Madeira, an island located on the south west coast of Portugal, is an archipelago known around the world for its marvellous landscapes, a wide variety of flowers, Madeira wine, annual New Year celebrations and also for being the birthplace of the renowned football icon Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo hails from the neighbourhood of San Antonio in Funchal, one of the main urban centres on the island.
It attracts approximately a million tourists per year not only because of the scenery and culture it offers but also majorly for being one of the safest travel destinations in the world, virtually deemed as crime free. The Island has located almost a 1000 kilometres away from the European continent and about 500 km away from the African coast with a 90 min flight separating it from mainland Portugal.
Funchal is the largest city in the autonomous island of Madeira with a square area of above a thousand kilometres and a growing population of more than a hundred thousand people. It is a rejuvenated city, famous for its luxury hotels, warm climate all year round, beautiful gardens, appealing coastline and top class restaurants. It happens to be the main tourist attraction on the island because of the numerous activities it offers like cliff diving, surfing on the waves, paragliding over the coast, swimming with dolphins, taking long day walks along the coast and into the woods or fancying a round of golf in the multiple courses the city is host to.
Rich and assorted fruit is an inherent feature of Madeira and it is the major reason for the main market (Mercado Dos Lavradores) is distinguished. It is a historic building with a patio that is lined up with vendors selling different fruits like Madeiran mangoes, bananas, philodendres and even a wide variety of freshly caught fish. A historical tradition that Funchal is very famous for is the Flower Festival that takes place in every spring, with multiple parades of people in flower costumes, ending up with children placing their flowers on a huge wall to form one big flower.
Often referred to as the ‘Floating garden in the Atlantic’, Madeira is distinguished for its natural beauty. However, it is also host to numerous gardens and parks that are perfectly maintained and exhibit beautiful flowers throughout the year. Funchal received a gold award for the ‘most beautiful flowering city of 2000’, an honor that is contested by the leading cities of Europe but was deservedly handed to the capital city of Madeira.
Museums also add to the beauty and tradition of this magnificent archipelago, with many of them exhibiting great historic events of the island in chronological order, from its volcanic birth millions of years ago to the first hydroplane landing in the island. It also hosts to quite a few splendid churches like the Se Cathedral, a structure with an interior that features Flemish paintings and an embellish ceiling carved from wood, and the Holy Trinity Church, a church that lies within a walled garden with plants and that also holds a compelling dome.
Arguably the main attractions for tourists are the Christmas and New Year celebrations that take place in Madeira. It starts off with multiple cultural and folk events which feature musical and dance shows. Towards the end of December, the city gets illuminated by colourful lights that are set up in every street. Celebrated across various hotels, restaurants and bars, the main attraction on New Year’s Eve are the huge fireworks that are set off from almost 50 different posts on the island which then decorate the dark sky with multiple colours, a mesmerizing sight that promises to bring back the tourists.
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