About Funchal
Want to discover an enchanted city?
I'll tell you the secret: it is tucked away on a small island in the middle of the Atlantic. It has an enviable climate, exotic colors and fragrances, a paradisiacal location, over 500 years of history, with a rich heritage, stunning gardens, and a distinct gastronomy.
It knows how to receive like few others. It satisfies simple desires and the most demanding in equal measure. It shows how to enjoy life to the fullest and enchants with each new discovery. It attracts at first sight and captivates for life.
The island is surrounded by a steep and almost inaccessible heart of cliffs covered with Laurissilva; the sheltered and flat areas, such as the bay of Funchal, invite us to enter a unique world...
The city of Funchal is beautiful. It owes its name to the aromatic fennel plant (Foeniculum vulgare).
Funchal Center and Gardens
Wander slowly through Funchal, the capital of Madeira, through streets and alleys on an irregular cobblestone (Madeira typical paving) flanked by gardens with simple and exotic flowers and magnificent trees, where you can photograph and get to see churches, palaces and 19th century manor houses (which are now museums), belvederes overlooking the sea.
Don't be surprised if on the next corner you bump into the São Lourenço Palace, Santa Clara Convent, São Lourenço Fortress-Palace or the Cathedral. But "Madeira is a garden", a song eternalized by Max and that is so true. There are so many gardens to visit that one week is not enough. Fall in love with the Tropical Garden of Monte, the Municipal Garden, or the Panoramic Garden.
Madeira Wine
Then, we challenge you to try Madeira wine, the perfect toast to celebrate life: light, fragrant, golden in color.
There is a wine for all tastes: dry, medium dry, medium rich, or rich (sweet). Out of curiosity, Madeira Wine was chosen to celebrate the declaration of the Independence of the USA, on July 4th, 1776. There was also in the 15th century an English Duke who was sentenced to death, and his last wish was (fulfilled) to die drowning in a barrel of Madeira wine, such was his passion! To find out what all these stories are about, don't miss the opportunity to visit Madeira wine cellars such as Blandy's Wine Lodge. Enjoy and taste a glass or two of Madeira Wine. Let's toast: Cheers! Visit Blandy's Wine Lodge, show your Yellowbus ticket and get a free wine tasting.
Cable car and Monte
Regain your energies sitting on a bench in any garden, or on the old wharf with the sea breeze.
The city seems to be mainly made to be appreciated from a boat: it starts on the almost flat bay where the marina, the São Lourenço Palace and the São Tiago Fort are located, and spreads out in little houses up the hill, enlightened at night and radiating clear colors during sunny days.
Now a suggestion: don't leave Madeira without taking a dip in the temperate waters of the Atlantic.
Continue the day with a visit to the Botanical Garden, high above the sea, in the middle of a steep slope going up to Monte.
Or you can take the cable car, which leaves from Avenida do Mar, enticing you with silent, shallow passes over the houses.
And indeed, Monte is a place not to be missed, for the views over the city - literally keeping your head in the clouds - with its church, and for the wonderful plants that don't wait for spring to bloom in every garden.
Art Forms
On the way back to Funchal, be enchanted by the Lavradores Market, where locals and tourists rave about the flower sellers in typical costume, and from where you'll leave with full belly of fruit salad, if you attend the demonstrations of passion-fruit-banana, mango-lime and other gastronomic experiences, offered by the sellers.
Head to the Fortress of São Tiago, which houses the Museum of Contemporary Art, through the streets of Carlos I and Santa Maria, in a zigzag motion. A special touch is spread over the wooden doors, in distinct colors and styles. Santa Maria Street is the richest, with over a dozen of these works, and it is worth walking slowly along it, even if only to appreciate this surprising open-air painting exhibition.
Câmara de Lobos
But in the area further west, continue gazing at the sea and don't be put off by the color of our beaches, due to their black sand and round pebbles. Walk along with the sea breeze on the Lido promenade, a good spot to take a walk to Câmara de Lobos or to watch the sunset. If you decide to continue, you will arrive in Câmara de Lobos.
Regain your strength while enjoying some limpets and the local beer. You'll find them in the so-called "vendas" or grocery stores that, in the past, served as a meeting place for a drink or a snack at the end of a long day's work. Some of these places look the same, as if frozen in time.
The famous Poncha
Don't forget to taste the poncha, the regional drink made with sugar cane brandy, bee honey and lemon.
Cabo Girão
Be dazzled by the fabulous view of Cabo Girão, the highest cape in Europe; at 580 m high, it’s famous for its suspended glass platform, “Skywalk”; It’s situated on the highest promontory in Europe, and offers a vertiginous view over the fajãs with small areas of cultivated land at the foot of the cliff. In short, the deep blue of the ocean merges with the luminous blue of the sky and in every corner of its steep streets, you will be enchanted by breathtaking scenery.
The magical green, which contrasts with the incomparable beauty of its imposing mountains, lofty and mysterious. The stubborn sun and the mild climate that give scent and color to the exotic fruits and endemic flowers, like an enchanted island. The inebriating aroma of its nectar, the famous wine, or of its incomparable delicacies. To feel ... that's what we invite you to experience in Madeira. Without forgetting that Madeirans were born and grew up cradled in this magic, and so they have, innate, the art of welcoming, especially those who come with open arms and full hearts - just like a friend.
On Hop on Hop off - 3 in 1 combined ticket, we take you to know the city and live these experiences. We guarantee that nothing is left unseen!
