The most popular tourist destinations in Funchal are walking tours of the Old Town. It's not just the beauty of the architecture, but the amazing atmosphere that permeates every square centimeter of these narrow streets. What other city can boast houses in which windows and doors replace paintings? Although many of the buildings are in need of restoration, one look at the street art is enough to make you fall in love with Funchal.
After a stroll through the historic part of town, we recommend heading to the seafront, where the ski elevator is located. Just twenty minutes and you're at the top of Monte (a suburb of Funchal).
And only after visiting Monte can you start touring the museums - there are plenty of them in Funchal. There's plenty to explore, including wine, modern art, religion, photography, and electricity museums. If you want peace and quiet, head to one of ten picturesque gardens, such as Quinta do Boa Vista, Pregetter's or Jardim de Sao Francisco.
And for dessert, visit Lavradores Market, the most colorful place in Funchal. The building was built with elements of modernism and art deco in the early 40s of the twentieth century. Today it occupies two floors with a total area of about 9.5 thousand square meters. meters. The assortment of products here is mind-boggling! The best days to visit the market are Friday and Saturday (Sunday, Monday and public holidays are closed).
Outside of Funchal, the most popular hiking options are the levadas, which are irrigation systems with spring or rainwater, totaling more than 2,000 kilometers. Without the levadas, much of Madeira's grape and fruit plantations would not survive a single dry season.
A path along each levada was laid out for workers to monitor the condition of the canals. Now they are unique hiking trails of varying levels of difficulty. The duration of the walk, as a rule, is from 2 to 8 hours. Often levadas pass through settlements and tired tourists can get off the route and take a bus.
Mountain levadas stretching along the gorges can be walked only with special equipment. For professionals, there are special routes designed for several days. Of the latter, the rugged mountain route from Areeiro Peak at 1812m to Ruivu Peak at 1862m is considered the best.
