Funchal
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…
Must-see attractions in Madeira
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Madeira
Dramatically set at the bottom of a mammoth cauldron of rock, the village of Curral das Freiras is one of the most popular daytrips from Funchal. Some…
-
Madeira
Camacha is the epicentre of Madeira's wicker industry, showcased at the O Relógio (The Clock) building in the centre of the village. The complex has three…
-
Madeira
Top billing on Madeira's north coast goes to this two-for-one attraction just south of São Vicente. The first part of the experience is a guided tour of…
-
Madeira
Porto Santo's 7.5km long sandy beach is the reason most people head to Madeira's little sister. The sand is actually tiny pieces of coral that shelve…
-
Madeira
Once a minor exhibition housed in small seafront building, Caniçal's Whale Museum was moved to a large multi-million-euro, ultra-modern complex in 2012,…
-
Madeira
Around 3km west of Câmara de Lobos, Madeira's highest sea cliffs rise 580m to loom high over the village and the Atlantic's sapphire expanse. The panorama…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Madeira
The waterfalls, springs and hiking trails at Rabaçal are an easy-going highlight of Madeira's outdoor world. You can spend all day cooling off in the…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Madeira
A 1.5km easy and well-signposted climb out of the village of Ribeiro Frio brings you to one of the most spectacular viewing points on the whole of Madeira…
-
Madeira
For those in the know, this tiny beach east of Caniçal is the best outside Funchal. A romantically secluded suntrap, this wild arc of black sand is backed…
-
Funchal
Housed in the Adegas de São Francisco, the former Franciscan monastery, Blandy's brings together the British-Madeiran wine companies that were given…
-
Madeira
Perching precariously on a ledge under high cliffs, pretty Paúl do Mar is the surfing capital of the Atlantic and has even hosted a leg of the World…
-
Madeira
You can drive to the top of Pico do Arieiro, Madeira's third highest mountain. At the top you'll find a cafe, a Portuguese Air Force radar station and…
-
Casa da Luz – Museu de Electricidade
Funchal
Decommissioned in 1989, Funchal's old power station, still the headquarters of EEM (Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira – Madeira Electric Company), has…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
IBTAM is the organisation that oversees Madeiran embroidery production – anything bearing their hologram label is guaranteed to be the genuine, locally…
-
Casa-Museu Frederico de Freitas
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Madeira
Originally dating from the 15th century, one of the most attractive churches on Madeira occupies a pebble square in the very centre of Ribeira Brava…
-
Funchal
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…
-
Madeira
One of Madeira's most interesting museums, the collections here look at every aspect of the island's traditional life, from espada (scabbardfish) fishing…
-
Universo de Memórias João Carlos Abreu
Funchal
Housed in an elegant 19th-century mansion, this museum–arts centre is another repository of knick-knacks donated to the city by an avid collector, this…
-
Funchal
The ochre and dark-pink fortress that caps the Zona Velha seafront was built in the first half of the 17th century, when Funchal was vulnerable to pirate…
-
Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport
Madeira
Few airports could be counted as true places of interest, but Madeira's runway sticking out on stilts into the Atlantic and hemmed on two sides by…
-
Funchal
This undervisited attraction ambitiously promises 'the island's history in 30 minutes' and, it must be said, doesn't disappoint. With a soundtrack in…
-
Funchal
This impressive clifftop church at the eastern end of the Zona Velha is a 1750 rebuild – the original was destroyed in the earthquake of 1748. Slightly…
-
Madeira
Widely regarded by those in the know as the island's best wine producer, Henriques & Henriques only uses grapes from its own vineyards in Quinta Grande…
-
Funchal
Borges is the smallest of Funchal's Madeira wine operations and its diminutive, timber-rich tasting room feels like the furthest away from the tourist…
-
Madeira
The fishing village of Ponta Delgada, 30km west of Santana, is worth a brief halt for its authentic remoteness and to visit the baroque Igreja do Bom…
