Flight time
3h 30m
Best season
Year-round
Budget
Mid-range
Best for
Year-round mild climate, levada walks, flowers, wine
Overview
Why Funchal for a city break?
Funchal is the capital of Madeira — the volcanic Atlantic island that the Portuguese have called the Garden Island since the 15th century, with good reason. The subtropical climate (temperatures between 17°C and 25°C year-round, never truly hot, never cold) supports extraordinary biodiversity: the levada walking network threads through forests of laurel and ferns that have been growing since before humans arrived. The Madeiran wine culture (Madeira wine — fortified, aged, and one of the longest-lived wines in the world) is unique. And Funchal itself, climbing from a dramatic natural harbour up terraced hillsides of tropical gardens, is one of the most beautiful port cities in the Atlantic.
From most UK airports it's three to three and a half hours — direct flights from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and numerous regional airports. Madeira Airport is 22km east of Funchal (bus €5, 45 minutes, or taxi €25). The island is ideal year-round: the mild climate makes it the finest winter sun destination within four hours of the UK, and the spring flower festivals (April) and New Year fireworks (the most spectacular in the world by some estimates) are worth planning around. The famous Madeira toboggan run and the Monte cable car are tourist attractions of genuine charm.
Where to stay & explore
Funchal's best neighbourhoods
Old Town (Zona Velha)
The historic lower town — the Santa Maria Street painted door project (250 doors painted by local and international artists), the oldest church in Funchal, the fish market and the most atmospheric evening bars.
Monte
The hillside suburb above Funchal — the Monte Palace Tropical Garden (the finest botanical garden in Madeira), the Nossa Senhora do Monte Church and the famous wicker toboggan descent.
Lido & the Seafront
The hotel strip along the western seafront — the Lido seawater pools, the coastal walk to Câmara de Lobos and the finest sunset viewpoints above the Atlantic.
Things to do
What to see in Funchal
1
Levada walks
The levadas — an extraordinary network of 2,500km of irrigation channels threading through Madeira's mountains and forests — are the finest walking infrastructure in the Atlantic. The Levada do Caldeirão Verde (a 13km round trip through cloud forest to a 100-metre waterfall, starting from Queimadas) and the Levada das 25 Fontes (a shorter walk to 25 springs and waterfalls, one of the most beautiful on the island) are the most famous. Book organised transport to the trailheads; the walks themselves are free. Wear proper footwear and a waterproof layer.
2
Monte Palace Tropical Garden & the Toboggan
The finest botanical garden in Madeira — a former hotel converted into an extraordinary garden of 100,000 plants from across the world, with koi ponds, a tile museum covering 500 years of Portuguese azulejo, and views over Funchal and the harbour. Cable car from the Funchal seafront to Monte (10 minutes, €16 return). The wicker basket toboggan descent from Monte back to Funchal (€30 for two, 10 minutes of gentle careering through the streets guided by two carriers in white straw hats) is an entirely unique transport experience dating from 1850.
3
Old Town & the Painted Doors
The Zona Velha — the oldest neighbourhood in Funchal, restored in the early 2000s after decades of decline — has 250 doors painted by artists from across the world as part of the Arte das Portas Abertas (Open Doors Art) project. Each door is unique; collecting them all is an excellent way to explore the narrow lanes of the old town. The Corpo Santo Chapel (15th century) and the Rua de Santa Maria fish restaurant strip are both in the same area.
4
Câmara de Lobos & Cape Girão
Câmara de Lobos — 9km west of Funchal, reachable on the coastal walk (2 hours) or by bus — is the fishing village that Churchill painted during his visits to Madeira in the 1950s. The multi-coloured fishing boats in the harbour, the cliffs above and the cape fish stalls selling espetada (skewered beef cooked over laurel wood) are all extraordinary. Cape Girão, 5km further west, is the highest sea cliff in Europe (589m) — a glass-bottomed viewing platform extends over the cliff edge for the views down to the vineyards on the platform below.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Funchal
William Restaurant
One Michelin star / Reid's Palace
The finest dining room in Madeira — in the legendary Reid's Palace hotel (opened 1891, where Churchill, George Bernard Shaw and every notable visitor to Madeira has stayed), William serves modern Madeiran cooking of outstanding quality with a wine list of extraordinary depth. The tasting menu with Madeira wine pairings is the finest meal available on the island. Book months ahead.
O Jango
Traditional Madeiran / Old Town
The most beloved traditional restaurant in Funchal — the espetada (skewers of beef seasoned with sea salt and bay leaf, cooked over laurel wood embers and served hanging from iron hooks over the table), the black scabbard fish (peixe espada preto) with banana, and the Madeira wine by the glass. The definitive Madeiran dining experience at very reasonable prices. Book ahead.
Mercado dos Lavradores
Food market / city centre
The finest food market in Madeira — an Art Deco covered market of extraordinary azulejo decoration, where the vendors sell tropical fruits found nowhere else in Europe (passion fruit, custard apple, pitanga, tamarillo), the flower sellers display birds of paradise and proteas, and the fish hall has black scabbard fish and Atlantic tuna laid on beds of ice. The best morning in Funchal. Free to enter; buy and eat at the market stalls.
Itinerary
3 days in Funchal — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Old Town painted doors, Monte cable car, toboggan, Zona Velha dinner
Bus from Madeira Airport to Funchal (€5, 45 minutes). Walk straight to the Zona Velha — the painted doors of the Rua de Santa Maria, the 15th-century Corpo Santo Chapel, the fish market. Cable car to Monte (16 minutes, views of Funchal harbour below). Monte Palace Tropical Garden (allow 90 minutes). Wicker toboggan descent back to Funchal (€30 for two, 10 minutes). Walk the Funchal seafront promenade east to the old town. Mercado dos Lavradores for fruit — a passion fruit opened on the spot, a bag of dried mango from the tropical fruit stalls. O Jango for dinner — the espetada and the black scabbard fish.
Day 2
Levada walk, flower markets, Câmara de Lobos
Organised transport (booked through any hotel or tour operator) to the Levada das 25 Fontes trailhead at Rabaçal (60km west) — the 7km walk through laurisilva forest to the pool and the 25 springs (allow 3 hours). Back to Funchal by early afternoon. Mercado dos Lavradores for the flower vendors (the stalls of orchids, birds of paradise and anthuriums are extraordinary at any hour). Bus or taxi to Câmara de Lobos in the late afternoon — Churchill's fishing village, the coloured boats, the cape fish stalls for a grilled espetada. Cape Girão glass platform 5km west (taxi) for the sunset view from Europe's highest sea cliff. Back to Funchal for dinner.
Day 3
Botanical garden, coastal walk, one last Madeira wine
Jardim Botânico da Madeira (the municipal botanical garden, 20 minutes by bus above Funchal) — 345 species of plant from across the world, extraordinary views of Funchal and the harbour. The natural history museum within the garden is excellent. Walk the coastal promenade from the Lido pools east to the Old Town — 3km of sea-level walkway with rock pools and the Atlantic on one side. Final lunch at one of the Old Town's fish restaurants on Rua de Santa Maria — grilled fish of the day, fresh bread, local wine. One last glass of Madeira wine — a Sercial (the driest style) or a Bual (medium-rich) — at one of the Funchal wine lodges (Blandy's on the Avenida Arriaga gives free tours and tastings). Bus to the airport.
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