Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

Streetsmart
110
Left Flower stall Right Vintage Madeira wine
Shopping Tips
! Duty Free
Prices in Madeira airport’s
duty free shop are
generally more expensive
than in downtown wine
shops and supermarkets.
However, non-EU residents
are entitled to a
VAT refund.
@ Embroidery
Make sure that you
don’t pay high prices for
cheap, machine-made
embroidery imported
from Asia, if what you
are after is the genuine
local article. All Madeiran
embroidery is checked
for quality before being
passed for sale. It is
marked with a hologram
tag – and in some cases
by a lead seal.
£ Non-vintage
Wines
If you want to taste and
buy quality Madeira wine
(see p59), make sure the
label mentions Sercial,
Verdelho, Bual or Malvasia.
This shows that the
wine is of high quality
and made by traditional
methods, using the
classic grape varieties.
Wines labelled dry, medium
dry, medium sweet
or rich are mass-produced
and lack the subtlety
and complexity of
the best Madeira.
$ Aguardente
Another souvenir
with a long history is
aguardente (sugar cane
spirit), often described as
“rum”. White aguardente
lacks subtlety and is
commonly served as
poncha, mixed with
lemon and honey. Aged,
dark aguardente is a different
matter entirely –
an after-dinner drink with
real character and flavour.
% Leather Bargains
Prices on Madeira are
generally higher than
those found elsewhere in
Europe because of the
cost of importing goods to
the island. The exceptions
to this rule are shoes and
leather goods, which are
Portuguese specialities.
There are plenty of leather
shops to browse in
along the narrow streets
around the cathedral in
Funchal (see pp8–9).
^ Flowers
To make sure that
your flowers are as fresh
as possible, and that they
survive the journey
home, ask the florist to
deliver them to your
hotel on the morning of
your departure, packed in
a robust cardboard container.
Strelitzias (bird-ofparadise
flowers) are
especially popular
because they last a long
time: you can rely on
enjoying them for up to a
month or more.
Bolo de Mel & Another popular and
long-lasting choice of
souvenir is Madeiran
Christmas cake, now
made and sold all year
round. Called bolo de mel
(honey cake), it is a traditional
cake made to a
recipe that includes
sugar cane syrup and
spices and is an excellent
teatime treat.
* Shopping Centres
Though they are
threatening to drive the
island’s small shopkeepers
out of business,
there is no doubt that for
sheer choice and variety,
the best places to shop
in Funchal are the large
shopping centres. Among
the main ones are the
Marina Shopping Centre
and Madeira Shopping
(see p69). Huge new
centres are also planned
for the hotel zone
(Madeira Forum) and
downtown Funchal.
( Supermarkets
Large supermarkets
can also be good for
souvenir hunting. Try the
one at the Anadia Centre,
opposite the Farmers’
Market in Funchal, or
the one at the Lido, in
the centre of the hotel
zone. The supermarket
chain Pingo Doce is also
worth trying.
) Scrimshaws
A word of warning:
you may see carved
whalebone ivory for sale
in Caniçal and in the car
park at Ponta de São
Lourenço. The trade is a
relic of the days when
this region of Madeira
had a whaling fleet. Do
not be tempted to buy:
taking whalebone
products out of the
country is illegal.