Lusso Travel Ltd, No. 1 Glasshouse - 1LG1,
Alderley Park, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, SK10 4TG
With its subtropical climate warmed by the Gulf Stream, Madeira is Portugal’s own floating garden, where sea cliffs rise vertically from the seething Atlantic and carpets of green cover sharp basalt peaks and bottomless gorges.
Geologically dramatic, bursting with exotic colour and warmed year-round by the Atlantic sun, Madeira is Portugal’s most enchanting island outpost.
Crammed with one of the most exotic collections of plant life in Europe, the capital’s colourful botanical garden is one of the best in the whole world.
For a glimpse into the lives of Madeira’s well-to-do from the 15th to 19th centuries, visit Quinta das Cruzes, Funchal’s best-preserved manor house.
Gourmets may guffaw at the unusual combination but no dish is more typically Madeiran than scabbard fish with banana, a staple of menus right across the island.
Sister island Porto Santo boasts one of Europe’s finest golden-sand beaches, while a boat trip to the remote Desertas Islands offers the chance to spot whales, dolphins and rare monk seals.
A great way to explore Madeira is to hike the island’s famous levadas – 2,500 kilometres of irrigation channels built to carry water from the mountains to the farms, fields and villages below. Alternatively, make the serpentine drive from Ribeira Brava in the south to São Vicente in the north over the razorback spine of the island, enjoying views along the way of Pico Ruivo, at 1,861 metres, Madeira’s highest mountain.
The capital, Funchal, is a great place to base yourself, home to the island’s best markets, museums, restaurants, bars, gardens and galleries. Be sure to take the cable car from the Zona Velha up to Monte, Funchal’s aristocratic villa quarter, where visitors can participate in one of Portugal’s more peculiar traditions – skidding down the city’s steep streets in a wicker toboggan, steered by men in traditional straw boaters.
Travel back in time with a stay at this colonial-style Grand Dame, where the likes of Sir Winston Churchill once sat penning his memoirs, and where Europe’s social elite descended for sunshine and sea air. Set on a clifftop above the Bay of Funchal, the hotel’s vantage point provides a magical atmosphere, with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean.