Les Îles de Madère — Madère et Porto Santo

The Madeira Archipelago

Located 1,000 km southwest of mainland Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean, the Madeira archipelago consists of two inhabited islands — Madeira and Porto Santo — plus the uninhabited Desertas and Selvagens nature reserves. Madeira rises sharply from the Atlantic — peaks above 1,800m, laurel forest older than the country, and a south coast that rarely sees winter. Porto Santo is its quieter neighbour: nine kilometres of soft golden sand and almost nothing else.

The archipelago is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Laurissilva forest) and one of Europe's most awarded island destinations. With year-round mild weather, Madeira offers a landscape of dramatic mountains, ancient levada trails, whale-filled waters, and terraced vineyards producing the world-famous Madeira wine.