Town · Madeira, Portugal · 32.65°N 16.89°W
Santa Maria Maior, Portugal
Santa Maria Maior is a town of 11,768 people in Madeira, with a hospital 0.7 km from the centre and Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC) 12 km away.
Weather now
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Normal for November, 1991-2020
21°high · low 18°C · 14 rain days
Who Santa Maria Maior suits
Generated from the data below by published rulesGood fit for
No good-fit verdicts for Santa Maria Maior yet. Verdicts only use values that are precise enough to judge with.
Weaker fit for
Nothing stands out as a weaker fit.
What makes Santa Maria Maior stand out
- Santa Maria Maior has the longest December days in Portugal (10 h 00 min of daylight).
- Santa Maria Maior has the most cafés within a 15-minute walk in Madeira (10).
- Santa Maria Maior has the most restaurants within a 15-minute walk in Madeira (67).
A fact appears when a town ranks first for a measure in Portugal, in its region, or among towns of similar size there.
Car-free living
59/ 100
Top 34% in Portugal
Based on: Places within a 15-minute walk (grocery), Places within a 15-minute walk (pharmacy), Places within a 15-minute walk (cafe), Distance to nearest (train station), Distance to nearest (bus station)
Built on 75% of its inputs; the rest are not published for this town.
Access to services
79/ 100
Top 13% in Portugal
Based on: Distance to nearest (hospital), Nearest airport with scheduled flights, Places within a 15-minute walk (grocery), Places within a 15-minute walk (doctor), Places within a 15-minute walk (school)
How precise is each number?Town-levelmeasured or computed for this townModelledestimated from a grid or a modelRegionalonly available for the wider area
Santa Maria Maior compared with Porto
Pick another town in Portugal to see the differences in plain terms.
- Average January highShown for reference: at least one value is not precise enough to call a difference.Santa Maria Maior Regional18°CPorto 13°C
- Average July highShown for reference: at least one value is not precise enough to call a difference.Santa Maria Maior Regional26°CPorto 26°C
- Days with rain per yearShown for reference: at least one value is not precise enough to call a difference.Santa Maria Maior Regional115Porto 119
- Days above 35°C per yearShown for reference: at least one value is not precise enough to call a difference.Santa Maria Maior Regional0Porto 1.0
- 48 min more daylight in DecemberDaylight on 21 DecemberSanta Maria Maior 10 h 00 minPorto 9 h 12 min
Housing & costs
Official · INE Portugal, EurostatSanta Maria Maior is in the municipality of Funchal. Rents, prices and crime are published for each municipality as a whole, not for single towns.
Climate today
Regional · ERA5-Land reanalysis 1991-2020Month by month
Regional · ERA5-Land reanalysis 1991-2020August is the warmest month (27°C average high) and February the coolest (18°C). December is the wettest (86 mm) and July the driest (9 mm).
- JanuaryAir 18° · Sea 18°11 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- FebruaryAir 18° · Sea 17°10 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- MarchAir 19° · Sea 17°11 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- AprilAir 19° · Sea 18°10 rain daysCrowds: High
- MayAir 21° · Sea 18°9 rain daysCrowds: High
- JuneAir 24° · Sea 20°5 rain daysCrowds: High
- JulyAir 26° · Sea 21°2 rain daysCrowds: Peak
- AugustAir 27° · Sea 23°4 rain daysCrowds: Peak
- SeptemberAir 26° · Sea 23°11 rain daysCrowds: High
- OctoberAir 23° · Sea 22°14 rain daysCrowds: High
- NovemberAir 21° · Sea 21°14 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- DecemberAir 19° · Sea 19°14 rain daysCrowds: Medium
Crowd levels are for Madeira as a whole: nights booked through online platforms in 2025, against the region's busiest month (Eurostat).
Each month links to its own page with temperatures, rain and daylight.
Is it getting hotter?
Regional · ERA5-Land reanalysisDays above 35°C per year
Both measured periods come from the same reanalysis as the climate section. The bar scale runs to 10 days.
Healthcare & getting around
Town-level · straight-line distancesWithin 1.2 km of the centre
- Grocery stores4
- Pharmacies0
- Doctors & clinics2
30 min by car
- Hospitals5
- Sea beaches17
- People231,108
60 min by car
- Towns over 10,0004
- Hospitals5
- Sea beaches33
- People272,777
- Nearest train stationNone within 60 km
- Nearest bus stationS.A.M.2.3 km
- Nearest hospitalCasa de Saúde Câmara Pestana0.7 km · 3 min by car
- Nearest airport with scheduled flightsCristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC)12 km · 18 min by car
Distances are straight lines from the town centre. Drive times are by road in free-flowing traffic (OSRM on OpenStreetMap roads); people counts add up the towns reached.
Daily life
Town-level · Overture Maps places, 2026-10-21.0Within 1.2 km of the centre
- 4Grocery stores & supermarketsPortugal median: 3
- 0PharmaciesPortugal median: 1
- 10CafésPortugal median: 4
- 67RestaurantsPortugal median: 9
- 5BakeriesPortugal median: 2
- 7Gyms & fitness studiosPortugal median: 1
- 8SchoolsPortugal median: 2
- 2Doctors & clinicsPortugal median: 1
Nature & surroundings
Town-level · WorldCover, Copernicus DEM, Natura 2000, OpenStreetMapPeople & community
Modelled · EU Census 2021 gridUnder 1515 to 6465 and over
International residents
| Share of residents | Santa Maria Maior | Median town in Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Born in another EU country | 1.1% | 1.6% |
| Born outside the EU | 8.9% | 5.5% |
| Moved here from abroad in the past year | 1.6% | 1.1% |
10.0% of residents were born abroad, against 7.1% in the median town in Portugal (2021 census). From the 1 km census grid cells within 1.5 km of the centre (12,266 residents counted).
Environment & natural hazards
- Earthquakes1 since 1900Magnitude 5 or larger within 100 km. Largest: M5.3.Town-level · USGS earthquake catalog
- Wildfire2 of 10 yearsYears with a fire of 30 ha or more within 10 km of the centre, 2016-2025; 8,148 ha burnt by those fires.Town-level · EFFIS
Places like Santa Maria Maior
Common questions about Santa Maria Maior
What is the weather like in Santa Maria Maior through the year?
January averages a high of 18°C and a low of 15°C; July averages 26°C and 21°C. There are about 115 days with rain a year. These are averages for 1991-2020. These are regional figures for the wider area, not for the town itself.
How many very hot days does Santa Maria Maior get?
Santa Maria Maior had no days above 35°C in 2016-2025, nor in 1991-2000. These are regional figures for the wider area, not for the town itself.
Does it freeze in Santa Maria Maior?
Santa Maria Maior averaged no frost days a year in 2016-2025. These are regional figures for the wider area, not for the town itself.
What is within walking distance of the centre of Santa Maria Maior?
Within 1.2 km of the centre there are 4 grocery stores, 0 pharmacies, 2 doctors and clinics and 10 cafés. In a straight line, the nearest bus station is 2.3 km away, the nearest hospital is 0.7 km away, the nearest beach is 5.5 km away and the nearest coastline is 0.3 km away.
What is the nearest airport to Santa Maria Maior?
Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC), 12 km from the centre in a straight line.
How much daylight does Santa Maria Maior get in winter?
10 h 00 min on 21 December, against 14 h 18 min on 21 June.
Sources & methodology
Every value comes from one of the open datasets below and is computed the same way for every town. Each section names how precise its values are: town-level, modelled or regional. Distances are straight lines from the town centre, and amenities are counted within 1.2 km of it. Read the full methodology.
"Who Santa Maria Maior suits" lines come from fixed rules applied to every town in the same way. A rule only uses values that are modelled or better, and each line shows the numbers that triggered it. How the rules work.
| Dataset | Used for | Version | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (30 m elevation) | Elevation | glo30_s120 | Copernicus DEM licence (free for any use, with attribution) |
| Burnt areas (European Forest Fire Information System, EFFIS) | Wildfires | 2016-2025 | CC BY 4.0 |
| ERA5 monthly sea surface temperature (Copernicus Climate Data Store) | Sea temperature | monthly_1991-2020 | CC BY 4.0 |
| ERA5-Land reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Data Store) | Climate | points_1991-2025 | CC BY 4.0 |
| ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m land cover) | Land cover | v200_2021 | CC BY 4.0 |
| EU Census 2021 population grid (Eurostat) | Census grid | V3 | Free reuse with acknowledgement (European Commission reuse policy) |
| Nights spent in short-stay accommodation booked through online platforms (Eurostat tour_ce_omn12) | Crowds | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Price level indices (Eurostat prc_ppp_ind) | Price level | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| GeoNames | Place names and populations | 2026-10-31 | CC BY 4.0 |
| INE Portugal (local statistics on rents, house prices, crime and population) | Rents, house prices, crime and population | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Natura 2000 protected sites (EEA, end 2024) | Protected areas | end2024 | CC BY 4.0 |
| OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik extracts) | Stations, hospitals, beaches, coastline | 2026-10-31 | ODbL 1.0 |
| OurAirports | Airports | 2026-10-31 | Public domain |
| Overture Maps places | Amenities | 2026-10-21.0 | CDLA-Permissive-2.0 |
| TEMIS UV index climatology (KNMI / ESA) | UV index | v2.0_clim_2004-2020 | Free use with credit; TEMIS asks to be told how the data is used |
| USGS earthquake catalog (ComCat) | Earthquakes | 2026-10-31 | Public domain |