Does the Belgian weather make you want to go elsewhere? A new ranking drawn up by the English travel magazine Time Out has just revealed the best road trips around the world, from Australia to New Zealand via Guadeloupe. Good news, one of them is barely five hours from us if we take the plane. It even appears second in the ranking of the most beautiful driving routes in the world.
This authentic destination is the most popular place for Belgians for a city trip:
Funchal in Portugal
Where is the road in question located? Funchal, Portugal, a region located on the beautiful island of Madeira, home to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Laurisilva Forest. This type of laurel forest was very abundant in the past, but is practically extinct today. We therefore jump back almost 20 million years, into the middle of the Tertiary era, in this overwhelming subtropical humid forest.
The capital of the Portuguese archipelago takes its name from “fennel” in Portuguese, because the colonists found them in abundance when they arrived. The metropolis of barely 100,000 inhabitants offers an impressive site, since the city is literally backed by a mountainous amphitheater plunging into the ocean. During the road trip, we take the opportunity to discover the city, strolling through the old colonial heart built around a medieval cathedral. There is also the Santa Maria district and its traditional Farmers’ Market (mercado dos Lavradores), where the island’s traditional products are sold. The other essential? Funchal is Monte, accessed by a cable car, which overlooks the city and offers impressive views of the bay. On site, we pass by the famous botanical garden.
Australia in first position
In first place in the ranking, just ahead of Funchal, we find Hobart, the capital of the state of Tasmania, in Australia. The town sits at the foot of Mount Wellington, also known as Kunanyi, and is apparently popular with tourists who want to climb to the top to enjoy the views. The Greek island of Kefalonia comes in third place, with Melissani Cave, a favorite destination for motorists. This cave is considered one of the most famous geological formations in Greece. With its 36 m high opening, the sun’s rays penetrating from above are reflected by the water and illuminate the room with a heady blue.
The complete top 10:
1. Hobart, Australia
2. Funchal, Portugal
3. Kefalonia, Greece
4. Ponta Delgada, Portugal
5. Larnaca, Cyprus
6. Christchurch, New Zealand
7. Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe
8. Menorca, Spain
9. Lanzarote, Spain
10. Budapest, Hungary
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