Monte Palace Tropical Garden. 🌺 Tickets, map and how to visit

Monte Palace Tropical Garden (in Portuguese Jardim Tropical Monte Palace) is a tropical garden on the hill of Monte, about 550–600 metres above sea level, overlooking the bay of Funchal. 70,000 m² of garden, a museum with three floors of collections, oriental gardens with pagodas and ponds full of koi, plus a collection of historic azulejos – traditional Portuguese tiles. Monte Palace is one of the most recognisable places in Madeira.

I’ve been to Monte Palace at least… six times – first in November 2023, then several times during my stay in Madeira in February and March 2025, and again in February 2026. It’s my favourite walk in Madeira. Not because there’s one particular sight you have to “tick off”. Rather because this garden is orderly and wild at the same time, full of inspiration and places to catch your breath – and that’s exactly what I love about it.

A short history of Monte Palace

Before the garden there was an estate here, Quinta do Prazer, owned by Charles Murray, the British consul in Madeira. In 1897 it was bought by Alfredo Guilherme Rodrigues, who, inspired by the palaces along the Rhine, built a residence that later became the Monte Palace hotel. The hotel, however, went into decline.

In 1987 the estate was bought by José Berardo – a Madeiran who made his fortune in South Africa. He turned Monte Palace into a tropical garden and set up a foundation that still runs the place today. It’s thanks to Berardo that Monte Palace has sculptures from Zimbabwe, a mineral collection and azulejos lining the paths.

What will you see at Monte Palace?

The oriental gardens are probably the most photographed part of Monte Palace. Red pagodas, torii gates, Buddha statues, little bridges and ponds with koi carp – all with the ocean in the background. Peacocks and flamingos live here too (my dog woke them up on one of our visits, much to the amusement of the other visitors).

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1: Monte Palace, photo: Ewelina Podrez-Siama, February 2026, 2: A peacock with its tail fanned out on a path in Monte Palace garden, with clumps of bamboo and the red wall of a pavilion behind. Photo: Ewelina Podrez-Siama, March 2025, 3: Monte Palace, photo: Ewelina Podrez-Siama, February 2026, 4: Monte Palace, photo: Ewelina Podrez-Siama, February 2025

The azulejo collection – tile panels from the 17th to the 21st century are set along the paths. 40 panels tell the history of Portugal, and the panel “Adventures of the Portuguese in Japan” is made up of 166 tiles. They’re not just a backdrop – it’s worth stopping to look.

Plants from all over the world – the garden has a collection of cycads (Encephalartos), regarded as living fossils – more than 500 plants from 30 of the 65 known species (Monte Palace). There are also redwoods from North America, azaleas and camellias from Asia, olive trees from Alqueva, and a laurissilva zone – a recreation of Madeira’s laurel forest, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Ponds and waterfalls – the central pond with swans, koi and a waterfall tumbling from under a bridge. A good place for a break.

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1: A golden Buddha statue in one of the pagodas in the oriental garden at Monte Palace, flanked by bronze guardian lions, 2: A panel of traditional Portuguese azulejos with a floral pattern, set into an ivy-covered wall at Monte Palace, 3: A patinated bronze sculpture under a stone arch among lush tropical plants at Monte Palace, 4: The former Monte Palace hotel building (the interior is not open to visitors) seen from the garden, with the hills of Funchal behind, 5: Tropical plants at Monte Palace – tree ferns, palms and bird-of-paradise flowers, with Funchal and the ocean below, 6: A replica of a traditional Santana house (casa de colmo) with a triangular thatched roof in the grounds of Monte Palace. Photos: Ewelina Podrez-Siama 2025

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1: Monte Palace, 2: Monte Palace, 3: Monte Palace. Photos: Ewelina Podrez-Siama, February 2026

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1: A flamingo at Monte Palace, photo: Ewelina Podrez-Siama 2025, 2: Flamingos at Monte Palace, photo: Ewelina Podrez-Siama 2025, 3: Monte Palace, photo: Ewelina Podrez-Siama, February 2025, 4: Monte Palace, photo: Ewelina Podrez-Siama, February 2025

The Monte Palace museum

At the highest point of the garden stands the museum building, with three floors of exhibitions. The ground floor holds a collection of about 700 minerals and gemstones from many countries, plus petrified wood from Argentina. The two upper floors house an exhibition of modern and contemporary art from the Berardo Collection, “O Mundo começa aqui!” (more than 200 works, including pieces by Joana Vasconcelos and Lourdes Castro). The sculptures from Zimbabwe that once stood in the museum have been moved into the garden: they are now in the Contemporary Zimbabwean Sculpture Garden, next to the cycad collection.

I haven’t been inside the museum myself – for me Monte Palace is first and foremost a garden to walk in, not a museum to tour. But if you’re into geology or African art, it may be worth an extra hour. The museum is open daily 9:00–17:30.

Wine tasting and cafés

The ticket includes a tasting of Moscatel wine at the Bluehouse Café. There are four places for a break in the garden: the Greenhouse at the highest point (coffee, soups, salads, burgers, cakes), the Bluehouse Café in the middle of the garden (sandwiches, wraps, wine, beer), the Piña Colada kiosk by the central lake (piña colada served in a pineapple) and the Poncha Bar at the southern viewpoint, in a restored Santana-style house. They are all open daily 9:30–17:30 and you can only get in with a garden ticket. I usually finish my visit with a Piña Colada or a poncha at the Poncha Bar just past the gate – it’s my regular ritual.

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1: Poncha at Monte Palace, 2: The Poncha Bar at Monte Palace. Photos: Ewelina Podrez-Siama, February 2026

Practical information

Monte Palace opening hours

The garden is open daily except 25 December. April to September: 9:00–19:00. October to March: 9:00–18:00. Museum: 9:00–17:30. Last entry to the garden: 18:15 (April–September) and 17:15 (October–March), according to Monte Palace.

Tickets: how much does Monte Palace cost?

Adults: €18. Children under 14: free with an adult. The ticket covers the garden, the museum and the Moscatel wine tasting. You can buy it online or at one of the three ticket offices. At the ticket office you can pay by Visa, Mastercard, Multibanco or cash; online, American Express and MB Way are accepted too. A ticket bought at the office is valid only on the day of purchase, while an online ticket is valid for 365 days from issue and gets you in without queuing (Fast Track) at the ticket office next to the queue and at the Belvedere entrance. Once your ticket has been scanned you can’t leave and come back. A guided buggy runs between the central lake and the north entrance (Caminho das Babosas 4): €5 per adult per ride.

Is there a combined ticket?

Monte Palace doesn’t sell combined tickets: a garden ticket always costs €18 and there’s no online discount. The ticket for the cable car from Funchal (€16 one way, €22 return) is bought separately from the cable car operator. The other cable car, from Monte to the Botanical Garden, does have a combined ticket: a one-way ride with entry to the garden costs €19, return €24. Tour resellers also sell “cable car + Monte Palace” packages. Before you buy, compare their price with the total of the tickets bought direct.

How to get to Monte Palace

The garden has three entrances: by the cable car station (Caminho das Babosas A4), the north entrance and the Belvedere entrance on the east side. The most spectacular way up is the cable car from Funchal, with views over the city and the valleys.

Read nextFunchal to Monte cable car. 🚡 18 minutes above the cityThe cable car from Funchal up to Monte started running again at the beginning of April after a technical break. Visitors who came to Madeira earlier had to go without. But the operator came back with a surprise: five new cabins with glass floors, the only ones of their kind in Portugal.

Read nextFunchal Botanical GardenFunchal’s other big garden, just 9 minutes from Monte by cable car. Prices, opening hours and the combined ticket.

Driving yourself? I wouldn’t really recommend it. The roads up to Monte are very steep and you often have to give way to buses, other cars and the toboggan sledges. Driving there is stressful, not fun. Cable car, bus or taxi – any of them is better.

Garden map and app

The garden covers 70,000 m² on several levels, so a map comes in handy. You can download the official garden map as a PDF (in English, about 1 MB) from the Monte Palace website. There’s also a free “Monte Palace Madeira” app with an interactive map: for iPhone and for Android. Paper leaflets are available at the ticket office in Portuguese, English, French, German and Spanish, and the signs in the garden are in Portuguese and English. Free Wi-Fi works in much of the garden.

How to plan your walk round the garden

The garden lies on a steep slope below the church in Monte. The main points:

• The museum and the Greenhouse café are at the highest point of the garden.
• The central lake with swans, a waterfall and the piña colada kiosk is in the middle part of the garden. The Bluehouse Café, where you collect your wine tasting, is also in the middle of the garden.
• The oriental garden means pagodas, torii gates, Buddha statues and the tile panel “Adventures of the Portuguese in Japan”.
• The flamingos live by the Poço dos Desejos pond, surrounded by tile panels and sculptures.
• The Contemporary Zimbabwean Sculpture Garden is next to the cycad collection.
• The Poncha Bar in a Santana-style house stands at the southern viewpoint, overlooking the bay and the toboggan route.

There are three entrances: by the top cable car station (Caminho das Babosas A4), the north entrance (Caminho das Babosas 4) and the Belvedere entrance on the east side. If you don’t want to walk back uphill, a guided buggy runs between the lake and the north entrance (€5 per ride).

How much time should you allow?

At least 2–3 hours for a quick walk, a café stop and a general look around. But if you really want to soak up the place – enjoy the views, sit on a bench in the sun, look at the azulejos in peace – allow 4 hours. This isn’t a sight to tick off. It’s a garden to simply be in.

Terrain and fitness

The garden is terraced – it spreads over a steep hillside. There are steep steps, but also gentler paths – you can choose. You can’t avoid going down and climbing back up, so comfortable shoes are a must. People with limited mobility may struggle – the official website says so plainly. Accessible toilets are at the entrance to the mineral collection and by the Bluehouse Café.

Monte Palace with children and a pushchair

Children under 14 go in free with an adult, and teenagers aged 15 and over can visit on their own. For children the biggest draw is usually the animals: flamingos, peacocks (including white ones), swans and koi carp. The garden asks visitors not to feed or touch them.

With a pushchair it’s hard going. The garden is on a steep slope, the paths are often cobbled, and the garden itself mentions limited accessibility. You can ask at the ticket office about somewhere to leave a pushchair. There are baby-changing facilities at the entrance to the mineral collection, and with a small child a baby carrier will be more practical. You can bring your own food and drink into the grounds; you just can’t eat in the museum.

Monte Palace with a dog

Monte Palace lets animals in – they have to be on a lead at all times. I’ve been here many times with my dog and it’s one of our favourite walks in Madeira. Tesla was quite the tourist attraction among the visitors – and she woke the flamingos up with her barking, which had the other tourists in stitches. The staff always gave her a warm welcome. I write more about travelling with a dog in my guide Madeira with a dog.

When to go to avoid the crowds

The garden itself recommends coming early in the morning or early in the afternoon. Monte sits high above the city, so it can be cooler here than on the seafront. The garden suggests bringing comfortable shoes, a hat, sunglasses and a light jacket or jumper. It also advertises daily concerts by Madeiran musicians from 12:30 (about an hour).

If there’s more than one cruise ship in Funchal harbour, Monte Palace will be crowded – the cable car and the garden are one of the most popular shore excursions. It’s worth checking in advance and, if need be, moving your visit to another day or coming early in the morning, before the crowds arrive from the port.

Monte above Funchal: what to see on the hill besides the garden

While you’re up in Monte, these are also worth seeing nearby:

• The church of Nossa Senhora do Monte – Madeira’s patron saint, about 68 stone steps, and inside the tomb of Emperor Charles I of Habsburg.
• Wicker toboggans (carros de cesto) – a traditional attraction: a ride down in a wooden sledge pushed by two carreiros. Monday to Saturday 9:00–18:00, no rides on Sundays. A ride costs €30 for one person, €40 for two and €60 for three, and tickets are sold only on the spot (Carreiros do Monte). I’ve done it once: it was fun, but it’s a once-only thing.
• Jardins do Imperador – the former residence of Emperor Charles I of Austria, with restored gardens and a café in the Malakoff tower overlooking Funchal. According to the city’s website it’s open Monday–Friday 9:30–17:30 and closed at weekends, so phone before you go: +351 291 630 458.
• Monte Municipal Park – Funchal’s highest public garden (550 m above sea level), with many species of trees and a stream.

You’ll find more ideas for the rest of the day in my guides to Funchal and things to do in Madeira.

Monte Palace or the Botanical Garden?

Funchal has two big gardens, linked by a cable car (about 9 minutes). Monte Palace is private, sits in Monte by the top station of the cable car from Funchal and is famous for its exotic plants, azulejo tiles, oriental garden and animals. A ticket costs €18. The Botanical Garden belongs to the region and is run by IFCN. It has carpet bedding, Madeiran plants and a natural history museum, and a ticket costs €10. You can take a dog on a lead into Monte Palace, but not into the Botanical Garden. I’m a Monte Palace fan, but I cover the details, tickets and how to get to the other garden in my guide to the Funchal Botanical Garden.

Half-day plan: cable car, Monte Palace and the toboggan

1. In the morning, take the cable car from the Zona Velha up to Monte (€16 one way, about 18 min). The top station is right by the garden entrance (Caminho das Babosas A4).
2. Monte Palace (€18, 2–3 hours, with the wine tasting at the Bluehouse Café).
3. A few minutes’ walk to the church of Nossa Senhora do Monte (about 68 steps, the tomb of Emperor Charles I).
4. Ride down in a wicker toboggan from below the church to Livramento (about 2 km): €30 for one person, €40 for two, €60 for three. The toboggans run Monday to Saturday, 9:00–18:00, and tickets are sold only on the spot and only for the same day. In bad weather or with a long queue they may finish earlier.
5. The toboggan ride ends in Livramento, not in the centre, so you’ll need a taxi from there. That’s why you should buy only a one-way cable car ticket.

One adult pays €16 + €18 + €30 = €64, not counting the taxi from Livramento. A couple shares a toboggan for €40, which works out at €54 per person. There are no toboggans on Sundays.

On a Sunday, or if you’d prefer a calmer way back, skip the toboggan and take the second cable car from Largo das Babosas to the Botanical Garden (€19 including garden entry), then return to the centre on bus 031 (€2.05 from the driver).

I’ve compared what the toboggan costs and how it stacks up against other trips in my guide to tours and excursions in Madeira.

Frequently asked questions about Monte Palace

Summary

Monte Palace isn’t a typical botanical garden where you walk from label to label. It’s more of a cultural park – plants, art, azulejos and the view over the ocean come together into something you can lose yourself in for a few hours. €18 for a ticket is quite a lot, but with the museum and the wine tasting included you can spend half a day here and not regret it.

My advice? Give yourself time and enjoy the nature. Don’t rush. This isn’t just another item to tick off a list of sights – it’s a place where it’s worth simply being.