Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

! Garajau
A miniature version of Rio
de Janeiro’s statue of
Christ the Redeemer
was erected on the
wild and rocky headland
at the southern end of
the village in 1927. The
terns (garajau in Portuguese)
that gave their name to the
village can still be seen from
the zigzag path that winds
down the cliff face to a
pebble beach below the
headland. Underwater
caves and reefs rich in
marine life extend for
2 km (1 mile) to either
side, and are protected
as a marine reserve (see
p90). d Map J6
Caniço de Baixo @ Along Rua Baden Powell, the
main street of this clifftop holiday
village, you will find Inn and Art
(see p115), a charming villa hotel
that mounts exhibitions of modern
art. The tiny Praia da Canavieira
public beach is reached down an
easily-missed alley near the junction
with Rua da Falésia. For a
small sum you can also use the
Galomar Lido (open 9am–7pm
summer, 10am–5pm winter). The
lido is the base for the Manta
Diving Centre, which organizes
trips to the Garajau Marine
Reserve (see above). d Map J6
Galomar Lido, Caniço de Baixo
Satue of Christ the
Redeemer, Garajau
£ Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is a town of great
character, and surprisingly peaceful,
given that the airport runway
is right next door. The focal
point is the beach, lined with
cafés and pastelarias (pastry
shops), as well as the Art
Deco-style Palm Beach
Lido, painted azure and
cream. Back from the
coast and down winding
alleys is a 15th-century Gothic
church as splendid as the
cathedral in Funchal, and
perhaps designed by the
same architect (see p8).
d Map K5 • SAM bus 20, 23,
53, 60, 70, 78, 113,156
$ Machico
Machico is where Captain
Zarco and his crew first set foot
on Madeira in 1420. The chapel
they founded (see p40) is on the
eastern side of the harbour,
shaded by giant Indian fig trees.
A statue of Machico’s first governor,
Tristão Vaz Teixeira, stands in
front of the fine 15th-century
parish church on the main
square. A grid of cobbled alleys
leads from here down to the
seafront fortress. d Map K4 • SAM
bus 20, 23, 53, 78, 113,156
% Caniçal
Caniçal holds the dubious
honour of being a former whaling
port. In 1956, John Huston
came here to shoot the
opening scenes of Moby
Dick, but its star, Gregory
Peck, became so seasick
that they had to shoot the
rest in a studio. The
Museu da Baleia (see p39)
explains how conservation
has replaced whaling. Tuna
fishing now plays a vital
role in the local economy.
d Map L4 • SAM bus 113
Around Eastern Madeira 87