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Funchal

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Overview

The old lanes, wide 20th-century boulevards and pretty squares of central West Funchal are where you’ll find some of Madeira’s top experiences, its best shopping and most interesting museums. It’s also the busiest part of the island with yellow buses, street cafes and shoppers from outside Funchal packing the streets from morning until sundown.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Quinta das Cruzes

    Funchal

    Now a museum, the Quinta das Cruzes is a quintessential old Madeiran manor house complete with gardens and a private chapel. Originally the home of João…

  • Mercado dos Lavradores

    Funchal

    Built in 1940 by architect Edmundo Tavares, Funchal's art deco market is one of its top attractions as well as still serving as the island's best fresh…

  • Zona Velha

    Funchal

    Once a run-down area between the Mercado dos Lavradores and the Fortaleza de Santiago, in recent years the 'Old Zone' of merchant's houses and 19th…

  • Funchal

    Funchal's 16th-century cathedral once oversaw the world's largest diocese – all of Portugal’s overseas territories from Madeira to Brazil to Angola – and…

  • Praia Formosa

    Funchal

    Anyone who says Madeira has no beaches should hop on bus 1 or 43 to the boulders and browny-black sand of this wild strand in Funchal's western suburbs…

  • Jardins Botânicos da Madeira

    Funchal

    One of the island's top tourist attractions, Madeira's famous botanical gardens are a must for most visitors. Extending over 80,000 sq metres, the gardens…

  • Pereira D'Oliveira

    Funchal

    Run by the fifth generation of the D'Oliveira family, this is Funchal's most easily accessible wine experience. Anyone can enter the strongly aromatic…

  • Casa da Luz – Museu de Electricidade

    Funchal

    Decommissioned in 1989, Funchal's old power station, still the headquarters of EEM (Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira – Madeira Electric Company), has…

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