A Local’s Guide to Funchal, Madeira
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Sitting on an island to the west of North Africa and sandwiched between the ocean and the mountains, Funchal is one of the most peculiar cities in Portugal - but for all good reasons. It’s warm all year, making it amazing for outdoor enthusiasts, and it’s geographically as diverse a city as you'll get, especially if you venture into the nearby regions like Monte or Fanal.
Now, I do want to note that if you come here expecting a buzzing European city, expect to be disappointed; because that’s not what Funchal is about. But as long as you have the right expectation, it’s a perfect fit for almost anyone.
Kids love it because of attractions like the beach and the toboggan rides, hikers and nature lovers love it for the diverse geography and proximity to stunning parks and hikes, beach loungers love it for its sandy stretches and clean shores, and just about everyone can appreciate the really affordable 4 and 5-star hotels. And me? I love it because it is simply a beautiful place to explore.
Funchal, and Madeira Island in general, is also known worldwide for its floral diversity, excellent waters for diving, and terrific local cuisine, with traditional dishes covering everything from meat and seafood to a fruity alcoholic beverage known as poncha.
As always with Portugal, Funchal is also very tourist-friendly and super welcoming to international visitors. In recent years, I have noticed that more and more young expats and remote workers have been choosing to live in the city, which makes me feel excited about Funchal's future!
More Portugal travel info:
For more info on Madeira, check out our Madeira travel guide and our guide to dining in Madeira.
If you could use some one-on-one help planning your visit here, schedule a Madeira travel consultation with our Local Expert, Mary!
Table of contents
Why visit
Where is Funchal?
How to get here
Best time to visit
How long to spend
Where to stay
Things to see & do
Restaurants and dining
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Why visit?
Madeira is a beautiful island with a perfect warm climate, stunning natural landscapes, and great infrastructure for tourists. Funchal is its capital and largest city, and an excellent place in which to base yourself. That alone should be enough to justify a visit. But more than just the perfect base from which to explore Madeira, it’s genuinely a city worth visiting on its own.
Funchal combines the laidback vibe you’d find in any other Portuguese town with an ever-present view of both the ocean and the mountains. It feels distinctly Portuguese, but with a setting and backdrop that is far more African than Portuguese. The culture is undoubtedly that of Portugal, but the weather and geography are something else. Jokingly, I often say Funchal is the least European of all European cities.
Funchal was founded by Portuguese settlers in the 15th century and grew economically primarily due to the expansion of the sugar industry. Centuries later, Madeira's capital is now best known for its tourist amenities and quick access to outdoor experiences - not only in the open ocean but also in the steep mountains that surround the city and cover most of the island.
Internationally, Funchal is known for its resorts and luxury hotels, typical Santana houses, outstanding local cuisine, and outdoor sports opportunities (especially diving and hiking). Funchal may be a small city, but it's filled with fun things to do that should please visitors of all ages and interests.
Where is Funchal
Everybody knows Portugal as a small, rectangle-shaped country in Southwestern Europe that, along with Spain, makes up the Iberian Peninsula. However, the Portuguese territory also includes two autonomous regions, both of which are archipelagos: the Azores and Madeira.
Madeira, as I just alluded to, is an archipelago comprised of four islands, out of which Madeira Island (where you can find Funchal) is by far the largest and most developed. While many people (we Portuguese included) believe Madeira sits close to the Portuguese coast, it's actually found in the area of the North Atlantic Ocean, directly west of North Africa.
So, if you find yourself in Madeira and travel east following a straight line, you won't end up in mainland Portugal, but in Morocco instead.
Funchal sits close to the southernmost point of Madeira Island, right on the coast. It’s near several smaller mountainous villages, including the gorgeous municipalities of Caniço, Monte, São Gonçalo, and Câmara de Lobos. While these municipalities aren't technically Funchal, they're super close to the city and are normally included in every Funchal tourist itinerary.
I have talked about how Funchal's geography makes me think more of North Africa than Europe, and there's a reason for that. Funchal is blessed with a yearround warm climate, an interesting mix of European and African flora (including a ridiculous number of banana trees), and a rough, mountainous terrain.
In fact, Funchal is one of just a few places I know of where you can be hiking in the mountains and then get down to the beach for a swim in under an hour.
How to get here
The fastest way to get to Funchal (and Madeira in general) is by plane. You have more than a dozen daily non-stop flights from Lisbon as well as a handful each day from Porto. One-way tickets can cost as little as €30 if you book in advance.
To get to Funchal from any other place, air travel is also the best option. Depending on your country of origin, it can be cheaper to book a flight to Porto and Lisbon before going to Funchal. This way, you also have the opportunity to get to know mainland Portugal before departing.
You also have non-stop flights from Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich, and London, among a few European cities offering connections. Coming from Canada, there is one weekly non-stop flight from Toronto. If you’re coming from anywhere else, you should typically expect to make a layover in Lisbon.
Getting around Funchal and Madeira
To get around in the city of Funchal, all you need is your feet and the occasional Uber ride. The city is fairly compact, and most things you’ll want to see and do are in the city center. Most hotels are here too, or stretched out along the beach. For longer distances, it’s always easy to get a cab or call a ride with Uber/Bolt.
Now, to get around Madeira island and venture beyond the city, you absolutely need to have a car. Public transportation (buses) exists but it won't take you everywhere on the island and most travelers don’t have enough time to sit around waiting for (infrequent) buses.
Biking might seem like a tempting option, but due to Madeira's mountainous terrain and lots of long and steep inclines, along with bumpy roads, it is not a very good choice.
So, plan on renting a car to go exploring beyond the city.
Renting a car/driving
Madeira’s roads are not the best in Portugal, but they’re perfect good. Driving here includes plenty of twists and turns, but it’s mostly hassle free.
If you plan to rent a car, I recommend using the following two car rental websites to check prices and find a good deal:
DiscoverCars includes offerings from all the major international rental companies as well as lots of smaller local agencies, which often have much better pricing. You can often find great deals.
RentalCars is very similar, although they tend to list mostly larger companies. It’s now owned by Booking.com, so is backed by a familiar and reputable brand. Their prices are good too.
When to visit
My favorite thing about Funchal is how warm the climate is, regardless of the season. To give you an idea, average temperatures sit around 16 ºC (61 ºF) in January and February (the coldest months), rising to 26 ºC (78 ºF) in August and September (the warmest months).
The climate is truly ideal, with mild and pleasant weather all throughout the year and little in the way of extremes. At the same time, and quite ironically, you can experience the four seasons of the year in just one single day in Funchal. Spending the morning at the beach under a blazing sun and then running for your winter coat or raincoat during an afternoon hike in the mountains is a Madeira classic.
All things considered, the best time to visit Funchal is… whenever! Periods of heavy rain are relatively common in the winter months, but they're never too drastic. So, when deciding on the right time to visit, I wouldn’t worry too much about the weather. Focus on other factors instead, like high and low season, whale watching season, etc.
The exception is December, during which Funchal is usually "invaded" by people wanting to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve on the island (and get away from the dreary weather in continental Europe). It's the most expensive time of the year to travel to Funchal, but it's still worth it because people in Madeira celebrate Christmas and NYE with unrivaled enthusiasm.
April to September is typically regarded as the optimal time to visit, with an exception for the month of June when dense clouds tend to settle overhead and stubbornly stick around. Come later in summer for warmer and drier days. This is also the best time of year for those interested in spotting marine life like whales and dolphins (although they are present year round).
By fall, rain starts to become more likely, although not to an extent that it would ruin a visit.
October to March is hit or miss in general in terms of weather, but still a nice time to come. Winter weather is better than in most of Europe, but it’s definitely still not a time to hit the beach.
If you’re a flower aficionado, Madeira launches into a glorious flower festival in the 4 weeks following Easter, and Funchal and the whole of the island are adorned in beautiful colors.
How long to spend in Funchal
To enjoy Funchal, give yourself 2 or 2.5 days in the city. Dedicate the rest of your time on the island to hiking, road tripping, catching great views, getting out on the water, and enjoying some beach time.
For a trip to Madeira, I’d want to have at least 5 days, including your 2.5 in/around Funchal. More days is of course better as you want to be able to take things slowly here. Leisurely meals, relaxed beach time, lingering over a good coffee, long walks, and scenic drives - all done without a rush - are the pleasures of any visit.
Here’s a simple 2.5 day itinerary for a first visit to Funchal:
Day 1: Explore the city center in the morning and enjoy a good local lunch. After, take the afternoon to go for the Funchal-Monte cable car ride, one of Funchal's essential must-do activities.
While in Monte (a neighboring town at the top of the cable car ride), spend a few hours at the beautiful Jardim Monte Tropical Gardens. In the evening, go for a stroll in town or along the beach and then grab dinner and a drink at Revolución, one of the best cocktail bars in town.
Day 2: Go for a swim at one of Funchal's beaches, like Barreirinha, to start the day in a good mood. After some beach time, use the rest of the morning to check out nearby towns (which are basically part of the city) such as Fanal, Cabo Girão, or Santana, where you'll find lovely gardens, and Victorian-esque traditional thatched roof Madeiran houses.
In the afternoon, hike or bike at Funchal Ecological Park or enjoy a diving experience at Garajau beach. At night, check out the cultural programming at Museu Café or share a drink with the locals at the after-hours bar Venda Velha. If you’re feeling lucky, hit the tables at one of Madeira’s many casinos.
Day 3: On your last half day in town, visit the Madeira Story Centre museum to learn more about Funchal's rich history and take a short trip to Ponta de São Lourenço, the easternmost point of the island, which is also one of the best viewpoints in the entirety of Madeira.
Where to stay
You can book a hotel anywhere in Funchal and still be close to all of the main attractions, so knowing where to base yourself in the city isn't really the issue. Basically, you just need to figure out how much you want to spend per night and what kind of amenities you require.
And with Funchal as your base, you can get to virtually anywhere on the main island in less than one hour (as long as you're traveling by car).
In general, I recommend staying anywhere near the busy Sá Carneiro Avenue, a tourist-ready street overlooking the ocean that's also the best place on the island for a morning jog.
The architecture in the city is a mixture of modern buildings and charming colonial-style houses, some of which date back to the 15th century.
Here are my recommended hotels in town, all at different price points:
Reid’s Palace - Almost certainly Madeira’s most luxurious hotel, the clifftop location is enough to wow you, but things only get better once you step inside. $600-800 a night.
Quinta da Casa Branca - In a verdant and incredibly lush setting at the edge of town, surrounded by tropical plants, trees, and manicured grounds in every direction, the hotel’s design is casual, but exceedingly chic. It’s a veritable oasis. Rooms cost around $300.
Quinta Jardins do Lago - On a hill outside of town, the rooms here are housed in an elegant building from the 1700s with lots of period furniture. A special highlight is the fabulous pool, offering terrific views. Nightly rates range from $200-400 depending on the season.
The Vine Hotel - If you want to be in the center of Funchal, have a look at The Vine. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but the rooms are very design-forward and different. The pool is terrific as well. Rooms from $200-350.
Castanheiro Boutique Hotel - This charming boutique option is steps away from everything. While the buildings are historic (some dating back almost 300 years), the interiors have been renovated and you’ll find well-appointed modern rooms and a great rooftop pool. You can usually find a room for around $200 USD.
Melía Madeira Mare - Located on Funchal’s beachfront (lido), the Melia doesn’t have the elegance of some of the aforementioned options, but the rooms are bright, airy, and comfortable and the price is right. Nightly rates start at $175.
Atlântico Azul - Brand new and lovely one bedroom apartments. It’s right on the edge of town, but the views are great and the apartment makes up for the longer walk into the center. $130 USD per night.
Edificio Charles 202 - Edificio Charles has quite a few listings on Booking all with different numbers. They’re all the same building, just different apartments. The rooms are not fancy, but they’re recently renovated, super clean, and pleasant. The location right in the city center is extremely convenient as well. Rooms from $100 USD.
Hotel Orquidea - Right on the edge of the city center, the rooms here are clean and comfortable and the included breakfast is pretty good. Nightly rates start at $85 USD.
For super budget options, in the city center you can find various old-school hotels known as residenciais, which can cost less than €50 per night. They are sometimes a bit worse for wear though.
Now, if you’re up for staying outside of town, my personal favorite Madeira hotel is Estalagem Ponta do Sol.
It’s a modern four-star hotel built on top of a steep hill overlooking the ocean. It’s in Ponta do Sol, a beach destination sitting roughly 20 kilometers (13 miles) away from Funchal. The average price of €160 per night is going to feel cheap once you see the view from your room.
Mary's got answers!
Connect with our Funchal-based expert Mary for insierr advice and help planning a better trip to Madeira!
What to see and do in Funchal
Funchal itself is short on big sights, at least for what you’d expect from a major European city, but the area surrounding town has quite a lot to offer, so I’ve included below a mix of things to see and do in the city center as well as nearby.
1. Explore Funchal's principal streets and main squares
Avenida Arriaga. Photo: PESP/ Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Like most cities in Portugal (and Europe), Funchal is essentially characterized by a few recognizable main squares. You are almost certain to come across them while walking even if you don’t intend to, but you should nevertheless take note of the following locations:
Avenida do Mar: Perhaps the best-known street in Funchal, Avenida do Mar sits right next to the ocean and is always busy with both locals and tourists. There are many cafés on the avenue, as well as a beautiful garden and direct access to the Almirante Reis beach and Funchal marina.
At the end of the street, you can find the Principado da Pontinha, which is its own (self-proclaimed) country! The micro-nation, set on a little hill, was first sold to the Portuguese nation in 1903 and became “independent” in 2007; today, the São José fort in the Principado da Pontinha is regularly visited by curious tourists.
Avenida Arriaga: If you move away from the ocean and deeper into the city, you may stumble upon this busy street, where retired Funchal locals love to spend their days. The main attraction on Avenida Arriaga is the Cathedral of Funchal, one of Madeira's oldest and most significant religious buildings.
Rua de Santa Maria: The most iconic street in Funchal's old town, Rua de Santa Maria is a narrow pedestrian artery connecting Avenida do Mar to the Barreirinha beach. Filled with restaurants and shops for tourists, this is the place where everything happens in Funchal, especially at nighttime.
Close by, you can find Loja Jacarandá, a traditional crafts shop that's probably the most authentic spot in Madeira for souvenir shopping.
By strolling along these streets, you’ll also inevitably wind up in some of the city’s main squares.
If you would like to dig deep, I recommend visiting Praça do Povo square, which was once one of Funchal's prime fishing spots, and Praça CR7, a sunny location near Avenida do Mar that was named after the football player Cristiano Ronaldo, Madeira's most famous citizen.
2. Take a ride on the Funchal Cable Car
A cable car riding up to the town of Monte. Photo: Ввласенко, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
I generally consider cable car rides to be a bit of a tourist trap, but the Funchal cable car is one good exception to that rule. Loved by locals and visitors alike, this attraction is not a gimmick, but rather an unforgettable Funchal experience.
Yes, the trip is lovely, and it's always great to catch an aerial view of Funchal. But what makes the experience worthwhile is the destination: the parish of Monte. More typical and traditional than the neighboring city of Funchal, Monte is a little town where you can find two of the most beautiful gardens in Madeira (which I will discuss briefly below), as well as the finest selection of toboggan rides in the area.
Toboggan riding is a thing in Madeira, and many people who go to Monte via cable car end up returning to Funchal on top of traditional basket carts. I suggest you do the same, as this is a definitive part of the cable car ride experience, as well as one of those activities all visitors to Madeira should enjoy at least once.
Tickets for the cable car ride cost €12.50 for adults and €6.50 for children, while toboggan rides cost an average of €30 (two people).
3. Hit the “beach”!
Complexo Balnear do Lido. Photo: Hein.Mück, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
I think it's a mistake to go to Funchal primarily for the beach, but I'm equally certain that passing through Madeira and not taking a swim in the ocean is borderline criminal. Considering that the temperature in Madeira seldom goes below 20 ºC (68 ºF), the question is not Should I go for a swim?, but rather Where should I go for a swim?
The best place for swimming in Funchal is the Lido bathing complex, with a great swimming pool and an artificial dock for diving right into the ocean. This is ideal for families with small children and inexperienced swimmers, but it has an admission cost of €5.50. For a similar fee, you can also explore the Barreirinha bath complex (my personal favorite), which is not as family-friendly but tends to be quieter.
To swim for free in Funchal, all you need to do is walk to the Formosa beach, roughly 10 minutes away from the city center. Make sure to wear shoes because the seabed is made of rocks, not sand, and the waves drag lots of rocks onto the shore as well. The last time I ventured for a barefoot swim in Formosa, I ended up hurting my feet, so don't make the same mistake!
Even closer to Funchal, there's a swimming spot behind the São Tiago fort - not to be confused with the São José fort - that's pretty much a locals' secret (oops…). It might be the best place in town for a dip. Here, the sea tends to be a bit calmer, and there's plenty of rock-free room to put down your towel and enjoy the sun. There's also a trendy café adjacent to it where they serve typical Madeiran delicacies, which is a super nice extra.
4. Visit the Monte Tropical and Madeira Botanical Gardens
Jardim do Monte gardens. Photo: Karelj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
While at Monte, and before going back to Funchal on top of a toboggan, there are two gorgeous gardens you need to check out: Monte Tropical Garden and Madeira Botanical Garden. Madeira's floral diversity is sublimely exemplified by these two iconic destinations, and you don't need to be a botanist to enjoy them.
Monte Tropical Garden costs €12.50 for adults and is free for children under 15. Covering 15,000 square meters, it's styled like a Buddhist zen garden, with lots of temple-like houses and Asian-looking wooden bridges. It is full of a really exciting (and beautiful!) collection of exotic plants and even some animals, including a koi pond and black swans.
Visitors can also see more than 1,000 Zimbabwean sculptures, an exhibition of more than 700 minerals, and a massive display of traditional Portuguese tiles, known locally as azulejos.
Madeira Botanical Garden, on the other hand, costs €10 for adults and €4 for children. Close by and equally massive (both in size and diversity), this is one of my favorite places in Madeira. If you love weird plants, you're going to love this garden! However, even if you’re not fan of flora (boo!), simply strolling through and contemplating the breathtaking view is enough to make the €10 investment a worthwhile one.
Most people love the perfect flower arrangements in the middle of the garden, but the spot I like the most is the exotic cacti section. The garden also has a nice café where you can enjoy a cold beer.
Inside the Madeira Botanical Garden, you’ll also find a typical Santana-style house, which is a house painted in bright colors with a triangular thatched roof. The Santana houses are a Madeira classic, but most people end up overpaying to see them at the Madeira Theme Park, which is not as fun as it sounds and is very much a tourist trap.
If you want to see a nice garden in Madeira but don't feel like doing the cable car ride to Monte, I suggest passing by Quinta da Boa Vista, within walking distance of the city center. For only €5, you can go inside and check out one of the largest orchid gardens you will ever see, as well as a comprehensive collection of plants and animals.
5. Get active at the Funchal Ecological Park
The Funchal Ecological Park is a public natural park with free entrance and roughly 1,000 hectares sitting a mere 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away from the city center. Very accessible, this park is the perfect spot for playing outdoor sports near Funchal, and there are lots of different attractions to choose from.
Extreme sports lovers can do mountain biking, "fly" through the mountains with a hang glide or paraglide, and even do canyoning. I’ve never been a big fan of extreme sports, so I mainly go to the Funchal Ecological Park because of its hiking trails, which are among the best on the whole island and are highly favored by bird watchers.
Some of the hiking trails in the park are Levadas. Levada is the name given to small, man-made irrigation channels going through the Madeira mountains and, as far as I know, they only exist in Madeira. While the Levadas still carry water, they're nowadays mostly known because of the Levada hikes, which follow the course of the traditional mountain aqueducts.
Out of all the hiking experiences available at Funcal Ecological Park, the Barreiro-Poço da Neve hike is my number-one recommendation. It takes more than three hours to complete, but is very rewarding!
At the end of the hike, adventurers can see a little-known Madeira attraction called Poço da Neve, or Well of Snow in English. The Poço da Neve is an old house-shaped structure made out of rocks that was originally used by locals to store ice.
6. Go diving at Garajau Beach
Scuba diving off the coast of Madeira. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The mountains are great for outdoors activities, but the island of Madeira is primarily known for being a fabulous destination for diving.
If you enjoy diving, you should take a quick 20-minute trip from Funchal's city center to Garajau Beach and experience firsthand the floral and faunal diversity of its maritime reserve. If you have never dived before, visiting Madeira is the perfect excuse to do so!
There are several diving spots in the reserve, but the diving point at Garajau Beach is probably the most convenient. Diving experiences at this location are provided by companies such as Madeira Diving Center (my favorite), Focusnatura, and Manta Diving Madeira, and cost anywhere between €100 and €150.
The marine life at Garajau are so accustomed to divers that you can sometimes even touch and engage with the many grouper fish roaming the area. Other species include barracudas, dogfishes, and moray eels. The Garajau Beach is also perfect for other maritime activities, including freediving, paddle boarding, and boat rides.
7. Get a taste for Funchal’s nightlife
Funchal, like the rest of Madeira, is most interesting during the daytime, but that doesn't mean you need to stay put in your hotel once the sun comes down. The city can be disappointingly empty during weeknights but is booming with both locals and tourists during the weekend.
If you're looking for the best spot to have a cocktail in Funchal, I recommend the Revólucion Craft Cocktail Bar in Rua do Sabão. You can also take a stroll through the nearby Rua de Santa Maria and pick the bar you like the most.
The street boasts an interesting combo of tourist bars and local traditional cafés that sell poncha and other types of alcohol. After-hours spots are rare on the island, but the locals-only Venda Velha bar is always full until at least 4 AM and has some nice DJ sets from time to time.
Apart from Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal's nightlife is best felt at Barreirinha (the beach), where you can find the ever-busy Barreirinha Bar Café. The Barreirinha is also home to monthly events organized by Escola Normal, an international collective of artists that's behind the most interesting alternative music events on the Madeira island.
They regularly invite musicians and DJs from the mainland (and other countries) to perform in Funchal and they also host a weekly jam night (every Thursday) at Museu Café, sometimes gathering hundreds of people—which is quite a lot for an improvised, live music jam!
Moreover, the people running Escola Normal are incredibly talented and nice, so these events are a great opportunity for meeting some of the most interesting and entrepreneurial young people living on Madeira Island.
Funchal is home to two music festivals I believe every music fan will deeply enjoy: Aleste and Madeira Dig. Aleste takes place every May and is set in Barreirinha Beach and Pestana CR7 Hotel; in a nutshell, is an alternative music festival with lots of Portuguese rock acts taking place in dreamy Funchal sceneries.
Madeira Dig, hosted every December, is a more exclusive event taking place in Ponta do Sol (a municipality 20 minutes away from Funchal's city center) and reuniting international artists well-known in the fields of electronic, experimental, improvised, and electroacoustic music.
8. Check out the sights outside of town
Hiking in the mountains outside of Fanal
If you happen to have rented a car for your Funchal trip, I recommend leaving the city and venturing through other attractions on the island. While technically found outside Funchal, these are close by enough not to get in the way of your plans, and they're surely worth the ride.
I won't list everything worth seeing outside of Funchal here, but I will leave you with my three favorites:
Curral das Freiras: This tiny mountain village in the Câmara de Lobos municipality is very hard to reach, but it's still home to more than 1,000 people who, in many ways, live like the traditional Madeira farmers of yesteryears.
If you're brave enough to get there, you will have a blast walking through the village, visiting attractions like the Museu da Castanha (Chestnut Museum in English), and exploring the surrounding nature. Make sure to pass by the river beach Praia dos Chefes because it's like stepping inside a postcard…
Fanal: Fanal is a large forest area sitting in a windy highland in Porto Moniz. It's far from Funchal (roughly one hour by car), but it's even further away from reality. I will never forget the first time I went there because, in addition to being very beautiful, the Fanal Highland has an eerie aura of mystery to it. It's prone to mist, rain, and winds as strong as they get, but don't let that get in your way!
Natural swimming pools of Porto Moniz: Also in Porto Moniz, but far from the mountaintop of Fanal, the natural swimming pools of Porto Moniz are a man-made structure favored by tourists. The water in the pools comes straight from the ocean (when the waves hit), so this is a great place for swimming in the ocean without exactly swimming in the ocean…
If you're traveling with kids, I'm sure they're going to love this spot! Entrance is free for children under 3 and costs €3 for everybody else.
9. Visit the (many) stunning viewpoints
Views from Cabo Girão. Photo: patano, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Since we're venturing outside of Funchal already, why not stop at some of the best viewpoints on Madeira Island too? Madeira has got to be one of the best sightseeing destinations in the world, because there are incredible viewpoints all over the island, boasting breathtaking views of both the mountains and the ocean.
If you want to love the view, I suggest visiting the Ponta de São Lourenço, the easternmost point on the island, and being engulfed by the enormity of the surrounding ocean.
The lofty sea cliff of Cabo Girão also has a famous viewpoint (known in Portugal as miradouro) that's perfect for a photo-op but not so perfect for anyone afraid of heights.
If you're interested in seeing Curral das Freiras but don't want to go through the hassle of making the difficult trip to the village, I suggest stopping by the Miradouro da Eira do Serrado. Don't forget to take your camera!
10. Learn about Funchal’s history
Great destinations like Funchal aren't just about the people, the places, and the food. They're also about stories. If you're interested in learning more about the rich past of Madeira, then you should go to the Madeira Story Centre, which sums up 14 million years of Madeira's history (starting long before the first Portuguese settlers arrived on the island) into a visiting experience of roughly one hour.
Did you know that Madeira has a strong wine production industry that's hardly as well-known as the ones in Lisbon or Porto? Or that Madeira is home to more than 25 miles of secret tunnels, built by locals since the 16th century? These are only two of the many interesting facts you can learn at Madeira Story Centre.
Apart from the Madeira Story Centre, the CR7 Museum is probably the most popular in Funchal. If you love Cristiano Ronaldo, Madeira's prodigal son, you should go there. If football doesn't really make you feel excited, then I suggest giving this one a pass.
Tickets for the Madeira Story Centre cost €5 (adults) and €3 (children), while tickets for the CR7 Museum cost €5 per person.
11. Tour the city with expert local guide Mary Anne!
Whether you’ll be in Funchal for a few days or a few hours, there’s no better way to get an introduction to the city than on a walking tour with Mary Anne, a local guide based here.
After 20 years of guiding on her island (and throughout all of Portugal), Mary knows Funchal and Madeira like few others. She’ll of course show you the highlights, but especially enjoys showing off a lesser-seen side of her home.
Passionate about her island’s cuisine, she also loves to mix in food tours and cooking classes, so that you can not only see, but also taste your way through Madeira!
If you’re interested in a tour, you can get in touch with Mary here.
Connect with Mary, our Funchal-based local expert, for help perfecting your itinerary, answers to all your travel questions, and fabulous local tips!
Restaurants and Dining
Portugal is not the richest or most powerful country around, but man, it has great food! Madeira is no exception, and even though I'm partial to the island's priceless gastronomical heritage, I'm certain that it's among the best in the world. Let's start with the traditional dishes and drinks, which are quite diverse and include the following:
Food and dishes to try
Bolo do Caco: A round bread made with sweet potato and usually cooked in traditional stone slabs. Bolo do Caco is normally served with garlic butter, another Madeira classic, and Funchal locals eat it for breakfast, for lunch, and as a side dish. In other words, a Madeira meal doesn't feel like a Madeira meal if there's not some Bolo do Caco around…
Peixe-espada com banana: Translating as scabbardfish with banana, this light but mouthwatering meal is a local specialty combining freshly caught scabbardfish with fried banana. I'm sure this strange meal wouldn't exist if Madeira didn't have an excess of both scabbard fishes and bananas, but what's even stranger is that the two ingredients combine perfectly. It's one of those dishes you need to try to really understand.
Espetada: Espetada is a skewered marinated beef that doesn't have a very peculiar taste (it's just good meat), but is an essential part of Madeira traditions. It's served hanging from an iron structure that I have never seen outside of the island, and that's what gives it its unique appeal.
Lapas: Limpets (called Lapas in Portuguese) are very common in Madeira, and the locals have been eating them with a salty butter sauce for generations now. The perfect mid-afternoon snack (especially if served with Bolo do Caco), Lapas are so delicious they should come with an addiction warning.
Milho Frito: Another amazing Madeira sidedish, Milho Frito is a fried maize cube with a crunchy outside and soft interior. While you can easily find Bolo do Caco and Lapas in mainland Portugal, I have never seen Milho Frito outside of Madeira, so don't waste your opportunity to try it while visiting Funchal.
Poncha: The Poncha is Madeira's number-one alcoholic drink, made of aguardente de cana (a spiritual drink similar to rum) and fruit juice. Traditionally, the fruit in the Poncha was lemon, but nowadays you can find Poncha of any fruit flavor. Ponha is so sweet that it doesn't feel like alcohol, so please drink responsibly. For a great-tasting Poncha in Funchal, visit the Sete Mares pub.
Nikita: Named after the Elton John tune of the same name, the Nikita is a Madeira-only cocktail drink made of beer, pilsner/white wine, and—believe it or not—coconut ice cream. It's as devastatingly sweet as it sounds and, just like the Poncha, it has been getting people in Madeira drunker than they'd like to for decades!
These and other regional delicacies can be found in many Funchal restaurants, but some are better than others. To avoid tourist traps and eat like the locals, I suggest trying out the following restaurants:
Restaurants in Funchal
Alta Vista: Serving delicious Espetada and Peixe-espada com banana, the Alta Vista restaurant makes for a perfect introduction to Madeira's cuisine because it's mostly attended by locals, very cheap considering the food quality, and famous for the sympathy of the owners. It doesn't seem like much from the outside, but you're going to love it!
Já Fui Jaquet: A fancier and pricier alternative with a great Mediterranean menu, Já Fui Jaquet is one of the few restaurants in Rua de Santa Maria that seems more interested in serving great food to its clients than cashing in on hungry tourists. Despite the prime location, lots of locals eat there.
Talho do Caniço: A 15-minute ride away from Funchal's city center, Talho do Caniço, in Caniço, is a fun restaurant for meat lovers because you get to choose the meat you're going to have before it's cooked. The place is half restaurant, half butchershop, but looks a lot more like the latter, so just don't tell your vegan friends to go there…
Aconchego: A restaurant/bar in Funchal, Aconchego serves typical Madeira dishes with a modern twist. It looks and tastes expensive, but two adults can easily enjoy a nice meal for under €70, which is pricey for Madeira, but not at all expensive considering the quality of the menu.
Restaurant Mozart: For years, I thought this classic restaurant in the old part of town was another Funchal tourist trap. Then, I tasted their mouthwatering food and realized that they actually serve great dishes for prices that seldom go over €20. Oh, they also have the coolest bathrooms in Funchal, at least if you're into mirrors!
O Polar: Every Funchal citizen knows that the authentic Espetada is served in the neighboring municipality of Câmara de Lobos. There, you can find numerous family-run restaurants that make Espetada the traditional way, including the amazing grill restaurant O Polar. Give it a try and, if you cannot find a table there, just look for another restaurant serving Espetada nearby (they're almost all pretty good).
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