Madeira – Funchal, capital of the island

The largest city in Madeira, it may not be unique in terms of architecture or historical monuments, but nevertheless crowds of tourists are drawn here. While on the island, it is worth at least one day to go to Funchal.

Madeira’s largest city is home to more than 100,000 people. residents (almost 1/3 of the island’s total population). It is not a large metropolis, but driving here you can get the impression that the traffic here is like in a large European city, and you have to stand your ground in traffic jams as well. However, a car is not necessary to see the most interesting places in Madeira ‘s capital – most of them are in close proximity to each other.

Here are some must-see and must-experience points of interest for you in Funchal, starting with a sled ride (yes, sled! You read that right) and ending with an alcohol tasting. We in Funchal were frequent visitors, but one day is enough to experience the city’s greatest attractions.

Sledding in Funchal

Yes! Sled! Summer! And it’s on asphalt! :)

We wrote you recently about the famous ski slope in Dubai, and here we have a slightly different attraction, with less grandeur – a sled ride, through the narrow streets of Funchal, on asphalt and in the sunshine. Unlike Dubai, in Madeira it makes sense and has a historical basis.

Large wicker sleds, with metal skids, were used by wealthy residents for quick transportation from the hill down to Funchal or to carry various products and goods. Nowadays, sleds have been replaced by other means of transportation, and the ones you’ll see sliding down the streets today are purely commercial, for tourists.

The sled slides downhill, and is additionally propelled by the power of the drivers, who, pushing off with their feet, give the sled speed and proper direction. You can go down in pairs in the sleigh, and the whole descent takes maybe 10 minutes. In the meantime, we cover a stretch of about 2 kilometers, dashing through the narrow streets and smiling at the tourists waving at us. It’s worth the ride for the sheer fun and sense of speed.

On the one hand, we highly recommend it, because it is a one-of-a-kind attraction, but on the other hand it is quite heavily commercialized: photos are taken of us along the way, which can be redeemed at the “finish line”, a lot of drivers are hired just to make out and serve as many tourists as possible, and the queues can be long.

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In addition, after getting off the sled, you will be attacked by cab drivers who will tell you what a hard and long way you will have to go if you decide to walk to the center of Funchal – don’t believe them, and unless you have problems with your knees and walking downhill, you can safely avoid them by a wide margin. According to some, it was a stretch of up to 6 km! In fact, the route is about 2 km (fact with a rather sharp drop) and took us about 30 minutes.

We leave the decision to you :)

Monte Hill and Teleferico

All nice, but you have to get to the sled somehow – the best, fastest, easiest and, of course, most expensive way to do it is to use the so-called Teleferico. Teleferico deserve a separate entry, because there are quite a few of them all over Madeira and they serve a very important function in transportation along the sharp cliffs. What we have in Funchal is a grazing, modern and air-conditioned cable car that takes you to Monte Hill. We definitely enjoyed the queues carrying Madeira’s residents to their tiny plots located at the foot of the cliffs.

But let’s go back to Funchal: for some teleferico, and for others the sled is a bigger attraction (there will also be those who will say the nearby botanical garden, but we are not among them ;) ). In our opinion, it is worth using both, but if we had to choose, it would be the sled, however, because of its uniqueness.

The train trip is an interesting way to enjoy Funchal’s skyline. The whole thing takes about 20 minutes, and during this time we can enjoy views of the entire city and the coast. The carriages glide over the cramped and narrow streets of the old city and climb up to the botanical garden and the place from where the sled rides start.

Isn’t it true that the views are overlooked? :)

Entrance costs 10 euros one way (you can buy a two-way ticket and combined ticket with the botanical garden – then it’s a little cheaper). As with the sled, here too they take everyone’s picture, print it at an express pace, and at the end of the attraction there are printed pictures waiting for you to buy.

Farmers’ market with fish market

Fish Market, is promoted as an impressively sized market with a large selection of all kinds of fish and seafood. Maybe it was the time of day (fact, we weren’t there first thing in the morning), or maybe comparisons to the fish market in Tokyo meant that the market in Funchal didn’t knock us out with the size and fertility of the fish. Here you will find long tables lined with fish, including Madeira’s specialty – espada, or black scabbardfish. We can taste this rather diabolical-looking fish in almost any restaurant serving local food.

The fish market is a separate part of the mercado dos Lavradores, or Farmers’ Market, built in 1940. Here you can buy fruits, vegetables, food products, spices, spirits and souvenirs, not necessarily made in Madeira, but I guess that’s the standard now ;) Walking among the numerous colorful stalls, we had the impression that the place is even geared towards tourists and not locals, because from everywhere vendors approached us and, trying to speak five different languages, offered us various fruits, snacks and grains.

The atmosphere is not very conducive to peaceful shopping, we ran away from there quite quickly, so that by the persistent sellers, we did not even have a moment to look at what they have on their stands in peace.

Zona Velha – Old Town

This is the oldest part of the city and, if only for that reason, you have to come here. It was here that the first houses of settlers in Madeira were built, initially wooden. Today, the old town is made up of brick buildings along narrow streets, dotted with restaurants serving the aforementioned banana espadais.

To be honest, we liked the fancy decorated doors and the numerous murals more than the old buildings.

The doors were painted as part of an artistic revitalization project in this part of Funchal – the originators succeeded in giving new life to the old, dingy doors, and thus created a new attraction, attracting fans of street art.

Fort São Tiago

Walking around the old town, you are sure to notice a bright yellow building that stands out among others on the coast. This is Fort São Tiago, built in 1614, which now houses the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Promenade and Christiano Ronaldo statue and museum

Did you know that Christiano Ronaldo was born in Madeira? And more specifically in Funchal? The famous soccer player is now Madeira’s most popular player and has lived to see his own statue and a museum on the promenade (CR7 Museum). A real treat for soccer fans, of which we are not one :)

The statue itself is quite controversial, as it’s hard to give him credit for resembling Ronaldo, but that doesn’t mean tourists are shunning it. On the contrary! Everyone is eager to take pictures with him.

Out of curiosity, after the unveiling of the statue Ronaldo got a bill from the city government for organizing the whole event ;) By the way, Ronaldo is not very well-liked in his native land, and the reason for this may simply be jealousy.

If you’re not a soccer fan, it’s worth taking a stroll along the promenade.

Ice cream in Funchal

Let me warn you right away: there are a lot of dishes to try in Madeira, but at times in Funchal we felt like we were in Italy, thanks to the numerous ice cream parlors, which are plentiful here. And since we’re more into ice cream than the ball, we couldn’t pass it up.

Every now and then, the word Italian Gelato appears in the center. We tried Italian only once, and our hearts were stolen by a cafe with ice cream made on site. We were captivated by the flavors of ice cream that were on offer, starting with honey cake, followed by tomato and ending with beer ice cream (these accoutrements were yuck, but we had to try them).

They were not artificial, but really tasty, creamy and thick. The flavors were different each day, so it was impossible to buy with the assumption “and these I will try tomorrow” ;)

>> See also Madeira with a baby – we answer your questions!

Madeira’s Degutation – Blandy’s

In Madeira you have to drink…. Madeira! Yes, yes, we are talking about a specific Madeira wine. Specific, because it is not a typical wine, but fortified, that is, with a higher alcohol content.

While in Funchal, be sure to enter Blandy’s Wine Lodge Museum, where you can see the old wine factory, learn about the production process and finally taste several types of local Madeira.

Also, the history of the creation of this strong wine is very interesting, because, as is usually the case, it was largely a work of chance (transporting the wine in barrels on a ship, thanks to its heating, an exceptional beverage was obtained).

If you are tempted to buy Madeira, you have the option to order and pay at the store, and pick up your liquor at the duty-free zone at Funchal airport, so you don’t have to worry about transportation or excess baggage.

And the wine itself… mhmm… ;)

Worth seeing

What else is worth seeing in Funchal?

• Nossa Senhora do Monte Church
• Cathedral – Located in the very center of the city, the cathedral draws special attention from Poles because there is a statue of Pope John Paul II commemorating the Pope’s visit to Madeira. Inside the cathedral you will find the traditional azulejos, or blue decorative Portuguese tiles.

• Capela do Corpo Santo – the 15th century Chapel of the Holy Body.
• Igreja da Santa Maria Maior
• Praca do Municipio – the square around which stand the most important buildings in the city: the 19th century Camara Municipal do Funchal City Hall, the 17th century Igreja de Sao Joao Evangelista church and the buildings of the local university.

• Capela Nossa Senhora da Conceição – This temple rises on Monte Hill.
• Jardim Tropical Monte Palace – the Tropical Garden, is located right next to the cable car. This tropical-oriental garden is a collection of exotic vegetation, mainly from the Far East (including Japan, China).

In addition to the regular attractions, take a look at the city’s calendar of events. In June, there is the Atlantic Festival, which features fireworks displays every Saturday. The shows are set to music and last 20 minutes from 10:30 pm.

We recommend arriving quite early to find a parking space without any problems and to have a good view of the show. We were not recommended to take a boat trip to watch the show from the sea, because all the smoke goes towards the water and you won’t see too much of the show anyway.

As you can see, despite appearances, there is plenty to do and see in Funchal itself. For us, this was not the purpose of our trip to Madeira, but an interesting diversification.

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We also recommend our post on Madeira’s TOP 10 attractions.