Welcome to Madeira, the island of fortified wine and footballing legacy

The first thing you’ll notice on arrival is Funchal’s airport, the recently renamed Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport is often considered one of the most dangerous to land due to the runaway being built on stilts over the sea, with planes having to make a sharp turn prior to landing and pilots even having to take on additional flight training.

A hotspot for culture and nature

The island of Madeira situated off the African coast, is an autonomous region and is one of Portugal’s most visited destinations with Funchal being the country’s 6^th most populous city, there is an abundance of history and culture and is visited by foodies due to the local delicacies such as terrifying black scabbard fish being a favourite of the locals, preferably to later be washed down with some Madeira wine such as Blandy’s. Wine production has been a part of the island’s history for centuries and tourists can attend various tours to learn about the making process and of course have some to taste.

Madeira is also a great destination for nature lovers, highlights include the Laurissilva forest and is an ancient forest from the Tertiary period, there are many rare bird species living there such as the Madeira Freira petrel. The forest is part of the wider Madeira Nature Reserve and with the island having a sub tropic climate throughout the year, the range of flora and fauna are extensive. The botanical gardens can be accessed via cable car and provides a beautiful view of Funchal. The gardens are part of the Bom Sucesso Estate and is open to the public, there’s even a small museum on natural history. To return to lower ground, people can take a toboggan ride which consists of going down via a sled made of wicker, with Carreiros doing the steering and breaking on your behalf.

Ronaldo’s influence on the island

Obviously, Madeira’s biggest star is Cristiano Ronaldo, the footballer started his career at CF Andorinha in regional Portuguese football whilst still a youth player, he then moved on to the larger Madeiran team Nacional before making his first senior appearances for Lisbon side Sporting CP. Back home Madeira has a museum dedicated to the striker, including some of his awards such as the FIFA Ballon d’Or and Golden Boot…to boot. In addition to Nacional, Madeira has two additional professional teams in the form of Maritimo and União da Madeira.

Due to the island’s location surrounded by the warm sea, there are many tour operators for whale and dolphin watching, with many species such as the bottlenose and short-finned pilot whale. There is also a port serving the island, making it a popular destination for cruisers from all over the world with Cruise Critic providing a list of the best cruises to Madeira available for 2018.

To get to Madeira visitors can fly from Manchester via Jet2 and easyJet, with flights London Gatwick Airport being provided by British Airways. To keep to up date with the latest travel deals, follow Cadiza for travel inspiration, news and destinations.

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