Things to do

Things to do in Madeira
Madeira is an island that surprises you with how much variety it packs into a small space. Within 57 kilometres of length and 22 kilometres of width you’ll find botanical gardens with more than 2000 species of exotic plants, a cathedral from the Manueline era, the Mercado dos Lavradores market, where fishermen lay out black espada next to piles of tropical fruit, and mountain peaks reaching almost two thousand metres, from which on a clear day you can see Porto Santo and the Desertas Islands.

Madeira’s sights fall into a few categories. The first is viewpoints – and here Madeira has no equal. Cabo Girão is one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe (580 m above sea level), and the glass viewing platform opened in 2012 lets you look straight down at the ocean and at the farming terraces laid out on the near-vertical slopes. Pico do Arieiro, the island’s third-highest peak (1818 m above sea level), is one of the few places in Madeira where you can drive almost to the very top. From here the view stretches across the central mountain massif, and standing above the clouds you feel as if you’re looking out over a sea of cotton wool. The Eira do Serrado viewpoint, in turn, looks down on Curral das Freiras – a village at the bottom of a deep valley carved out by erosion (it isn’t a crater, although you’ll often read that it is), reached by hairpin bends cut into the mountains.

The second category is gardens and parks – the calling card of an island known as the “floating garden of the Atlantic”. Funchal Botanical Garden (about 8 ha, including about 5 ha of gardens) brings together species from every continent, and its terraces look out over the city and the bay. Monte Palace Tropical Garden covers about 7 hectares (70,000 m²) of exotic plants around a former residence, with collections of azulejos (painted ceramic tiles), minerals and African sculpture. Smaller but just as charming are the Municipal Garden (Jardim Municipal) in the centre of Funchal and Quinta Magnólia park. The Emperor’s Gardens in Monte are being restored, so check whether they’re open before you go.

The third category is experiences you won’t find anywhere else. The wicker toboggan ride from Monte down to Livramento (about 2 km; from there you have to make your own way to the centre of Funchal) – a tradition dating back to the 19th century, although today it’s more of a tourist attraction than a means of transport. The cable cars linking Funchal with Monte and the Botanical Garden with Babosas, which give you a bird’s-eye view of the city. The natural rock pools in Porto Moniz, formed by volcanic lava, where you swim in ocean water sheltered from the waves. The volcanic caves in São Vicente (Grutas e Centro do Vulcanismo) have been closed since 17 March 2020 and still have no reopening date. I cover the latest situation in my guide to Seixal.

The fourth is culture and history. Funchal’s Sé Cathedral, churches decorated with ceramic azulejos, São Tiago Fort and the Blandy’s wine lodge, whose history goes back to 1811. The Cristiano Ronaldo Museum in Funchal (yes – the legendary footballer comes from Madeira). The traditional houses in Santana. All this on an island whose history begins with its official discovery by the Portuguese in 1419 (a year earlier they had reached neighbouring Porto Santo), although the first mentions of islands “west of Africa” appear in ancient sources.

If you have more days in Madeira, take the ferry to the neighbouring island of Porto Santo. The crossing from Funchal takes about 2 h 15 min, and a 9 km sandy beach is waiting for you at the other end. The ferry does have maintenance breaks, though (usually a few weeks in January), and then your only option is a Binter flight. You can buy tickets on the Porto Santo Line website.

For every sight in this category I give detailed information: how to get there, how much time to set aside and whether the place is worth the price. No waffle, just concrete advice based on my own experience from many visits.