Lonely Planet Pocket Madeira (Travel Guide)

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If you want to explore outside the city, head to the countryside where you can find relaxing vacations at rural tourism houses, surrounded by mountains and forests or nestled in deep valleys: look for accommodation in places like Curral das Freiras or Santana.

The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Pocket Madeira, an easy-to-use guide filled with top experiences - neighbourhood by neighbourhood - that literally fits in your pocket. If you don’t feel confident driving in these circumstances, be sure to rent an automatic (more expensive than the standard European manual, but worth it in this case). Men known as carreiros, wearing special tyre-bottomed shoes for braking, transport passengers down the steep streets in special wicker sledges on wooden rails that reach speeds of up to 38kph. The tipple was subsequently used to toast America’s Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776 as well as the inauguration of George Washington as the USA’s first president in 1789.

For more mainstream garlicky goodness, get yourself a hunk of local bolo do caco – a round of bread laden with vampire-repelling butter. Perhaps expectedly given its remote location in the middle of the Atlantic, Madeira's culinary pedigree includes several homegrown dishes uncommon on the mainland. However, what this fish falls short of in the looks department it makes up for in taste, and you’ll find it widely available on menus across the island. Hiking, swimming, diving and surfing are not only accessible but exist at a variety of skill levels. January sees the most rainfall, while the waters surrounding the island are at their warmest in September.

Spend a night discovering the bars and restaurants of Zona Velha, ascend to the cool, leafy neighbourhood of Monte on a cable car, and explore the elegant mansion house museum of Quinta das Cruzes – all with your trusted travel companion. For an upscale experience, swing by Il Gallo d’Oro, a two-star Michelin restaurant with an 8- to 11-dish menu (Terroir Experience) featuring contemporary approaches to traditional local dishes. Among the island’s seaborn delicacies are limpets or lapas, which are open shellfish resembling a barnacle.Lonely Planet Pocket Madeira is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Road number 101 once struck fear into the heart of every Madeiran driver until it was retired to Room 101 by the modern VE2.