Two MICHELIN KeysClifftop since 1891
Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel
Funchal, Portugal
from €520 / night
Where to stay in Madeira
Winter sun, subtropical gardens, levadas and the Atlantic on every side
Houses on the terracesRazão restaurant
Socalco Nature Calheta
Estreito da Calheta, Portugal
from €210 / night
Plan it better
Specific guides to Madeira
Focused comparisons to choose the right area and hotel for the trip you actually want.
Winter sunSeasons
Winter sun without the long flight: Lanzarote, Marrakech and the southern coasts
Where the sun still works between December and February, what each place is actually good for, and the hotels we rate in each — from a volcanic island at 21 °C to a riad in the medina.
22 September 2026 · 8 min read
PortugalMICHELIN Key
MICHELIN Key hotels in Portugal: the 2026 selection, region by region
Portugal has 69 hotels with a MICHELIN Key in 2026. Where they are, the two with three Keys and the fourteen with two, and the eighteen we rate, from Lisbon to Madeira.
3 October 2026 · 8 min read
Madeira: good to know
Is Madeira warm in winter?
Mild rather than hot: Funchal averages 19.8 °C by day in January (IPMA, 1991–2020), and the sea bottoms out at about 18 °C in February and March. It rains more on the north side than the south, and the mountains make their own weather — you can leave Funchal in the sun and reach the Paul da Serra in cloud.
Funchal or the west coast?
Funchal for restaurants, gardens, the old town and the hotels with the bay in front of them. The west coast — Calheta, Ponta do Sol, Jardim do Mar — for terraces, levadas, fewer people and a car. An hour separates them.
Do you need a car in Madeira?
Not for Funchal, where taxis and the seafront promenade cover most of it. Yes for the rest of the island: the levadas, the west coast and the north are hard to reach otherwise, and the roads are steep and narrow.
Which Madeira hotels hold a MICHELIN Key?
Five in the 2026 selection. Two of them are here: Reid's Palace and Les Suites at The Cliff Bay, both with two Keys — the highest on the island.
What is there to do besides walking?
The gardens (Monte Palace, the Palheiro Gardens and the Botanical Garden), the Funchal market and its wine lodges, whale and dolphin watching from Calheta, and the toboggan run from Monte. New Year's Eve in Funchal bay is one of the best-known firework displays in Europe, watched from the amphitheatre of the city and from ships in the bay.