Madeira and Porto Santo (Cadogan Guide Madeira & Porto Santo)

Madeira and Porto Santo (Cadogan Guide Madeira & Porto Santo)

by RodneyBolt (Author)

Synopsis

With its dramatic scenery and unique Portuguese and British history, the semi-tropical island of Madeira is one of Europe's best-kept secrets. From arid mountaintops to verdant forests, from sleepy coastal villages to hidden art treasures, this comprehensive new guide explores all the corners that can easily be missed. It brings to life the culture and characters that informed the island's past and shaped its present. Each year Madeira's flora and spectacular landscape attracts thousands of tourists and hikers. Cadogan's guide has a special color flower-viewing section and outlines the most beautiful and peaceful hikes. If visitors want to wander further afield, the guide includes a section on Porto Santo, Madeira's own desert island and the only place to find a stretch of beach; and the Desertas, rocky outcrops inhabited only by rare plants and birds. Sample the best Madeira wine in Funchal; taste the delicious regional specialties, seafood, and fruit; and shop for world-famous embroidery and wickerwork. With Cadogan, visitors will uncover untold delights from the jacaranda-lined avenues of Funchal to the harsh beauty of the craggy coastline--contrasts that only enhance this unique island. o Divides the island up into regions to give full coverage to all the villages and sights where the architecture changes dramatically within just a few mileso Our discerning author picks out the best places to stay, eat, drink, and shopo Practical, reliable advice on prices, tours, train, and bus information, walking routes in the rugged interior, and details of festivals

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 232
Edition: 3rd Revised edition
Publisher: Cadogan Guides
Published: 13 Jun 2003

ISBN 10: 1860111041
ISBN 13: 9781860111044

Media Reviews
'Here is a rarity: a guide book written with wit, humour and passion.' - The Independent on Sunday (on Cadogan's Portugal)
Author Bio
Rodney Bolt has written the Cadogan guides to Amsterdam, Germany and Bavaria. He fell in love with Madeira several years ago and has been a frequent visitor since then. Gets to the heart of the island's unique mix of Portugese and British culture - visits Porto Santo, Madeira's own unspoiled desert island - Gets lost in the cobbled Old Town of Funchal, exploring markets, wine lodges and verdant gardens - goes on a shopping trip for locally made embroidery, wickerwork and Madeira wine - takes day trips to the volcanic ravine of Curral das Freiras, and Camara de Lobos, the fishing village where Churchill went to paint 'Most of Madeira is made up of soft, reddish-brown tufa, with occasional pillars of dark basalt. Tufa, as one traveller pointed out, can be cut as smoothly and precisely as cheese. You'll see roads sliced out of vertical cliffs, mountains carved into tiny terraces, and goat-sheds scooped out of the hillsides'