from the centre of Funchal, the quaint little fishing village of Câmara de Lobos is a popular stopover for travellers heading west from the capital towards Cabo Girão, one of … Read more

Nestling at the heart of a wide bay on the eastern edge of Madeira, just a short drive from the island’s international airport, Machico is a pretty fishing town with plenty of tourist appeal and some of the most spectacular … Read more

Well preserved and pristine, with some important geological features, Portugal’s largely-unknown Selvagem Islands have an extremely valuable natural heritage considered of great ecological and scientific value, as well as a landscape quite unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

Located about an hour’s drive north-west of Funchal, the enchanting seaside town of São Vicente is a place of spectacular visual splendour and arguably one of the most precious jewels in Madeira’s glittering tourism crown.

Set on a glittering bay against a background of soaring green mountains and nestling picturesquely into the shelter of the verdant hillside, the enchanting city of Funchal attracted Madeira’s earliest settlers in the 15th century.

A pleasant town on Madeira‘s southern shoreline, Calheta (also known as Estreito da Calheta) is the island’s main centre of banana plantations, vineyards and sugar-cane production.

When William Shakespeare mentioned Madeira wine in his late sixteenth century play ‘Henry IV, Part 1’, it seems he was already very well aware of its intoxicating virtues.

Named after St Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, Santana is a village of hedgerows and flowers on the north coast of Madeira Island.

One of the highest sea cliffs in the world is Cabo Girão, a rugged headland that looms menacingly over Madeira’s southern shoreline, just 15 km west of the island’s capital, Funchal.

With its tilting terrain and subtropical climate, Madeira’s flower power ranges from orchids tottering on three-foot-long stems and bougainvillea in bursting shades of red and purple.