The Island of Madeira is located southwest of Portugal at a point 400 miles (680km) west of Morocco in the North Atlantic. 
Steeply rising up to 6000 feet (1800m) out of the sea, this lush volcanic subtropical outcrop, is the largest of a four island archipelago comprising Madeira, Porto Santo and the uninhabited Desertas and Selvagens. 
 
 

The island is 35 miles (57km) long by 14 miles (22km) wide, with a population of about 260,000. Almost half live in the regional capital of Funchal. The island is noted for its natural beauty. Exotic vegetation abounds in a carpet of green. The terrain is rugged with imposing valleys and some of the highest sea-cliffs in the world. The climate is temperate and the winters are mild. 

How to Get to Madeira

Madeira is a major touristic destination. Regular flights from London (approx. 2h 30´ flight time), Brussels (approx. 2h 30´ flight time) and Lisbon (1h 30´ flight time) are operated by international carriers. Direct connections with North America and other European cities are also scheduled but probably not on a daily basis. 

The International Airport is located 20 Km from the center of Funchal the capital (15 minutes car/taxi ride). Regular bus service is also available.
 

The Climate
 
 

The History of Madeira

The Island of Madeira sat uninhabited in the middle of the North Atlantic until a certain Portuguese explorer, Gonçalves Zarco, was blown off course by a violent storm in 1418 while exploring the coast of West Africa. He found sanctuary on a tiny island he called Porto Santo. While there he saw southwest of Porto Santo, dark clouds on the horizon described as "vapors rising from the mouth of hell." Knowing it must be a substantial island, he set off for the clouds and found beneath them a beautiful garden island. It was so covered with trees that he named it "wood" or in Portuguese, "madeira." 

Zarco was sponsored by the third son of King João I, Prince Henry the Navigator. Though he could not be called a practicing mariner himself, Henry was the remarkable prince who was to set in motion the great age of discovery. As soon as Zarco's report got back to Prince Henry, he began at once its colonization. The dense forest were felled and burned – the fires were said to have burned for seven years – and a great deal of the land was brought under cultivation.

Infante D. Henrique is credited with the introduction of sugar cane from Sicily in 1452, and in 1453, the sweet Malvasia grapes from Cyprus or Crete. Until now the Genoese and the Venetians had a virtual monopoly on sugar and sweet wines. Henrique wanted to change that. Sugar became the great cash crop. Madeira produced so much sugar that the price for sugar in Europe was halved. By the end of the 1400's, Madeira was the world's greatest producer of sugar. Madeira was flourishing as a Portuguese colony. 

When in 1974, a revolution ended 42 years of dictatorship in Portugal, Madeirans took hold of their future. Tourism is the Island's largest industry and is aggressively promoted. Their economy was given a boost when Portugal was admitted into the European Union in 1986. 

In the 1980's, bananas were found to fetch a higher price per acre than grapes, so many vines were replaced with banana trees. Bananas are now the Island's biggest agricultural export.