Wow, what a panorama! Funchal spreads out deep below us. A sea of houses and lush gardens flowing down steep hills to the large harbor with its snow-white cruise ships. We stand breathlessly on the terrace of the pilgrimage church "Nossa Senhora do Monte", and it's not because of the 70 or so steps we have scrambled up here. The view of the dramatic, 600-metre-high Cabo Girão cliff on the edge of Madeira's capital was worth every step and the walk through the steep alleyways of Monte. A Madeira vacation has fantastic views to offer - but much more besides!
Even Sisi sought healing here
To this day, pretty Wilhelminian-style villas in lush gardens show that the mountain village above Funchal was a popular climatic health resort until the Second World War, where Empress Sisi sought healing. And Austria's last emperor, Charles I, even found his final resting place in a simple wooden sarcophagus in the pilgrimage church above the village. It is also from here that the world-famous basket sledges set off on their adventurous ride through the winding streets down to Funchal. A sleigh ride like this is a must on a Madeira vacation!
We prefer to descend to the world-famous Jardim Botanico, another highlight of our Madeira vacation. The island's floral diversity is beautifully laid out on large terraces. Azaleas, amaryllis, strelitzia and countless other flowers compete with the fantastic views from here. We can't get enough of this panorama even on the final cable car ride down to the city, although our eyes do occasionally wander curiously into living room windows that pass quite close by to the right and left.
Madeira vacation in dreamlike flowerbeds
Once downstairs, we stroll along the wide Avenida do Mar promenade. Here, too, flowerbeds and blossoming trees line our path. In view of this splendor, it is almost unbelievable that Madeira's explorer João Gonçalves Zarco was afraid of the island when he discovered it by chance in 1418. The Portuguese navigator thought he was looking into the mouth of hell when he saw the volcanic island. And even the name Madeira (Portuguese: wood) does not necessarily suggest a paradise.
In fact, the mountainous island was originally almost completely overgrown with forest. It was hard work to transform it into today's climate-spoiled "paradise island" in the Atlantic with its exuberant flowers and fields of vines, fruit and vegetables. We get an impression of this at the miradouro (viewpoint) above Cabo Girão. Through a glass floor, we marvel at the fan-shaped vegetable patches in the steep rock. It was once an arduous walk to the fields, which lie almost 600 meters below, but fortunately today a cable car takes the farmers there.
The longest water pipeline in the world
The levadas, narrow stone channels that transport water from the north to the drier south, also bear witness to the laborious reclamation process. At around 2,150 kilometers, they form the longest water pipeline in the world. You can hike along many of them, such as the Levada da Serra near Santo da Serra. We follow it for a while, alternating between wild laurel forest and bright azaleas, until we reach the Portela Pass, from where terraced fields spread out to the north coast.
Most of the bathing opportunities can be found in the north; Madeira has few beaches. Here you will find the sea basins of Seixal, Porto Moniz or Ponta Delgada or the bay of Prainha. On the fashionable promenade of the fishing village of Jardim do Mar, where the waves crash powerfully against the seawall, we experience just how strong the Atlantic can be. In the town's cozy restaurants, you can sample the delicious scabbardfish caught just off the coast. And the terraces on the promenade are the perfect place to watch the sun set over the sea. A unique Madeira vacation - we sweeten it with a glass of Madeira wine.