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Oct 9, 2024 · 3. Blandy’s Wine Lodge. Blandy’s is one of the oldest and most popular wineries in Funchal. Located in Funchal’s old town, this small complex of buildings includes distilling and aging rooms, a museum that chronicles the winery’s long history (which even contains letters from Winston Churchill), and tasting rooms.
- Drink A Poncha… Or Three
- Ride Up The Cable Car to Monte and Wave at Everyone Who Goes Past…
- Find The Prettiest (Pink!) Square in Funchal
- Eat Delicious Local Food at All The Incredible Restaurants and Cafés
- Find Your Favourite Door in Funchal Old Town’S Painted Doors Project
- ‘Admire’ The Weird-Looking Statue of Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo
- Enjoy A Dose of Winter Sunshine
- See The Town Hall and Admire The Chequerboard Tiles of The Municipal Square
- Walk Along A Levada – One of The Best Things to Do in Funchal For Nature Lovers
- Do A Tour of Blandy’s Wine Lodge and Sample Some Madeira Wine
What better way to start this huge list than with a drink? A potent one, naturally. Poncha is Madeira’s national drink and it is bloody LETHAL. You’ll be off your head after a couple. It’s made with boozy sugar cane rum, honey, sugar, orange/lemon juice and other fruit juices. Poncha comes in several flavours, including passion fruit, tangerine or ...
…Bonus points if it’s someone who looks like they really don’t want to wave back but they do anyway because that’s the law of the cable car. Why is it that as soon as you’re on an unusual form of transport, it’s perfectly acceptable to start waving manically at others? I thoroughly enjoy it. The cable car will take you up over Funchal’s rooftops an...
You wouldn’t believe how many photos I’ve taken of this square over the last decade. It has to be my favourite photo spot on the whole island. I think it’s the combination of the pink buildings, the statue and the glimpse of mountains in the background that does it for me. Just lovely. You can find the square on Avenida do Mar along the seafront, w...
Madeira, and Funchal specifically, is a paradisefor foodies. I’m not going to go into detail on specific restaurants and cafés to visit here, nor into what traditional Madeiran dishes you have to try. That’s because I have a huge foodie guide to restaurants in Funchal and Madeira, in which I describe all the different places I love eating at. I’ve ...
Funchal’s wonderful Painted Doors Project is an art installation spread around the old town. Unsurprisingly, it’s a collection of painted doors. They’re decorated with the most stunning art: some of them are amusing, some beautiful, and some edgy. It really adds something unique to the old town and is one of the many reasons Funchal is such a lovel...
I have zero interest in football but this statue is amusing nonetheless. I looked him up online and can confirm it looks nothinglike him. Note the cringe-worthy bulge, too. I’ve deliberately not included a photo of the statue because you’ve got to see it for yourself. You can find him outside the CR7 Hotel in Funchal’s cruise ship port area (Google...
I tend to go to Madeira in the miserable post-Christmas months of January or February. I can’t recommend this time of year enough. Even if it’s not sunny every day, it’s warm. And when the sun comes out, it means business. You can’t beat a good dose of much-needed Vitamin D in winter if you’re from the UK. One of my favourite things to do in Madeir...
Funchal’s town hall is a pretty 18th-century building. You can go inside and sit in a lovely little courtyard, which I only discovered after a few years of visiting. There’s also a tour of its art collection every weekday at 11am. I’ve never done this but might be something to look into if you have a rainy day. My favourite aspect of this part of t...
I’ll admit it took me years and years of visiting Madeira before I finally got round to doing a levada walk. I’m a lazy mess who begrudges buying sensible footwear. But going for a walk along one of the levadas (Madeiran irrigation systems) is one of the most popular things to do in Madeira for very good reason. The scenery is fantastic everywhere....
If you’re after some good rainy day things to do in Funchal, Blandy’sis all indoors. You can do a genuinely interesting tour of the famous wine lodge, with a guide who’ll give you the history and lots of info on the different types of Madeira wine. And yes, before you ask: you do get tasters at the end. Most people will probably like Madeira wine, ...
- Quinta do Palheiro Ferreiro. One of many benefits of Madeira’s constant spring-like weather is that gardens like this one can be in bloom whenever you visit.
- Funchal Cathedral. In the city’s cathedral you’ll be stepping back to the Portuguese Age of Discovery. This building was constructed at the dawn of the 16th century using multi-toned pyroclastic rock quarried from the cliffs at Cabo Girão to the southwest.
- Monte Cable Car. One of those unavoidable attractions in Funchal is the cable car that hoists you up to the perched Monte neighbourhood 600 metres above sea level.
- Monte Palace Tropical Garden. Winding through seven hectares of terraces is another botanic garden, where exotic plants are accompanied by waterfalls architectural flourishes like a Japanese pagoda.
- Walk the Funchal Waterfront. We are kicking off our list of Top Funchal, Madeira Things To Do with a must-see sight: The Praca do Povo and Waterfront.
- See the Se Cathedral Funchal. The majestic Cathedral of Funchal, Madeira dates to the late 15th century and was officially inaugurated in the year 1514.
- Admire Funchal City Gardens. Visiting the gorgeous city center gardens ranks as one of the Best Things To Do Funchal, Portugal. These green spaces are exquisitely manicured and bursting with tropical blossoms.
- Shop at the Mercado do Lavradores. One of the great things about Madeira Island is the local produce – so it comes as no surprise that one of the top things to do in Funchal is to go to the local farmer’s market!
- Getting to Madeira. There are direct flights to Madeira from multiple UK airports. Jet2 offer flights to Madeira from Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle.
- Where to Stay in Funchal. One of Funchal’s newest openings, Hotel Next is the latest offering from the ever-popular Savoy Group’s six luxury hotels that they operate across Madeira.
- Getting around Funchal. Madeira’s Capital is anything but flat. With every few hundred metres that it extends beyond its pretty seafront promenade, the Avenida do Mar, it gains more altitude, sprawling outwards into the steep volcanic hillsides that encircle the city like towering amphitheatre terraces.
- A One Day Funchal Itinerary. Morning. Funchal rises early, and one of the city’s highlights – the Art Deco and Art Neveau inspired market – springs into life before most tourists have even thought about heading to their daily breakfast buffet.
May 21, 2024 · 29. Museum of Photographs, Madeira (Museu de Fotografia da Madeira) Visiting this fascinating museum is one of the best things to do in Funchal if you are a shutterbug. Founded by Vicente Gomes da Silva in 1865, this former photographic studio is filled with photographs reflecting 150 years of island life.
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May 23, 2023 · Here are 10 unforgettable things to do in Funchal, making the most of Madeira’s beautiful capital city. Funchal views Located in the Atlantic Ocean over 1,000km from the mainland, the Portugese island of Madeira is a stunning and dramatic island packed full of charm and beautiful scenery.
