Madeira is now a popular year-round destination world-famous for its Madeira wine, fantastic weather, and beautiful scenery. The main island of the archipelago, Madeira itself, has a semi-tropical climate and is home to the largest evergreen forest in the world which has gained World Heritage Site status - the Laurisilva Forest in the Madeira Natural Park. The island is perfect for people looking for active holidays. The volcanic origin of the island has left mountains as high as 1,800mtrs, creating ideal conditions for rock climbing, abseiling, hiking, white water rafting, mountain biking, and trekking. Fishing and diving is a very popular activity in the warm Madeira ocean, the Garajau Nature Reserve is famous worldwide.

The island is dotted with beautiful beaches, offering plenty of opportunity for lazy sun drenched holidays – with the kids, or romantic breaks for two.

Funchal is the capital city (and also the largest) and major port of the Madeira Islands, with a colonial feel to it. The city centre is a warren of narrow cobbled streets where a myriad of little shops offer traditional wares – in particular the island’ famous embroidery and wickerwork. Funchal is excellent for shopping because there are several big shopping centres that are open seven days a week. Other attractions worth a visit are Sé Cathedral, the Cidade do Açúcar Museum focussing on the sugar trade that was the main source of income on the island until the early 1700s, and the 17th and 18th century buildings surrounding the Praça do Município (main square): the Museu de Arte Sacra, the town hall (Câmara Municipal), and the Igreja do Colégio.

Food and drink

Madeira wine is of course an absolute must for every visitor to the island, and the ‘vino seco’, produced from different grapes by local farmers is an excellent refreshment. Starters don’t feature very high on the Madeiran menu, but it’s worth trying the ‘bolo do caco’, a hot wheat flour bread with garlic butter and parsley, or a bowl of tomato and onion soup crowned with a poached egg. Fish plays an important role in the local diet and many main courses centre around Tuna, 'espada' (black scabbard fish), ‘bacalhau’ (codfish), 'gaiado' (a regional fish treated like codfish), 'potas' (similar to a huge squid), and a variety of dishes with cod. Grilled meat is also very popular: espetada (large chunks of beef rubbed in garlic and salt, skewered onto a bay leaf stick and left to grill over smouldering wood chips), 'carne vinho e alhos' (small pieces of pork meat left to marinate at least for a day in a mix of garlic, wine vinegar and bay leaf, and then cooked in that same sauce), and ‘picado’ (small pieces of beef fried with garlic and red peppers, served in one big dish surrounded by thinly cut chips. Everybody eats out of the same dish with a fork or a wooden toothpick (picar = pick)).

Hotels
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