São Vicente
São Vicente - A Short Introduction
By Madeira Online Editorial Staff
Apr 29, 2007 - 4:06:45 PM

Located on the northern coast of Madeira where the junction of the north coast highway and the Passover from Funchal is the village of São Vicente .

Cobbled streets, beautiful church and lush scenery makes this village one of the most attractive on the island.

A great boulder near the coast was used to build a small chapel and is now one of the trademarks of the village. The “calhau “is where you may find a row of restaurants and shops which faces the pebbled beach, this is most popular with the tourists.

It is not recommended to swim in this area as the sea tends to be quite rough compared to the southern coast of the island.

São Vicente was once quite isolated from the rest of the island due to precarious winding roads down the north and southern slopes that were used to get to the village. James Yates once called the “ Cascade Valley ” due to its lush vegetation and the numerous waterfalls found here.

One of São Vicente Main Attractions is the “Caves of São Vicente”. These are lava tubes from when Madeira was created some 400 000 years ago and extended for hundreds of meters and at 40meters underground at its deepest point.

For some spectacular views you may go to the miradouro 5km above São Vicente found just past the Casa do Lanço.