[Funchal, Maderia, May 11, 2025]

Parking was free in Funchal on Sunday. We took it as a sign to leave the car behind and spend the day in the city. As we headed out, we encountered a small parade part of the Madeira Flower Festival.

We walked by the Madeira sign again, and I had to take a photo!

We walked along the ocean front and I marveled at these huge concrete things along the water. Apparently, they are called tetrapods. They are commonly used in coastal engineering to form breakwaters and protect coastlines from erosion caused by waves and currents. Their interlocking design helps to dissipate wave energy and prevent coastal damage.

Funchal Cable Car

Our first stop was the Funchal cable car. This is the one of the most popular things to do in Madeira, so go as early as you can. Since we started our day late, we waited in line to get onto the car, even with our online tickets. The Funchal cable car has 39 cars and can transport up to 800 passengers an hour, but it was still about a 30-minute wait. The ride takes about 15 minutes and spits you out in the suburb of Monte, about 2,000 ft above Funchal.

Monte Palace Tropical Garden

There are two botanical gardens at the top – Monte Palace Tropical Garden and Madeira Botanical garden. They are separate and we only had time for one, so we did Monte Palace. It is divided into sections – there is a Japanese garden, a Chinese garden, several waterfalls and a pond, as well as lots of artwork. We also enjoyed seeing some pink flamingos! There is also a laurissilva section, which I missed and regretted it later when I found out that the laurissilva on Madeira is a UNESCO World Heritage site!

We also visited the cafe here, which was a great spot to take a break from all the walking and enjoy the views.

There are several ways to get back down to Funchal from the Monte Tropical garden. One popular way is to take the toboggan. These traditional wicker basket sleds were once a form of public transport bur are now a unique and thrilling tourist attraction. Guided by two men in white, known as carreiros, the sleds slide down the steep winding streets. The carreiros use their rubber-soled boots as brakes to control speed. Unfortunately, there were not running that day.

Another way is to take take the Madeira Botanical Garden cable car down, although this only takes you half-way back to Funchal. You’d have to walk or take a bus to go the rest of the way down. This makes sense to do if you are also visiting the botanical garden itself, since there is a combo ticket. Since we weren’t doing the botanical garden and were a little short on time, we decided to go back down the Funchal cable car, the way we came.

The Art of Open Doors on Rua de Santa Maria

Rua de Santa Maria is a narrow street in the old town of Funchal. The street dates back to 1430 and was the main thoroughfare to the namesake church – Santa Maria Maior. In 2014, the “Art of Open Doors” project began as a way to revitalize the area after some devastating floods and mudslides damaged Funchal in 2010. Over 100 local artists painted more than 200 doors on Rua da Santa Maria and neighboring streets. This breathed new life into the area and it is now full of shops and cafes. Coming here on a Sunday was great, as the street was not crowded at all. We loved meandering through the area and taking photos of all the doors that struck our fancy – that was almost all of them!

Fortress of Sao Tiago

This fort from the early 17th century was built to prevent attacks from pirates, which were common at the time. Over the centuries, the Fortress of São Tiago has undergone several renovations and has served various purposes. It has been the headquarters of Army Police, a shelter for the victims of the flood of 1803, and, most recently, the Contemporary Art Museum, in 1992 (transferred in 2015 to the Casa das Mudas, in Calheta). I think it would make an awesome history museum or something, and I wish we could explore the inside..

Blandy’s Wine Lodge

John Blandy arrived on the island in 1808. In 1811 he founded his own business as a wine shipper and general trader with his brothers. In 1824, after buying up small property holdings over the course of nearly 20 years, the family founded Blandy’s Wine Lodge. The layout, shape and structure of the Wine Lodges create a combination of unique temperature and humidity conditions, which make them perfect for ageing Madeira wine. After some renovations in 2015, the Wine Lodge also features a Family Museum, several shops and tasting rooms, guided tours and spaces for events. We managed to squeek in a visita to the tasting room just before they closed at 6 pm. Even still, we managed to try both their regular wines and their ports!

Theo’s by Julio Perreira

Foodies have their choice of three restaurants by this renown Portuguese chef in Funchal. We decided on Theo’s, which we walked by the day before. We settled outside on the balcony and had our best meal in Portugal by far. The first dish was sardine torricado bread with tomato salad. Torricado is a traditional Portuguese side dish from the Ribatejo region. It consists of pieces of old bread toasted over charcoal, then soaked in olive oil and brushed with garlic and salt. The second appetizer, Bulhao Pato – mushrooms with sheep cheese truffle – was rich and and so tasty! For our main course, we shared the prawn, fish and seafood pasta stew. The dessert, pistachio ice cream with pear, tangerine sabayon (an egg yolk-based dessert sauce made with sugar wind wine) and peanuts was also outstanding.