Madeira, Portugal

Why go

Madeira sits far enough south that it never really has a winter, which is why people who want mountains and warm weather at the same time end up here. The island is one big volcanic ridge and the walking is the point: levadas are narrow irrigation channels cut along the contours centuries ago, and the paths beside them take you through laurel forest older than most of Europe, past waterfalls, sometimes through tunnels you need a torch for. Drive up to Pico do Arieiro early and you stand above the clouds. Down in Funchal there is the cable car, a market full of fruit you have never seen, and the wicker toboggan run down from Monte, which is as daft and as fun as it sounds.

Good to know

• Fly into Funchal (FNC), direct from Lisbon and much of Europe
• Six nights, and hire a car for the north coast
• Funchal as a base, or Ponta do Sol for sun and quiet
• Mountain weather differs from the coast, check before driving up

Good all year, best April to October.