If this is your first trip to Madeira the best advice I can offer is to plan your days out carefully. Although Madeira is only 54km long, the winding roads will take you 2-3 times as long as they would elsewhere. Also, if you are not inclined to hire a car or take a day trip, you can easily fill a week in Funchal through eating, shopping, the odd cafe, museums, taking the cable car, people watching, etc...

The AA's guide to Madeira have - in my mind - one of the best "must do" lists of visits for a short stay in Madeira. They are....

• Spend a day in Funchal
• Visit the Adegas de São Francisco wine lodge and learn the history of Madeira wine (Funchal, Avenida Arriaga 28)
• Make sure you have a meal in Funchal Old Town
• Ride on the Cable Car and then take a wicker basket ride back down (pick the cable car up close to the Old Town)
• Drive to the top of Pico do Arieiro about an hour before dusk (stay for the sunset and view the stars)
• Visit the Quinta do Palheiro (Blandy's Garden 8km east of Funchal)
• Take a Levada walk
• Drive from São Vicente to Porto Moniz (offers spectacular views from coast to tunnels)
• Join a village festival (there is just about one a month around the island)
• Take a trip to Curral das Freiras (a hidden valley among the peaks of the central Madeiran mountains)
• Visit the Whaling Museum at Caniçal (one of the last whaling centres in Europe, now a conservation museum)

Madeira Wine Rally 31st July to 2nd August 2008
Rally cars not a drinking tour! Famous names from the world of motor racing will come to this major event which attracts around 90 competitors.

Camacha Art Festival 8th to 12th August 2008
The typical parish of Camacha will hold the 20th edition of the Art Festival called “Art Camacha 2008”, a festival which is entirely devoted to local traditions.

Machico Gastronomy Week 1st to 10th August 2008
With the objective of promoting the Region’s gastronomy, and this area in particular, this feast is held in Machico (East of the island above Santa Cruz).

Monte Festival 14th to 15th August 2008
This is considered the main religious folk festival in the region and it is also commemorated around the world by the Madeirans

Festival, 5th to 7th Sept 2008
Celebrating the social and economic importance of Madeira wine, the Madeira Wine Festival is held in September during the grape harvest, going back to the old customs since the island was first settled.

FIFF - Funchal International Film Festival, 7th to 15th November 2008
The 4th edition of the International Film Festival of Funchal, FIFF-Madeira, will be held at the Baltazar Dias Municipal Theatre, from 7th to 15th November. The main aim of the FIFF is to publicise quality cinematography as yet unknown to the people of Madeira.

Carnival, 21st to 24th February 2009
The Carnival, or Mardi Gras, celebrations in Madeira involve a fantastic parade of floats the Saturday before Shrove Tuesday and remain an essentially folk festival.
View from Paul de Serra
Botanical Gardens, Funchal
House in Santana
Pico do Arieiro
I would like to add to this page with your events, experiences and photographs. Please email me your pics and a few supporting words to mark@madeira-lets.com. I will load them and give you a credit.