Buying property in Portugal may be the first step towards a more relaxing lifestyle for many Britons heading to a new life on the continent.

However, tourism organisation Turismo de Portugal notes that the pace of life is quite different on the island of Madeira.

There, New Year’s Eve is not only celebrated to mark the start of the new calendar, but to revel in "the end of another 365-day cycle of intense living".

"If life is celebrated anywhere, it is in Madeira," the tourism body adds.

Looking ahead to the new year, those who buy property in Portugal on the party island of Madeira may want to add February 13th to their diaries.

This is when the 2010 Mardi Gras carnival is due to begin, with a four-day celebration scheduled.

On February 16th, this culminates in an open-access "Slapstick Cortege", which the Madeira Islands Official Tourism Website says anyone can participate in.

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