Luxury dog-friendly hotels in Funchal, Portugal

Head to Madeira’s sunny southern coast, where you’ll find the red-roofed city of Funchal, framed by lofty green landscapes, crossed by buzzy wide avenues and fronted by a picturesque harbour. Cable cars pepper the sky as locals linger below on mosaicked avenidas of calçada Portuguesa (Portuguese pavement, essentially). Fuel up with a few custard-filled pastéis de nata, then check out former fisherman’s neighbourhood, now lively hub Zona Velha, saunter to the shore for a sun-soaked surf; or roam the bountiful botanical gardens; thrill-seekers can hike up into Monte for those speedy downhill rides in a wicker toboggan manned by two Carreiros.