Funchal is Madeira's capital, a city of about a hundred thousand people that climbs from its harbour up a steep amphitheatre of hills on the island's sunny south coast. It is the base for most visits to the island: compact enough to walk in the centre, with cable cars, buses and tours reaching the hills, the levadas and the coast.
The Portugal page covers the PR6 levada to the 25 Fontes, and the Madeira levadas have their own page. This page covers the city and its edge: the cable car to Monte and the toboggans back down, the wine lodges, the market and the painted doors of the old town, the botanical garden and the sea cliff of Cabo Girão just west.
The weather is mild all year, so Funchal works in any season; what changes is the light, the flowers and the crowds.
Ride the cable car up to Monte and its tropical garden
Zona Velha to Monte
Half a day with the gardenNo booking needed
Ride a cable car over rooftops, gardens and terraces to a tropical garden and the tomb of the last Austrian emperor.
What it is
The cable car from the old town to Monte is the easy way up the amphitheatre of hills behind Funchal. At the top, the Monte Palace Tropical Garden spreads over 70,000 m² of exotic plants, tile panels and a museum, and the 18th-century church of Nossa Senhora do Monte holds the tomb of Charles I, who died in exile on Madeira. A second cable car runs from Monte to the Botanical Garden.
How to do it
It leaves from Rua Dom Carlos I in the Zona Velha and arrives at Largo das Babosas. Tickets cost €16 one way or €22 return, free up to age 6 and half price from 7 to 14; it runs daily from 8:45 to 17:45, except Christmas Day.
Good to know
In must30's view, ride up early, see the garden, then come down on the wicker toboggans.
Slide down a steep road in a wicker basket on wooden runners, steered by two carreiros in straw hats who brake with their boots.
What it is
Monte's wicker toboggans, the carros de cesto, are one of the oddest rides in Europe: the two-seater baskets run down the road below the Monte church, and the carreiros push and steer too. The ride covers about 2 km down to Livramento in around ten minutes, on a public road.
How to do it
Since 1 May 2026 a basket for two has cost €40, according to Times of Madeira; tickets are bought on the spot, usually in cash, and cannot be booked online, and rides run roughly from 9:00 to 18:00, Monday to Saturday. Combine it with the cable car up, and go before the cruise groups arrive.
Good to know
At the bottom you are still well above the centre, with taxis waiting and a long steep walk down, so plan the next leg.
Walk the canteiro rooms where Madeira wine ages slowly in casks, then taste it in the family lodge of seven generations.
What it is
Blandy's Wine Lodge is in a historic building on Avenida Arriaga, in the centre of Funchal, and its guided tours are the clearest introduction to how the island's fortified wine is made and aged. The Premium Tour, €23, takes 45 minutes through the cooperage, those rooms, the satinwood vats and the company museum, and ends with a tasting of three wines; the Lodge Tour, €17, is a 30-minute version with two. A 90-minute vintage tour adds five wines, one of them a frasqueira.
How to do it
English tours run several times a day, the Premium Tour Monday to Friday at 10:30, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00, with more times at weekends. Book ahead.
Good to know
Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before, and children under 6 go free.
Shop for fruit and black scabbardfish at the Lavradores market
Funchal centre
1 hourFree
See the long, dark black scabbardfish laid out downstairs, and island fruit and flowers around an open courtyard above.
What it is
The Mercado dos Lavradores, the farmers' market, is Funchal's food hall: an Art Deco building by Edmundo Tavares, opened in November 1940, with tile panels of island scenes by João Rodrigues on the façade, at the main entrance and in the fish hall. The stalls also sell vegetables, and the fish market lays out tuna; the fish is the espada, which Madeira serves fried with banana.
How to do it
Go in the morning, when the fish is freshest and the stalls are fullest. Afterwards, the old town and the cable car station are a few minutes' walk east.
Good to know
The market is closed on Sundays. Some fruit stalls work the tourist trade hard, so ask the price before you taste, since a free sample can turn into a bag sold by the kilo.
Walk a long, narrow old-town street where local artists have painted almost every door with its own picture.
What it is
Rua de Santa Maria runs through the Zona Velha, Funchal's old town by the sea, and works as an open-air gallery, from portraits and street scenes to abstract designs. In the evening the street fills with restaurant tables, which makes it the old town's dinner street as well.
How to do it
Walk it from the Fortaleza de São Tiago end towards the centre, then double back through the side lanes, where more doors and murals continue. It is free and takes about an hour at a slow pace, and the lower cable car station to Monte is at the edge of the quarter, so it pairs easily with the ride up.
Good to know
People live behind many of these doors, so take photos from the street and keep the noise down at night.
See plants from every continent at the Botanical Garden
Bom Sucesso, Funchal
2 hoursNo booking needed
See more than 2,000 plants from every continent, some endangered in the wild, in a garden above Funchal's bay.
What it is
The Madeira Botanical Garden, at Bom Sucesso, occupies the old estate that the Reid family founded in 1881, opened as a public garden in 1960. Its eight hectares, five of them landscaped, have an orchid area, patterned beds of clipped plants, lawns and viewpoints over the bay; the house holds a small natural history museum and a herbarium, and the garden runs its own conservation work.
How to do it
It opens daily from 9:00 to 17:30. Reach it by bus or taxi, or by the cable car from Monte, which lets you combine both in one day. In must30's view, go in the morning, when the light is softest on the beds and before the groups arrive.
1 hour, plus 20 to 30 minutes each way from FunchalBook ahead
Stand on a glass platform over a 580-metre drop and look straight down on small fields farmed at the foot of the cliff.
What it is
Cabo Girão, west of Funchal in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, is a sea cliff that Madeira's tourism board calls the highest promontory in Europe. The fields below are the fajãs, and the view runs east along the coast to Câmara de Lobos and Funchal. Close by is the chapel of Nossa Senhora de Fátima, built in 1951 and one of the island's pilgrimage sites.
How to do it
Entry costs €5 for visitors over 12, paid in advance on the regional SIMplifica portal, and the viewpoint opens daily from 8:00 to 20:00. Combine it with a stop in the fishing harbour of Câmara de Lobos on the way back.
Good to know
Come early or in the early evening to avoid the tour buses, and pick a clear day.
Time needed
1 hour, plus 20 to 30 minutes each way from Funchal
Look up at the cedar ceiling of Funchal's cathedral
Funchal centre
30 minutesNo booking needed
Look up at a Mudéjar-inspired ceiling of carved cedar in one of the few buildings left almost intact from Madeira's first century.
What it is
Funchal's cathedral, the Sé, was completed in 1514, in the first century of settlement, and has been a national monument since 1910. Outside it is plain: white plastered walls with corners of dark volcanic stone. Its treasures include a silver processional cross given by King Manuel I, a masterpiece of Manueline silverwork.
How to do it
Inside, the wooden choir stalls show prophets, saints and apostles dressed in 16th-century clothes, with scenes of island life worked into the seats and armrests. It stands in the centre a few minutes from the seafront and the market, so it fits between them.
Good to know
It is a working church, so visit outside Mass and dress modestly.
Madeira's airport is at Santa Cruz, east of Funchal; buses and taxis run into the city. Arrivals can be diverted or delayed in strong wind, so keep some slack on the first and last days. Cruise ships dock at the port, a short walk from the centre.
Getting around
The centre, the old town and the seafront are walkable, but the city rises steeply behind them. City buses and taxis cover the hills, and two cable cars link the old town with Monte and Monte with the Botanical Garden. Rent a car or join tours for the rest of the island.
How many days
In must30's view, two full days cover Funchal itself: one for Monte, the toboggans and the old town, one for the market, the wine lodge, the cathedral and the Botanical Garden. Use Funchal as the base for several more days of levadas and island tours.
When to go
Funchal is mild all year. Spring brings the Flower Festival and the gardens at their best; summer is warm and dry; autumn is good for walking. Over New Year the city is full for the fireworks, so book early. Winter can bring rain and wind, but rarely cold.
Where to stay
The centre and the old town put you within walking distance of the market, the cable car and the restaurants. The hotel zone west of the centre has more pools and sea views but is a bus or a long walk from the old town. Hillside stays have views and steep walks.
Questions travellers ask
How many days do you need in Funchal?
Two full days are enough for the city itself: Monte with the cable car and toboggans, the old town, the market, a wine lodge and the Botanical Garden. Most visitors stay longer and use Funchal as a base for the levadas and the rest of the island.
Is Funchal walkable?
The flat centre, the seafront and the old town are. Above them the streets climb steeply, so use the cable cars to Monte and the Botanical Garden, city buses or taxis, and save your legs for the levadas.
How do you get to Monte from Funchal?
The cable car from the old town is the classic way, at €16 one way or €22 return. City buses and taxis also go up. Most people ride up and come down part of the way on the wicker toboggans.
Do you need a car in Funchal?
Not in the city. For the rest of Madeira a car or tours make sense, since mountain roads are slow and buses to trailheads are infrequent. Many visitors rent a car for a few days only.
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