Santana Holidays

Santana, a quiet village on Madeira’s northeast side, is like a living museum. It’s best-known for its casinhas, or little houses. These triangular, thatch-topped dwellings have white walls and red-and-blue trims, and have become an emblem of the region. A handful are still standing today, and mostly operate as tourist attractions, so you can duck inside and see how 16th-century farmers used to live.

The countryside around Santana's protected by UNESCO, which means the area’s natural looks are preserved as much as possible. Check out the levadas while you're here –these scenic waterways are used to irrigate the greenery, and walks along them are really popular. Routes take you across mountainsides, through kaleidoscopic flower gardens, and past tumbling waterfalls.

When you want to increase the pace a bit, Madeira’s capital's a 45-minute drive away. Days here can be spent cooling off on seafront lidos and in natural pools, and pottering around boutiques in the Medieval old town. After dark, the stylish marina district's the place to go for haute cuisine dinners and cocktails in swish nightspots.