Madeira has to be one of Portugal’s best kept secrets. I honestly can’t begin to describe how beautiful this small volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is. Stupendous green landscapes cover the entirety of Madeira, turning it, somehow, into a floating garden. On one hand, the rocky mountains, moist laurisilva forests and vineyards cover the higher peaks and valleys. On the other, the subtropical palm trees and rough cliffs crown the coast. And overall, the sense of relaxing atmosphere will hit you as soon as you step on the island. Like me, you probably won’t help but think if you should just ignore your return flight and settle in a beach house in Funchal instead. Oh well.
But there is more. Madeira is full of incredible places to explore. Not to mention the exquisite gastronomy and a singular history that still lives up to this day. So where do you start? Check our list on things you must do in Cristiano Ronaldo’s birthplace.
1. Explore Funchal
Funchal is the capital of Madeira and the biggest city on the island. The rich colonial history is still very much alive here, that exploring Funchal alone can tick almost all of your boxes! The city’s structure is made out of different layers. Modern buildings (predominantly some of the finest hotels on the island) intertwine with 15th century Portuguese colonial style architecture. Fortresses expand along the coastline (Palácio de São Lourenço and Fortaleza do Pico), while Funchal’s Cathedral (Sé Catedral) and Historic Centre (Zona Velha) define the soul of the city. Here, what was once Funchal’s old settlement of fishermen and merchant houses is now home to funky bars, vibrant restaurants and new-fashioned hostels.
Most of them run along Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal’s oldest street. Thanks to the Painted Doors Project, beautiful illustrations cover every door of this street, turning it into a permanent street art gallery.
Mercado dos Lavradores
Head over to the Farmers’ Market for a kick of gastronomical culture. Women dressed in multi-coloured striped dresses and pointy hats, the traditional Madeiran clothing, serve at their stands. You will instantly fall in love with the bright colours and delicious smells of the exotic variety of fruits, veggies, fish and endemic flowers that fill every corner of this beautiful market.
Parque Santa Catarina
Vibrant colours also fill the many Botanical Gardens and parks around the city. Santa Catarina Park is the perfect place to enjoy a leisurely stroll overlooking the CR7 Museum. There’s beautiful flora from across the island (see the next tip!) and all over the world here. You will see swans and ducks swimming in the lake while hundreds (if not thousands) of cheeky lizards bask in the sun and run in and out of the rock walls of the park.
2. Find a Bird of Paradise, Madeira’s national flower
Madeira is home to one of the prettiest flowers of the Strelitzia Reginae family. With a striking resemblance to a bird’s beak and bright plumage, the Bird of Paradise can be found almost everywhere in Funchal. Take a stroll around Madeira Botanical Garden or Santa Catarina Park and take the perfect Instagram shot of these incredible flowers.
3. Go up to Monte in a cable car (Teleferico do Funchal)
Probably one of Madeira’s top tourist attractions, the Madeira Cable Car connects two of Funchal’s most iconic suburbs: Zona Velha and Monte. Open every day of the year (except Christmas), the Teleferico do Funchal offers the best panoramic views of Funchal and surrounding valleys in a 15min trip. Starting from the Historic Centre, you will soon find yourself overlooking the sinuous landscape and striking nature while slowly ascending up the hills to reach Monte.
This civil parish and former health resort for the high society was established as a devotion of Our Lady of Monte, the patron of Madeira, back in the 15th century. There, standing at the top of a large staircase, the Church of Our Lady of Monte (Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte) overlooks Funchal from above. Close by, the Monte Palace Tropical Garden (Jardim Tropical Monte Palace) and the Madeira Botanical Garden crown the valleys with exotic and endemic flowers.
Teleférico do Funchal | Caminho das Babosas 8, 9050-541 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
4. Take a toboggan ride down to Funchal
This has to be one of the most fascinating ways of transportation ever! Instead of taking the Teleferico again, make your way back to Funchal in the iconic wicker and wood basket. Back in the 19th century, these were used by locals as a way to reach their downhill destination more quickly. Now, the Carreiros do Monte will take you from the bottom of the Church down to Livramento (a suburb of Funchal) in these two-seater wicker sleds. The singular 2km long adrenaline ride slides through dozens of twisting roads and can even reach 38km per hour! Once finished you can either carry on walking down Caminho do Monte into the centre of Funchal or take one of the expensive taxis waiting.
Carreiros do Monte | Start: Caminho do Monte nº4, 9050-084 Monte, Funchal, Madeira
Finish: Caminho do Monte nº82/84, 9050-288 Livramento, Funchal, Madeira
5. Do a Madeira wine tasting
Madeira is well known for its exceptional wine flavour and unique wine making process. Back in the day, it was discovered that the high levels of heat and sea movement that shipped wine was exposed to altered its flavour. This technique was then replicated by wine producers in Madeira and is still applied during the wine making process up to this day.
The Blandy’s Cellars are perhaps the most famous producers of Madeira wine with the Bual, Verdelho, Sercial, Terrantez, Malmsey and Tinta Negra varities. Their cellars are open to the public for wine tastings and include a tour around the lodge, warehouses, museum and the shop areas (with more than 500 bottles of wine from all over the world!).
Blandy’s Wine Lodge | Avenida Arriaga 28, 9000-064 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
6. Hike the trail from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo
The Madeira Archipelago’s singular rocky landscape offers incredible trails among the most spectacular scenery. The volcanic landscape of the island has shaped some of the highest peaks in Portugal, which are hiked by locals and tourists throughout the whole year. Pico Ruivo stands as the highest peak in Madeira and third highest peak in Portugal with 1862m and can be reached through two main hiking trails:
- Hard Trail: Pico do Arieiro (third highest peak, 1818m) to Pico Ruivo. Approx. 13km, more than 2000 stairs and 4.30h of pure hard hiking (which we did).
- Easy Trail: Achada do Teixeira to Pico Ruivo. Approx. 2.8km and 40min of leisurely walk along the mountains (which we also did, once we conquered the peak).
As it’s peak to peak, the easiest way is to do the walk with a guide so someone’s waiting to pick you up at the other end. Being the highest peak, remember to take a raincoat and water with you.
Discover Madeira | Rua da Alfândega 78, 3º, Funchal, Madeira, 9000-059, Portugal
7. Try Madeira’s local food and drinks
I myself am a big fan of Portuguese cuisine so of course, I had a blast discovering Madeira’s traditional dishes. The delicious Madeiran gastronomy is characterised by fresh fish, sweet fruit drinks, grilled meat dishes and warm cakes and pastries.
Our recommendations?
- A freshly made Poncha (fruity alcoholic drink) at Mercearia Dona Mécia. Or three, as it is said you’ll then be able to speak perfect Portuguese! We went for the deliciously sweet passion fruit Poncha.
- Bolo de Mel (Madeira honey cake).
- Warm Bolo do Caco (garlic bread) with butter and parsley.
- Espetadas (skewers) and Nuns Valley Stew at Venda de Donna Maria. This restaurant offers regional tastings, local cuisine and Fado live music.
- Mercearia Dona Mécia | R. dos Aranhas 26, 9000-044 Funchal, Portugal
- Venda da Donna Maria | Rua de Santa Maria 51, 9060-291 Funchal, Portugal
More things to do in Madeira:
Madeira is full of hidden treasures everywhere you go. The island may seem small, but there’s always something to do and a new place to discover. Although we didn’t have the opportunity to try the following experiences, we think it is worth mentioning them. We’re definitely coming back to tick them off our list!
- Explore the Levadas, the world’s largest laurisilva forest (UNESCO)
- Go whale, dolphin and turtle watching
- Go up Cabo Girão, the world’s highest cliff
- Watch the Madeira Wine Rally (Rali Vinho da Madeira)
What do you think of our Madeira list? Have you been to Madeira before? If so, what other places would you recommend visiting? We’d love to hear everything about it in the comments below!
G.x
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Great post Gratsi! Looks like you had a great time, love the photos 😊
Awe thank you! We loved the island, can’t wait to be back! x
Fascinating reports and fabulous photos. Some useful tips too for our visit in July.
Thank you! Let us know if you do any of them! x
Really loved reading your blog. I love Madeira too and you’ve given me some new ideas of things to try that I haven’t done before. Great photos too!
Thank you Jane 🙂 It is such a magical place, definitely need to go back! x
Noo, I’ve not got any plans to visit Portugal in the near future but now you’ve given me serious wanderlust! This was such a great post and one I will be coming back to for inspiration 😄
Abigail || https://creativesummer230415361.wordpress.com
Trust me, Portugal is amazing! I love it more every time I visit! x
Omg, this looks STUNNING! Funchal especially! I’m in peak holiday booking season so I’m adding this to my list! 😂 Thanks for the tips!
Rhianna x
Awe, thank you, I am really glad you liked it! Do so, the weather won’t disappoint! x
Love this post! Toboccan Ride looks interesting. I used to have a Portuguese friend back in high school but she went back after a year, and we’ve lost contact now sadly. I hope I can visit Portugal one day, since I know how beautiful it is. And your post just makes me even more excited to go! Haha. Great travel guidance post and beautiful pictures, hun! xx Ain
Portugal is amazing, I really hope you visit! The food, the landscapes, the people, everything is just so lovely! Definitely a must on your bucket list 🙂 x
Fabulous post! Madeira, is now high up on my travel bucket list! The Toboggan Ride looks exciting, the painted doors so beautiful and the views up the hike just wow!
Thanks for sharing! xx
Aditi | http://www.aditispen.com
Haha, the toboggan ride is awesome but it can also be a bit scary at times! I had to hold on to it a couple of times as I felt like I was going to fall! But definitely worth trying 🙂 x
Love the toboggan ride!
It is pretty cool, I loved it! x
Looks like such a beautiful island! I don’t usually look at islands as my first choice destination, but you might just have changed my mind.
It is unbelievably beautiful, and you’d be surprised at the amount of different things to see and do in such a small island! There is always something going on, that’s why I love it so much! x
Oh wow…….it’s cool that you have visited Madeira. Madeira is in my wish list. Reading your post makes me want to visit Madeira even more. I hope this pandemic will end soon.
Glad you liked our Madeira post, Fadima! It’s really beautiful over there, no wonder it’s in your bucket list too! I hope you get to visit it soon x
Wow! This place looks so awesome. You have a beautiful blog with great pictures. Thanks for sharing!
MagicandBliss | https://magicandbliss.com/
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing all of this. I’ll be honest, I knew nothing really about Madeira, and for that reason, it was never on my radar as far as future travel destinations. However, after going through everything you have here, you’ve changed my mind!
That’s amazing, thanks Britt! I’m so happy you liked this post, Madeira is one of my favourite places in Portugal and I couldn’t recommend it enough! x
Your post and the photos make me wish I was travelling to Madeira real soon. It looks gorgeous, and so much history to it. The Painted Doors Project is such a brilliant idea. I love art being showcased in such easily accessible ways.
And if it was me having to decide between the Hard Trail or the Easy Trail, I would be doing just the easy trail option. 😛
Thanks Shrisha! Madeira is always a good idea. You have the best of both worlds – mountain and beach! I hope you get to visit really soon x
Due to the covid I had to cancel my trip to Madeira. As soon as I can leave I will certainly include this in my trip!!!
So sorry to hear that your trip got cancelled, Fabiana. I hope you get to travel to Madeira soon, I’m sure you will love the island as much as we did x
Madeira is amazing, I went for the flower festival.
Wow so many hikes and so independent. So charming..
A flower festival in Madeira sounds so amazing! They have splendid landscapes over there, and the Bird of Paradise flower is spectacular! Glad you enjoyed your time there x
Excellent post! I’ve been toying with the idea of Madeira for a while and this has made me even more intrigued. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Graham! I’m glad you’ve found this post useful! x
Your post and photos are both well done! I’ve added Portugal to my travel bucket list!
Thank you so much! You won’t regret it, Portugal is beautiful x
love ths. planned to go to portugal this simmer before Covid. So this gave me a few minutes to imagine i was there! Thanks. Traveling is my jam!!
Yay, so glad you liked this post Dana! Hopefully you get to travel to Portugal soon x
Lots of interesting things to do! I only visited for a short period, but seeing your photos has made me want to go back and explore a few more things! Thanks for sharing!