Welcome to a few weeks of Christmas special versions of the travel book! I have been to a number of countries around Christmas so thought it would be fun to write about them in their festive entirety. This week we head to the island of Madeira and the capital Funchal.

The city is the main stop for not just tourists staying on the island but also for cruise ships at this time of year. This is the place a lot of people go for winter sun so they pride themselves in having lots of decorations in the town.

One of the things you will notice is the amount of twinkly lights everywhere – the area near the water front is one of the most impressive light displays you will see at night. In the city centre there is a whole area that is around the park area that is specifically focussed on Christmas. Throughout the day there is traditional singing and dancing that is great to see.

Throughout the run up to Christmas there are also events that go along with the Christmas decorations in celebration these take place near the park area.

If there is one thing that you will see in Funchal that you may not see in other countries then that is the creativity In their decorations. Anything can be dressed up to look Christmassy – I went past one restaurant that had dressed up growing bananas into a decoration!

The city does a lot of decorations and lights galore but when it gets to Christmas Eve and day the place does shut down so if you are staying on the island make sure you have plans.