Madeira Holidays

View all our Madeira holidays.

Discover the ‘Floating Garden' of Madeira

Sitting out in the Atlantic with only its little sister island, Porto Santo, for company, Madeira is one of those slightly out-of-the-way places that we urge you to discover. This lush, peaceful island has a temperate climate and some really quite stunning scenery, both inland and around its dramatic coastline. Winston Churchill used to come here to paint whilst Christopher Columbus was shipwrecked here (on Porto Santo in fact) and liked it so much he married the governor's daughter!

Funchal lies at the end of a beautiful bay and rises up the hillside in tiers. The Parque de Santa Catarina overlooks the harbour with views over the whole town. The main avenue and the surrounding tiny cobbled streets are filled with embroidery shops, wine lodges, restaurants, cafés and bars. Additional sights include the Museum of Sacred Art, the Quinta Magnolia, the cathedral and the produce market. Whatever you do, do sample the local Madeira wine and, if it appeals, why not take tea at Reid's Hotel?

Sitting at an altitude of nearly 1,800ft, Monte is a country resort, set amidst magnificent lush vegetation, which gives it a welcoming cool climate. It is the site of the pilgrimage church of Nossa Senhora do Monte, as well as the starting point for the famous 'Carros de Cesta' (wickerwork toboggans).

Due to the fact this predominantly agricultural island is largely unfit for cultivation the inhabitants set about forming thousands of expertly cultivated terraces on the hillsides on which to grow their crops. The island's agricultural prosperity however, is as a result of its ‘levadas', a complex network of irrigation channels which hug the hillsides.

The whole island of Madeira is a mass of flowers. Every hillside and garden is filled with hydrangeas, bougainvillaeas, fuchsias and geraniums; and certain species of plant, particularly orchids and strelitzias (Birds of Paradise) are grown for export. Plant lovers should visit the Botanical Gardens and the Worker's Market in Funchal where the flower sellers dress in traditional costume.