Unforgettable tours to modern Portugal: Madeira Island, interesting for tourists

One of the most beautiful islands on earth is called Madeira. It is also an archipelago that is part of Portugal, however, one thousand kilometers away from it.

Twice as close from Madeira to the African continent. The Madeira archipelago is part of the European Union in the form of an exclusive territory, remote from other countries at a great distance.

Long before the trip, many tourists book a car in Portugal online to get a favorable rental rate, see more attractions and not depend on tour groups. In Lisbon, the cost of a compact class car starts from 15 euros per day, in Faro the cost is about the same - from 14 euros per day.

It includes two inhabited islands - Porto Santo and Madeira, and several uninhabited ones. If you have not yet decided where to celebrate the New Year in Portugal, by all means pay attention to Madeira, and you will never regret it.

When the navigator and traveler Joao Gonçalves Zarco set out to explore the coast of Africa from the western part, his ship was caught in a storm. And soon landed on the islands. So the discovery of Madeira was due to bad weather, and it happened in 1419.

The island immediately got its name, which in translation into Russian sounds like a “tree”. The sailors gave it such a name for the large number of trees that covered the entire space of the island with dense growth.

The Portuguese went to critical measures: in order to free Madeira from abundant vegetation, it was simply set on fire. The fires lasted for seven long years. But after that it could be easily colonized, which was done.

Madeira has its own capital called Funchal. Despite the fact that an incredible number of representatives of various nationalities live in it, crime is very low here. So low that you can say it does not exist at all.

Since Madeira lies in the path of ships sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, a lot of them come to Funchal. Due to such a high popularity, the city has developed quite intensively over the centuries, and today it has a large number of places for a variety of entertainment, many hotels, attractions, cozy parks, and beaches.

The most important reason for the pride of the local population is the name of the Franciscan Monastery. It was built in the 16th century and is a well-preserved architectural monument of that time. It is in this monastery that the world-famous Madeira is made to this day. Tourists get the opportunity to take a tour of the tasting room, try out the best varieties of Portuguese wine, and also buy a couple of bottles of Madeira home.

Another unique building in Madeira is the Se Cathedral, which is made of real (but, of course, frozen) lava and decorated with intricate carvings of ivory and precious woods. There is an amazing Embroidery Factory in the capital, as well as an excellent fish market where you can buy literally any kind of seafood. The main city of Madeira is famous for its beautiful botanical gardens and the church of Santa Clara of the 16th century.

The island of Porto Santo, in turn, pleases vacationers with its amazing beauty and unique healing properties of golden beach sand. Unfortunately, there is no road connection between Madeira and Porto Santo, but ferries and small planes fly here regularly.