Madeira's best artificial beach is this gently sloping suntrap created with golden sand shipped in from Morocco and protected by two artificial breaks. Facilities include toilets, a volleyball court and showers. There are a couple of places to eat nearby as you watch planes gliding low across the mouth of the bay.
Praia de Machico
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
9.98 MILES
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…
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9.49 MILES
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…
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9.58 MILES
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…
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9.81 MILES
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…
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12.23 MILES
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…
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8.66 MILES
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…
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9.79 MILES
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…
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11.86 MILES
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…
Nearby attractions
0.15 MILES
Machico has three churches but the most famous is the pretty little Miracles Chapel on the north side of the river. It was famously washed away in a flood…
2. Forte de Nossa Senhora do Amparo
0.17 MILES
The triangular, ochre fortress on the Machico seafront dates from 1706 and was built to protect the town from pirates. There's not much to see here save…
3. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição
0.22 MILES
The main church in Machico is one of the island's largest, reflecting the town's erstwhile status as Madeira's capital. The musty, ancient-feeling…
0.43 MILES
When you get bored of lying on Machico beach, the climb up to Pico do Facho that rises above the town to the north is a great way to spend an afternoon…
1.74 MILES
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,…
6. Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport
1.82 MILES
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…
3.19 MILES
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…
5.42 MILES
The furthest point heading eastwards you can reach on the north coast before mammoth cliffs persuade the road to head inland, Porta da Cruz is a…