Because it is one of the Atlantic's most beautiful islands — a green volcanic mountain rising from the sea, with a mild year-round climate, dramatic peaks and the UNESCO Laurisilva forest. Madeira offers superb walking along its levada channels, the handsome capital of Funchal, its famous fortified wine, and an old-world, gentle style of travel rare in Europe today.

Is Madeira good for a beach holiday?

Not in the usual sense — Madeira's coast is mostly cliff and rock, with sea pools and a few pebble or man-made beaches rather than long sand. For golden sand, the neighbouring island of Porto Santo, a short ferry or flight away, has a famous beach. Madeira itself is better for walking, scenery, gardens and wine than for lying on a beach.

What is there to do in Madeira?

Walk the levada channels and the Laurisilva forest; climb or drive to the peaks of Pico Ruivo and Areeiro above the clouds; explore Funchal, its market, the Monte cable car and toboggan, and the Madeira wine lodges; and head out for whale-watching, canyoning or the sea pools at Porto Moniz. It is an island for the active and the curious.

When is the best time to visit Madeira?

Any time — Madeira's subtropical climate is mild all year, which is much of its appeal. Spring (April to June) is loveliest for flowers and the Flower Festival; summer is warm and busy; autumn quieter with the harvest; and winter mild and bright, with the spectacular New Year fireworks over Funchal. The sunny south is drier than the green north year-round.

Boutique Hotels in Madeira, Portugal

The island, and Funchal

Madeira packs a great deal into a small space. Funchal, the capital, holds most of the island's life — a handsome old town tumbling down to a working harbour, the Mercado dos Lavradores market, the cable car up to Monte and its tropical garden, and the famous wicker toboggan ride back down. It is also the home of Madeira wine, the fortified wine made here for centuries, and the lodges where it is aged and tasted. Most visitors base in or near Funchal and explore out from there.

Beyond the capital, the island is mountains and coast. The interior rises to the bare peaks of Pico Ruivo and Pico do Areeiro, often above the clouds; the north coast is wilder and wetter, with the laurel forest and dramatic sea cliffs; and scattered villages, banana terraces and the natural sea pools at Porto Moniz give the rest of the island its character. The tiny neighbouring island of Porto Santo, a short ferry away, has the one thing Madeira lacks — a long golden-sand beach.

Walking, wine and where to stay

Madeira is one of Europe's great walking islands, and the levadas are the heart of it. These centuries-old irrigation channels run for hundreds of miles around the contours of the mountains, their maintenance paths now a network of walks from gentle strolls to serious hikes — through the UNESCO Laurisilva forest, along cliff edges, to hidden waterfalls. The high-mountain route between Pico do Areeiro and Pico Ruivo is the classic, a walk above the clouds; the island is also good for canyoning, mountain biking, and whale and dolphin watching off the coast.

The food and wine are part of the pleasure — fresh fish, the black scabbardfish, espetada beef grilled on laurel skewers, bolo do caco bread, and Madeira wine and rum to follow. For where to stay, the club's choice on the island is Quinta da Bela Vista, a family-owned manor-house hotel above Funchal in twenty-five thousand square metres of botanical garden, the kind of old-world quinta that suits the island's gentle, traditional character.

When to go

Madeira's nickname, the island of eternal spring, is earned: the climate is mild and subtropical all year, with sea temperatures that rarely swing far and warm days even in winter. There is no true off-season. Spring and early summer, roughly April to June, bring the flowers at their best and the famous Flower Festival; high summer is warm, busy and good for the sea and the walking, though the peaks can be cloudy. Autumn stays warm and quieter, with the wine harvest; and winter is mild and bright, popular with travellers escaping the northern cold, and home to one of the world's great New Year firework displays over Funchal Bay. The north is always wetter than the sunny south, whenever you come.