Cadogan: Madeira & Porto Santo

by Rodney Bolt

Far out in the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of miles from any shore, the island of Madeira rises dramatically from the sea in sharp peaks and cliffs cut by ravines and water channels. But what was once a bare volcanic rock has been transformed over centuries by its Portuguese and British settlers, and by its soft semi-tropical climate, into a green garden paradise, with flowers of dizzying hue, wine fit for the gods, and fruit to make you swoon. Take a boat trip, a helicopter ride, a levada walk or a toboggan run, seek out rare tiles in village churches, discover museums hoarding Flemish Old Masters, visit gracious quintas, or simply sink into dreamy indolence amid the chink of teacups in hushed hotels; this enchanted island offers it all.
Inside you will find: over 80 hand-picked hotels, residencials and pensions; over 90 restaurants, bars and cafes; 13 detailed maps; chart of flowers, fish and fruit is season; stunning color photo essay; color touring-map section; special walking section; how to plan, what to take, and a selection of helpfully graded walks.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Rodney Bolt was born in South Africa. He studied at Rhodes University and wrote the play Gandhi: Act Too, which won the 1980 Durban Critic's Circle Play of the Year award. That same year he won a scholarship to Cambridge and read English at Corpus Christi. He has twice won Travel Writer of the Year awards in Germany and is the author of History Play, an invented biography of Christopher Marlowe (HarperCollins, 2004) and The Librettist of Venice, a biography of Lorenzo Da Ponte (Bloomsbury, 2006), which was shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Award. He lives in Amsterdam.