Designed for first-time thrill-seekers and experienced enthusiasts alike, each book showcases 200 unmissable activities along with awe-inspiring photos, engaging first-hand accounts, and practical advice on how to get there, where to stay and what to eat along the way. Read more about the condition Very Good: A book that has been read and does not look new, but is in excellent condition. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Admire Se cathedral, wander awe-struck through Quinta das Cruzes Museum and Museu de Arte Sacra and hike the Levada paths; all with your trusted travel companion. The banana passionfruit essentially looks like an elongated passionfruit, while the pineapple banana has a distinctive skin patterned with green hexagons, which peel back to reveal a sweet, pale flesh.

In general, and especially outside of the relatively wet period between November and February, rain is only an occasional concern on Madeira. Also impressive is the cable car that descends to Fajã dos Padres, a rocky beach that is home to a farm and banana plantation, a cafe/restaurant and a dock for swimming. Today, the island’s levadas, as well as its veredas (a general word for a path) double as hiking routes, which often pass through spectacular scenery and landscapes that include waterfalls, cliffs, jungle and incredible viewpoints.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.

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 island counts an astonishing 2100km of these man-made channels, many of which now parallel highly-organised hiking paths. Tack on at least another two nights if you plan to hit Porto Santo, the other inhabited island that forms part of the Madeiran Archipelago. If you arrange a highly-recommended 4WD tour with Adventure Land Madeira, you can knock these and plenty more out in a single day. Laffan, one of Portugal's top Michelin-starred chefs, pushes culinary boundaries, marrying Madeiran bounty with mainland European roots (black scabbardfish tortellini with sage and olive butter, for example).Forget everything you think you know (or might have heard) about Portugal – Madeira is a world apart. Thankfully, on a few different spots across the island, locals have taken advantage of lava outcroppings to sculpt oceanside swimming pools. Get more travel inspiration, tips and exclusive offers sent straight to your inbox with our weekly newsletter . Much of the local rum makes its way into poncha, a drink that combines white rum, orange and/or lemon juice and honey and/or sugar, which is then whipped to a frothy consistency with a special wooden tool. The Teleférico das Achadas da Cruz, on the island’s northwest corner, is 600m long, lasts five minutes and is one of the steepest cable cars in Europe.

Visitors love traveling down the steep streets into Funchal from the steep mountainous slopes of Monte village in special wicker sledges on wooden rails that reach speeds of up to 38kph. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The soft white flesh of the espada is a delight in itself, but the Madeirans go one better (and weirder) by pairing it with bananas, which grow in abundance across the mountainous landscape. Road number 101 once struck fear into the heart of every Madeiran driver until it was retired to Room 101 by the modern VE2.About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Madeira is covered in levadas – narrow irrigation canals – which were dug as far back as the 15th century and have been used over the centuries to disperse water.

Dating from the 1930s, these see-and-be-seen public baths were renovated in 2016 and now offer two saltwater swimming pools (with direct sea access, so you can choose to hit the ocean as well) and all the infrastructure needed to while away a day. The pre-loved books are carefully cleaned and maintained offering a wide variety of general and specialist titles from children's to adults.Madeira is blessed with a subtropical climate, and the island experiences an average temperature of 70°F (21°C).