| ABOUT MADEIRA |
| Madeira: Madeira Islands is one of Europe’s most beautiful travel locations and has many visitors each year, and has some great landscapes, gardens, flowers, and sublime tropical climate, all year round. |
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| Family Holidays: Equipped with quality infrastructures for a pleasant, unforgettable stay, Madeira Islands boast excellent hotels, offering baby-sitting services and kids clubs, as well as |  |
| interesting leisure facilities, namely Madeira Story Centre, Madeira Magic and Santana Theme Park. |
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Youth Holidays: Madeira Islands offer a wide range of sports activities, within a small area, ranging from traditional activities, such as tennis and golf to more extreme sports, such as paragliding, canyoning and rappel. Karting in a mountain valley and paragliding over the ocean are other appealing offers.
Bring your friends along for an experience beyond your wildest imagination! |
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Senior Holidays: In Madeira, time stands still!
The unchanged nature, temperate climate and extreme tranquillity and safety of the islands allow for quiet and comforting holidays. A great number of cultural, sports and leisure activities are available, to meet the tastes and abilities of all visitors. |
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 | Romantic Holidays:
Madeira Islands are a paradise destination for couples, whether going for a romantic weekend or a honeymoon. Come experience romance and fall in love with Madeira! Visit Porto Santo Island, |
| with its delicate golden beach, is a delight to visitors, inviting them to swim and relax in the warm sea. |
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| A TASTE OF MADEIRA |
| The simple food enjoyed in Madeira Islands reflects the soul of a simple but generous people. Nevertheless, great varieties of local products are available, as well as multitude of local, international and gourmet dishes. |
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| Owing to their proximity to the sea, most restaurants specialise in fish and shellfish dishes, of which grilled limpets, octopus and shrimp dishes, tuna steaks and black scabbard fish fillets are just a few examples. |  |
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Another irresistible meal is the beef kebab, on laurel wood skewers, served with fried corn and the typical “bolo-do-caco”, with garlic butter. Homemade couscous, wheat soup, homemade bread made with sweet potato and meat marinated in garlic and wine are also very popular dishes. Madeira Island also boasts a rich confectionery tradition, with special emphasis on the most typical Madeira confection, the traditional “Honey Cake”, a true Christmas symbol in Madeira.
Natural fruit juices, such as passion fruit, papaya, guava, mango and lemon juices, constitute delicious drink options as well as the famous “poncha”, made with white rum, bee honey and lemon. |
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Madeira is known as a genuinewinemaker’s paradise! Enjoyed all over the world, this "nectar" is one of the most distinctive features of the island of Madeira. Between meals or as an accompaniment to dessert, there are few who can resist the Malvasia wine. It is a sweet, full-bodied wine with an intense perfume and deep red colour.
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| MUST VISIT |
| Madeira's Museums The Island’s numerous museums, found mainly in the capital, are bursting with artefacts revealing the history of this archipelago. From paintings, sculpture, gold and silverware, to jewellery and furniture, there’s so much to see. |
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 | For paintings, try the Museum of Sacred Art – where there is an outstanding collection of Flemish art - and theMuseum of Contemporary Art.
The Museu da Quinta das Cruzes and the Casa Museu Frederico de Freitasspecialise in religious art, old furniture |
and the traditional Portuguese decorative tiles known as azulejos.
Visit the Madeira Wine Museum and the Museum of the City of Sugar. The museum’s collection includes letters from famous personalities, documents from the British companies that founded the Madeira Wine Company, books, utensils, a 17th century wine press and antique machinery. There is also a bar where visitors can taste and buy wine. |
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| Madeira's Monuments As far as the island’s historical heritage is concerned, there are various places of interest, especially museums, churches, chapels and fortresses, mainly in the city of Funchal. Amongst other places meriting a visit is the Cathedral (Se), Church of the Jesuit College/Church of St. John the |  |
Evangelist, St. Peter’s Church, Socorro Church, Carmo Church, Santa Luzia Church, Encarnacao Chapel, Santa Clara Convent, St. Lawrence’s Fort or Palace.
The island’s architectural heritage is also an important part of the region’s supply of tourist accommodation. You can stay in one of Madeira’s famous quintas, country estates that were formerly the residences of princes and aristocrats, or perhaps you might prefer to stay in one of the old manor-houses. |
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| LAURISSILVA FOREST The Laurissilva Forest, on the island of Madeira, is one of the largest and best-preserved forests of its kind in the world. With many different and unique species, it’s been classified by UNESCO as a Human Heritage site. The trees & shrubs never |  |
shed their leaves and a luxuriant green covers the slopes and deep valleys in the island’s interior. The extremely plentiful water supply is contained in the “levadas”, channels that irrigate the fields and supply the towns.
You can walk through the forest along these deep tracks, likened to being in an immense green cathedral. |
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| STAY UPDATED |
 | Madeira and Porto Santo and the uninhabited Selvagens and Desertas Islands make up integrate the Madeira Archipelago, which was discovered by the Portuguese in 1418. This archipelago is located in Atlantic Ocean, 500 km from the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from Europe. |
| This archipelago, included in the bio-geographic region of Macaronesia, retains a natural heritage of great scientific value, distinguished by UNESCO as World Natural Heritage. |
| The mild climate enjoyed all year, the many leisure activities available, the quality and efficiency of services and the privileged location of the island, close to the European continent, are key factors which makes Madeira Islands an ideal choice for the organization of the most varied events, congresses and meetings. |
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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 | ATLANTIC FESTIVAL
Saturday, 8th – Saturday, 29th June, 2013
The Atlantic Festival is an important event that combines entertainment and culture. |
This festival presents high-quality classical and erudite music at some of the region’s most emblematic venues, such as Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias, Casa das Mudas in Calheta and a number of churches.
The Festival has acquired even greater artistic importance with the introduction in recent years of the International Fireworks Competition, in which contestants organise firework displays to accompany the music on June Saturdays. Take advantage of this opportunity to come and visit Madeira when it is in festive mood. |
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RALLY VINHO DA MADEIRA
Thursday, 1st – Saturday, 3rd August, 2013
The European Rally Championship is hosted in the spectacular landscapes of the island of Madeira in August. |
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| The European Rally Championship is the oldest international competition organised by FIA (the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile), and includes 10 events in 10 European countries. The Madeira Wine rally is one of the most important events in the |  |
| championship and is the region’s biggest automobile event, attracting thousands of spectators to mountainous areas in search of a better place to watch the vehicles as they thunder by. |
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COLUMBUS FESTIVAL
Thursday, 19th - Saturday, 21st September, 2013
In September, Vila Baleira devotes a festival to the navigator Christopher Columbus, who passed through this island and spent several years of his life living here. |
 | This festival is designed to remind people of Columbus’ time in the Madeira Archipelago, during the course of his voyages to the American continent, as well as the whole epic story of the period of the Discoveries. |
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| Music, exhibitions, street entertainment and a historical parade recreate the medieval atmosphere of Columbus’ disembarkation with his companions on the town’s quay. The festivities serve to make this week a truly "historic" one. |
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| ENHANCE YOUR PORTUGAL TOURS |
For this month, we have provided a few ideas to enhance your tour itineraries for Madeira:
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| Beaches of Madeira: In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by water on all sides, Madeira is a charming garden where you can swim and enjoy the sea all year round. Due to the steep slopes on |  |
the island, which terminate in abrupt cliffs, the beaches are like pontoons. The sea is calm and clear, delighting those who appreciate nature.
Another way to enjoy the very blue sea is to take a cruise along the coast. These fascinating trips can last for just one day and during the trip you can swim, sunbathe and fish. |
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Sports Lovers The mild climate of Madeira is ideal for the practice of all kinds of sports, leisure and outdoors activities, at any time of the year.
Many options are available, including water, land and aerial sports, ranging from relaxing activities to traditional and extreme sports: |
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 | Sea lovers: will benefit from the warm sea currents, with temperatures ranging between 19� and 24�C, ideal for snorkelling, diving, sailing, surfing, windsurfing and sport fishing, all year round. |
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| Paragliding or hang-gliding: over the island, canyoning to discover the heart of the mountains, climbing the highest peaks, embarking on an all-terrain adventure, feeling the adrenaline rush while riding a jet-ski, or simply enjoying the sheer freedom of kitesurfing, are some of the sporting experiences available to visitors. |  |
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| Golf, trekking and hiking: are excellent alternatives for those preferring calmer activities, allowing a closer look at the natural features of these lusciously green islands. |
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| Walks Around Funchal If you’re looking for rest and relaxation take a gentle walk around Madeira, visiting places where life flows peacefully by without great disturbance. Discover the centre of Funchal, a traditional, yet fairly cosmopolitan, city by walking through its streets and alleyways which are lined by beautiful, flower-strewn houses. |
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Shopping in Madeira In Funchal, walk through the city’s quiet streets along the beautifully-patterned stone pavements, visit the magnificent gardens, go shopping, or simply savour some unique moments sitting on the terraces of the city’s charming cafes.
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| No trip to Madeira is complete without a visit to themunicipal market. This is a real centre for buying the best regional products, ranging from exotic flowers and fruits to wickerwork, tapestries and rugs and the famous Madeiran boots known as botas de vilao. |
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| MADEIRA CASINO Situated amid the sub-tropical gardens of the Pestana Casino Park Resort Hotel, you will find Madeira Casino, designed by the famous architect Oscar Niemeyer. Don’t miss out to enjoy a night at Madeira Casino, trying your luck, relaxing over a good meal, enjoying the |  |
| delightful view over Funchal, soaking up the atmosphere and listening to the music. |
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| TESTIMONIAL FROM MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA GROUP |
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We are pleased to inform our trade partners that Portugal is now actively viewed as a MICE destination. Recently, a group of 90 members visited Portugal during May. Their official travel agency has shared with us their testimonial.
“The corporate had a truly memorable trip to Portugal and we would like to thank the entire team of Portugal for all the excellent efforts put across by Portugal team. Going forward, we really look forward to promoting Portugal as a destination in future. |
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| Throughout the journey, our entire team was based in Lisbon. We experienced the natural and historical beauty of Portugal and the places visited were Parque das Nacoes for the Gondola Ride, Oceanarium, Shopping at Vasco Da Gama and Columbus Malls, Dinner Cruise, Cascais, Cabo da Roca & Sintra, |  |
Nazare, Batalha Monestery, Shrine of Fatima, Cristo Rei, Maritime Museum.
We were touched by the cordial nature of the people in Portugal and look forward to promoting this amazing country which has left us mesmerized”. |
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