Must see attractions in Funchal

  • Q

    Top Choice

    Quinta das Cruzes

    Now a museum, the Quinta das Cruzes is a quintessential old Madeiran manor house complete with gardens and a private chapel. Originally the home of João…

  • M

    Top Choice

    Mercado dos Lavradores

    Built in 1940 by architect Edmundo Tavares, Funchal's art deco market is one of its top attractions as well as still serving as the island's best fresh…

  • Z

    Top Choice

    Zona Velha

    Once a run-down area between the Mercado dos Lavradores and the Fortaleza de Santiago, in recent years the 'Old Zone' of merchant's houses and 19th…

  • S

    Top Choice

    Sé

    Funchal's 16th-century cathedral once oversaw the world's largest diocese – all of Portugal’s overseas territories from Madeira to Brazil to Angola – and…

  • P

    Top Choice

    Praia Formosa

    Anyone who says Madeira has no beaches should hop on bus 1 or 43 to the boulders and browny-black sand of this wild strand in Funchal's western suburbs…

  • J

    Top Choice

    Jardins Botânicos da Madeira

    One of the island's top tourist attractions, Madeira's famous botanical gardens are a must for most visitors. Extending over 80,000 sq metres, the gardens…

  • P

    Top Choice

    Pereira D'Oliveira

    Run by the fifth generation of the D'Oliveira family, this is Funchal's most easily accessible wine experience. Anyone can enter the strongly aromatic…

  • M

    Monte

    High above Funchal, the villa neighbourhood of Monte is one of the most popular half-day trips from Funchal seafront. The Igreja da Nossa Senhora and the…

  • M

    Monte Palace Tropical Gardens

    One of the highlights of any visit to Monte is a wander round the Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. This former hotel began life in the late 18th century as…

  • B

    Blandy's

    Housed in the Adegas de São Francisco, the former Franciscan monastery, Blandy's brings together the British-Madeiran wine companies that were given…

  • C

    Casa da Luz – Museu de Electricidade

    Decommissioned in 1989, Funchal's old power station, still the headquarters of EEM (Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira – Madeira Electric Company), has…

  • M

    Madeira Story Centre

    This interactive museum tells Madeira's story in an easily digestible way, from the moment the first volcanic rock seethed through the Atlantic's waves to…

  • M

    Museu CR7

    If after a few days in Funchal, the fact has escaped your attention, now you know: the world's greatest footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo was born and grew up…

  • I

    IBTAM Museum

    IBTAM is the organisation that oversees Madeiran embroidery production – anything bearing their hologram label is guaranteed to be the genuine, locally…

  • C

    Casa-Museu Frederico de Freitas

    Built by the counts of Calçada in the 17th century, this tasteful mansion was purchased by a local lawyer, Frederico de Freitas, in the 1940s. An avid…

  • M

    Museu de Arte Sacra

    Housed in the former 16th-century bishop's palace dominating the south side of Praça do Município, Madeira's most fascinating art collection is a major…

  • I

    Igreja da Nossa Senhora

    Some 68 stone steps climb dramatically to the doors of one of Madeira's finest churches, Monte's Igreja da Nossa Senhora. Rising in eye-balancing baroque…

  • M

    Museu Photographia Vicentes

    Set up by Vicente Gomes da Silva in 1865, this exquisitely preserved photographic studio, above a shady cobbled courtyard, was in use until 1982. The…

  • F

    Fortaleza do Pico

    Easy to spot, but taxing to reach, it's worth the slog up to this rock-top fortress northwest of the city centre for the stupendous views, possibly the…