Madeira and Porto Santo will reopen to tourism on the 1st of July. From 1 July 2020, the date on
With Carnival right around the corner, this blog post will inform you of all the activities and festivities around Carnival on Madeira! Madeira Carnival festivities offer a variety of activities that you can choose from, with the option to enjoy them as a simple spectator, or as an active participant. On Madeira, the Carnival season is experienced in a constant festive atmosphere, both with official initiatives and those of a more spontaneous character, deep-rooted in Madeiran tradition. With joy and cheerfulness dominating the streets, the period between February 19 and March 1 is surely one of the most cheerful and festive periods of the year. Carnival officially begins on the Friday before Lent (21/02/2020) and only ends on Shrove Tuesday. During this period, intense and contagious liveliness will take the whole island by storm. It is one of Madeira’s liveliest festivals. Funchal wakes up on Friday morning to the sound of brass bands and carnival parades. They bring their good humour to the whole downtown area, which is then continued at night with concerts and shows in the Praça do Município for five consecutive days. On Saturday night (22/02/2020), it’s time for the great procession of floats to come out into the street. After following their traditional route through the city, they concentrate on the Praça do Município. Here, there will be loads of singing and dancing in a magical atmosphere of music and merrymaking. On the day of the Carnival itself (Shrove Tuesday), Funchal explodes in a great outpouring of happiness and cheerfulness. In the afternoon, irreverent cheerleaders from all over the world parade in front of the crowd who are in turn infected by this atmosphere of playful caricature. This marks the start of the popular parade. Throughout this period, the streets of Funchal are decorated with patterns
With Carnival right around the corner, this blog post will inform you of all the activities and festivities around Carnival
Get to know some lesser-known fantastic “Hidden Treasures” on Madeira island. Madeira is known for various special reasons. There are loads of different things that can be seen or visited on the island. Obviously, there are certain very famous places like the Old town of Funchal, the Farmer’s Market, Cabo Girão, the “25 fountains” walk, and so on. Of course, these places are not famous for no reason. However, there are also lots of hidden treasures on Madeira that are lesser-known fantastic locations that everyone who visits Madeira should have seen at least once before they go back home! These locations are true “Hidden gems” as they offer sometimes even more beautiful experiences than the well-known locations. They are often cheaper or completely free, whereas at other places you may have to pay an entry fee. We will show you some of these hidden gems on Madeira and where you can find them! Fajã dos Padres & the ‘Panoramic Lift’ We start off our list with a very remarkable village between Ribeira Brava and Funchal with only one access point to the mainland. A Cable car! Very close to Exit 3 of the Via Rápida, you will find a cable car station at a height of about 250 meters above sea level. With a 4-minute descent down the huge cliff via the near-vertical cable car you will then enter Fajã dos Padres, this village is only accessible by the cable car, or by boat. The village has a beach where you can swim in the ocean and a nice restaurant. There are various little cottages with a fantastic view over the sea that can be rented here if you are looking for a cosy, yet quiet place to stay. The cable car itself has a panoramic window that allows you
Get to know some lesser-known fantastic “Hidden Treasures” on Madeira island. Madeira is known for various special reasons. There are
Madeira walking routes and "Levadas" are world-famous for their beauty, but why is this? One of the best ways to explore Madeira’s fantastic nature is on foot. On Madeira, you can walk along beautiful “Levadas” or conquer mountain paths or go hiking. All in all, there are different types of walking paths for every sort of walker, whether you like to take a heavy hike, are someone that doesn’t have the best physical condition or whether you are someone who likes to just explore new and beautiful sights, Madeira has it all. What is a Levada? We were talking about the so called “Levadas”, but before we can show you some of the most beautiful Levada walks, you must first understand what a Levada is. Levadas are narrow irrigation channels which can be found all over the island in a cleverly designed network. They are a sort of maintenance paths built as far back as the 16th century by locals, and they were and are still used to irrigate pieces of land. Nowadays, they are still used for this reason, but they are also used to show tourists the most beautiful landscapes and views of the island. They lead through fertile farmlands with sugar cane, banana trees and vineyards, but also through the mountains to disperse the rainwater that falls in the peaks of the center of the island to all parts of the island. The paths go past cascading waterfalls and gorges but also steep cliffs. The subtropical vegetation of the Laurissilva forest in the mostly untouched valleys of the north is also filled with sprawling Levadas. Here, these paths lead you through the middle of the densely packed forest and then, occasionally, offer you a brief sight into a valley and towards the sea. The unique Levada walks
Madeira walking routes and “Levadas” are world-famous for their beauty, but why is this? One of the best ways to
With Christmas right around the corner, what other way to theme our first blog post than the festive season and the Christmas Spirit on Madeira? During the month of December, the island of Madeira will be completely transformed into a decorated piece of art, and the Chrismas spirit on Madeira will be felt all over. As soon as the normal daily life ends and the moon takes place for the sun, almost everywhere you go, whether it is in Funchal or pretty much anywhere else on the island, you will find beautiful decorative lights that truly transform the streets into a cosy place to stay. Your whole body will be filled with warm feelings as soon as it gets dark and that feeling will not go away until you leave to go home again. Traditional Madeiran Food & Drinks Madeira is known worldwide not only for the Christmas lights that invade all the parishes of the island and especially the streets of the centre of Funchal but also for the traditions that remain from year to year. Taste our traditional delights like Honey cake, honey cookies, fennel candies, chicken soup, cherry sour in chocolate cups, liquors made with the exotic fruits grown on the island, Madeira Wine and the famous Poncha. You can find all of these in stalls all over the island during the festive month. Recipe Bolo do Mel - Madeiran Honey Cake Ingredients: 45g or 1/3 cup finely chopped raisins, dates, or cranberries 45g or 1/3 cup finely chopped almonds 250g or 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided 45g or 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts 1tsp baking soda ¼ tsp ground cloves 113g or ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature ¼ tsp ground cinnamon 55g or ¼ cup vegetable shortening ¼ tsp ground star anise 85g or
With Christmas right around the corner, what other way to theme our first blog post than the festive season and
