What to see in Madeira

City, Cathedral, Botanical garden, Fortress, Museum, Pebble beach

Funchal is the capital and, with more than 110,000 inhabitants, the largest city of Madeira, which will absorb you with its colonial atmosphere. The city lies in a wide bay in the southeast of the island and, because of its mountainous surroundings, climbs from the sea up the hill to places beyond which the terrain simply cannot go. Funchal is made up of 4 basic units - the historic centre in the middle, the Old Town (Zona Velha) to the east,…

Lookout, Cliff

At 589 metres above sea level, Cabo Girão is the highest cliff in Madeira and, according to many tables, the 2nd highest in Europe and the 12th highest in the world, although the criteria for determining what is still a cliff and what is already a mountain vary considerably, so these statistics must be taken with a grain of salt. Either way, the Cabo Girão cliff is impressive. It drops almost perpendicularly down into the ocean, and incredible…

Mountain, Hiking trail

At 1,862 metres above sea level, Pico Ruivo (translated as "Red Mountain") is the highest peak in Madeira and the third highest mountain in Portugal. Occasionally, you may see the name Pico Ruivo de Santana extended to refer to the district where it lies. There is a stone viewing platform built on the summit with 360° views, where in good visibility you can see across Madeira. Often, however, Pico Ruivo is above the clouds and you can enjoy…

Mountain

At 1,818 metres, Pico do Aireiro (sometimes spelled Areeiro) is the third highest mountain in Madeira and the highest point that can be reached by car. This makes the mountain ideal for the best views of Madeira's jagged dramatic peaks, even for less fit hikers. The local Miradoura do Juncal viewpoint is reached by a 200-metre walkway from the car park, more or less on level ground. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC Airport" https:/…

Tourist town, Skanzen

The small town of Santana, located in an agricultural area with a beautiful lush green landscape, lies on a gently rolling plateau between the mountains and the ocean. It is particularly famous for its typical Madeiran houses casas de colmoof which several dozen remain. Where to find Casas de Colmo? The houses are made of wooden beams with straw roofs and their main characteristic is the "A" shape and coloured doors or shutters. An…

Tourist town, Spa, Swimming pool, Stony Beach

The small, landscaped spa town of Porto Moniz, at the very north-western tip of Madeira, is not only attractive for its location with spectacular views of the steep mountain slopes. The main attraction in Porto Moniz are the seawater baths built on the jagged coastline between natural lava pools. There are two natural pools right in Porto Moniz. [btn "Show Madeira hotels by price" https://booking.com/region/pt/madeira.en.html?aid=2380460;label…

Coast, Cliff, Black sand beach

Ponta São Lourenço is a narrow peninsula near the town of Machico and the easternmost point of Madeira. Unlike the evergreen rest of Madeira, the colour of the peninsula changes with the seasons. The peninsula receives significantly less rain than the rest of Madeira, and is also buffeted by strong winds from the ocean all year round, making the soil even drier. Thus, while in winter and early spring Ponta São Lourenço is covered in lush green…

Tourist town, Hiking trail, Cave

São Vicente is a picturesque town in the north of the island, which has been described as the most beautiful town in Madeira. It is set in a narrow valley stretching from the Atlantic coast inland, where it widens into rolling green meadows dotted with villas and farmhouses. The small historic centre is dominated by the beautiful 16th-century Igreja de São Vicente, a typical colonial-style church. [btn "The 10 best hotels in Madeira" https:/…

Village, Valley, Lookout

The picturesque village of Curral des Freiras lies in the valley of the same name, or rather in a place resembling a deep volcanic crater surrounded by forested peaks of steep mountains. The valley floor is not flat, so the village is built on terraces in the steep slopes. The villages in the valley have been cut off from the outside world for a long time, supposedly by nuns fleeing pirate raids during the 16th century. [btn "Compare car…

Resort, Tourist town, Sandy beach, Pebble beach

Machico, on the east coast of Madeira, is one of the two typical beach resorts on the island (the other is Calheta) and one of the main tourist centres in Madeira. Machico provides all the facilities - you will find a plethora of restaurants, bars, souvenir shops and supermarkets, tourist agencies offering various excursions and cruises, beaches and paths along the Madeiran "levadas" with views of the beautiful mountainous and green coastline. …

Resort, Sandy beach, Tourist town

The town of Calheta on the southern coast of Madeira, scattered on steep slopes with idyllic terraced fields falling into the ocean, is one of two popular beach resorts in Madeira (the other is Machico). [btn "The 10 best hotels in Madeira" https://booking.com/region/pt/madeira.en.html?aid=2380460;label=p-madeira-calheta] Previously inhospitable and not very attractive for tourists, the place began to change significantly at the turn of the…

Lookout

Balcões is one of the most popular sights in Madeira. A small viewing platform with railings rises on a high rock promontory above a deep wooded valley and offers spectacular views of Madeira's mountainous interior. [btn "The cheapest accommodation in Madeira" https://www.booking.com/region/pt/madeira.cs.html?aid=2380460;label=p-madeira-balcoes] Often the view is obscured by fog, but if you're lucky you'll be able to see the highest peaks on…

Mountain, Hiking trail

The mountain saddle of Encumeada, at an altitude of 1,008 metres, lies almost exactly in the middle of the island of Madeira and is the starting point for several hiking trails. Conveniently accessible by road, the saddle offers breathtaking views of the north and south coasts of Madeira, as well as the highest peaks of the central Madeiran mountains. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC Airport" https://booking.com/city/city/pt/funchal.en…

Village, Cliff, Swimming pool

This small town on the northeast coast of Madeira doesn't appear in guidebooks very often, but in our opinion it's not right. Porto da Cruz lies in a wildly undulating landscape, surrounded on three sides by massive cliffs and mountains and on the fourth by the stormy waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The beautifully landscaped town is really small, but offers all the necessary tourist services from accommodation to restaurants to a supermarket. …

Lighthouse, Cliff

Cape Ponta do Pargo and the village of the same name nearby is the westernmost point of Madeira and a popular tourist destination. Ponta do Pargo is a gloriously green area that slopes gently down from the mountains through an agricultural area of pastureland dotted with houses and torn by deep ravines to 400 metre high cliffs that suddenly begin to plummet steeply down into the ocean. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC airport" https:/…

Cable car, Cliff

In the village of Achadas da Cruz, there is a cable car on the cliff that takes you a few hundred metres down to the coast and back in a gentle rocking motion for 5 eur. The original purpose of the cable car, built in 2001, was to facilitate access for farmers owning small houses and fields along the coast, below the cliff, more than 400 metres high and almost perpendicular. Previously, the only way down was by a very steep and winding path. …

Natural formation, Hiking trail

Ribeiro Frío is a small protected natural area below the Paso Poiso mountain saddle at about 900 m above sea level.The main attraction is a 2.5 km long nature trail through an ancient laurel forest along the sometimes stair-stepped bed of the "cold stream", which is the translation of the Ribeiro Frío. The other big attraction is the trout breeding station at the trailhead near the main road. [btn "Book your Madeira hotel in advance" https:/…

Tourist town

Câmara de Lobos is a picturesque fishing town where Winston Churchill spent his holidays. You can find his statue in the harbour by the canvas. To soak up the true atmosphere of the town, head here later in the afternoon, fishing boats are parked in the bay and fishermen play cards in the harbour. The idyllic atmosphere of the town is enhanced by the vineyards scattered along the steep hillsides, with winding paths weaving between them and…

Natural formation, Hiking trail

The Ribeira de Janela is the longest river in Madeira with its 20 km and also a small town at its mouth to the ocean in the northeast of the island near Porto Moniz, where you can find all the accommodation. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC airport" https://booking.com/city/city/pt/funchal.en.html?aid=2380460;label=p-madeira-janela] Rock formations in the sea The main local attraction is several rock formations of volcanic origin that…

Botanical garden

The Jardim Tropical is a beautiful botanical garden founded in 1987 by businessman and art patron José Berardo. On an area of 7 hectares you will find typical Madeiran flora as well as plants from other parts of the world. The Jardim Tropical spreads around the Monte Palace high in the hills above Funchal, with a beautiful view of the whole city and the ocean. In the gardens you can enjoy colourful flowers, alien trees and ponds with black…

Waterfall, Forest, Hiking trail

The Rabaçal area is one of the most visited places in Madeira for hiking and one of the main levadas. It is located where a flat and austere plateau with low vegetation gradually falls into deep valleys covered with native laurel forests, stretching about 20 km northwestwards to the ocean. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC airport" https://booking.com/city/city/pt/funchal.en.html?aid=2380460;label=p-madeira-rabacal] Rabaçal is a very…

Hiking trail, Waterfall

If you want to get to know the real Madeira and its pure native nature, a hike along the Caldeirão Verde trail, which follows the short Caldeirão do Inferno trail, is almost a must. You will trek through the magical landscape of the northern slopes of Madeira's highest mountains, all the time at altitudes between 800 and 1,220 metres. The trail also runs along an irrigation canal throughout, quite wide at first but very narrow in places. There…

Hiking trail, Waterfall

The Levada do Risco is the shortest and most popular levada in the Rabaçal area and leads from the refreshment hut to the local largest waterfalls, Risco. While they are by no means watery, they effectively fall in two cascades from the rock, exceeding 100 metres over a very short distance. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC airport" https://booking.com/city/city/pt/funchal.en.html?aid=2380460;label=p-madeira-risco] If you were to head in…

Waterfall, Hiking trail

This levada is one of the most interesting and beautiful in Madeira and also one of the most frequented. It leads in the popular Rabaçal area to the so-called 25 Fontes (25 springs), a pool in the middle of green forests, into which 25 small waterfalls fall. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC Airport" https://booking.com/city/city/pt/funchal.en.html?aid=2380460;label=p-madeira-25fontes] The levada starts at the little hut, now a tourist…

Hiking trail

This levada is one of the most popular and beautiful on the island. It's one of the few that is more or less circular and its end is only about 100 metres from its start, plus it starts on the outskirts of Ponta do Sol, so it's ideal for those who don't want to rent a car. [btn "The 10 best hotels in Madeira" https://booking.com/region/pt/madeira.en.html?aid=2380460;label=p-madeira-moniho] The levada starts near the church in the local area…

Hiking trail

This levada is one of the most beautiful trails in Madeira, and rightly so. It takes you through dense vegetation of laurel forest and giant ferns from the town of São Jorge in the north to the interior of the island. The first third of the levadas passes through a thin forest where native species of plants mix with artificial ones and where you can admire, for example, eucalyptus and rhododendrons. From time to time, you can also get nice…

Forest

The Fanal Forest in Madeira is a magical place. Perhaps this one short sentence best describes our secret tip, which is not often mentioned in guidebooks. The Fanal area is a small plateau filled with wet, marshy lush green meadows ideal for grazing cattle and ancient native laurel trees, which have grown to sometimes bizarre shapes thanks to the specific microclimate and frequent northerly winds. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC Airport"…

Statue, Lookout, Cable car

The statue of Christ the King rises to a height of about 15 metres on a high cliff above the sea to protect all Madeira fishermen. At night it is illuminated to act as a beacon. [btn "View accommodation in Madeira" https://booking.com/region/pt/madeira.cs.html?aid=2380460;label=p-madeira-socha-garajau] Built in 1927 in the Art Deco style, the statue is not dissimilar to the more famous statues in Rio de Janeiro or Lisbon. It stands in the…

Cable car, Lookout, Cliff

The cableway is out of operation for a long time. A smaller cable car in the Rocha do Navio Nature Reserve, which was built for local farmers to make it easier for them to get to their fields, now serves tourists. Panoramic views can be enjoyed on the 5-minute ride. A return ticket costs just 5 eur. The cable car operates between 9:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00. [btn "Compare car rental prices - FNC Airport" https://booking.com/city/city/pt/funchal…