The island of Madeira is characterised by rugged terrain, lush greenery and a range of different micro-climates. These factors combine to create unique and diverse landscapes.
A tour of the island shows soaring cliffs overlooking the Atlantic and small bays; along the route you will find luxuriant vegetation, banana plantations and vineyards.
The villages are charming and reveal a great concern to preserve traditions and respect local cultures.
Tourism, which developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, attracted European aristocracy and made the island a tourism destination of excellence. With mild temperatures, averaging between 18 and 25 ºC, the island of Madeira has hotels of the highest quality and leisure infrastructure to meet the approval of the most demanding visitors.
A bit of history:
Discovered one year after Porto Santo, Madeira (“wood”) was given this name due to the abundance of trees on the island.
Early settlers based their subsistence economy in fish and horticultural products, but soon realised that they needed to develop the island’s agriculture.
They cut down the dense forest that characterised the island and built water channels, the famous “levadas”, to bring the abundant water from the north coast to the south side of the island.
To start with, they introduced small-scale crops, of which sugar cane became the most important, ensuring the economic prosperity of the town of Funchal. The Crown, aware of the strategic importance of this crop, brought slaves and mills from Africa and the production of “white gold” began to be exported to Europe.
In the second half of the 15th century, the town of Funchal was already a mandatory port of call, and it became increasingly important in the 17th century with the production of what would become one of the island’s main attractions: Madeira wine. At this time, English merchants came and opened new establishments, leaving their mark on the local culture. The foundations were created for what would become one of the most desirable tourist destinations in Portugal.