Hub Skewer
The Top Tourist Attractions Of Funchal In Madeira
The small island of Madeira is a tourist location that most US based travellers only visit for a few hours. The reason for this is that most American tourists to the island travel courtesy of one of the frequent mid-Atlantic luxury cruise liners. Typically, these luxury liner only stop for a few hours before setting out again for another destination. The briefness of stay is a shame since Madeira has many different places worth a visit to offer it’s guests.
As someone who specialises in offering Madeira tours, I frequently get asked if I can provide a tour that will take in all the tourist attractions in five or six hours maximum. That a large number of visitors to Madeira believe this would be possible is not baffling. After all, if you look at Madeira on a map, you will see that the island is just about 14 miles across and 33 miles long.
Not long ago, the steep volcanic terrain meant that travelling any distance by car was usually an extremely difficult and slow adventure. Up until 20 years ago, the only available route from one end of the island to the other was via narrow mountain hugging roads that were frequently punctuated by 180 degree turns and little or no protection from the sheer drops that waited just a few feet to your side. Definitely not recommended if you were prone to travel sickness or vertigo!
Thankfully, nowadays, Madeira cherishes a motorway network that makes fast and trouble free travel the norm. However, touring the whole of Madeira in a day would mean that you would miss the range of scenery, places of import and tourist attractions that we have to offer. So, in this case the best alternative, if time is limited, would be to opt for a localised tour.
Thus, for tourists with little more than five or six hours available to venture around, what tour itinerary is the most suited?
Well, for people who haven’t visited Madeira before, I would recommend a whistle-stop tour taking in the main attractions of Funchal, the island’s capital. All cruise liners will dock in Funchal harbour, so this option will involve the least travelling.
Funchal and its immediate mountainous vicinity has plenty of interesting places to visit that will delight most people, regardless of their own personal preferences. A top 5 selection would definitely hold these choices:
Take the Funchal cable car from the seafront up to the tiny mountain village of Monte. As you journey on forever upward, passing over the cityscape, you will be benefited with some fantastic views. You will also see from above your luxury cruise ship docked in the harbor – just right if you want to snap that special photograph of it.
Once in Monte, you should certainly venture on up to the church, which stands on the site of the first chapel to be built on Madeira. Inside the church, you will find the tomb of the last Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor.
If you enjoy formalised displays of massed flowers, then the delightful Monte Palace Tropical Gardens should be just right for you. These gardens, built into the mountainside, boast trees, shrubs and flowers from the four corners of the earth along with a variety of curios that are scattered about the grounds. Just two of the highlights are the formal Oriental Garden and the collection of ceramic tiles that includes examples spanning 150 years.
When you are ready to leave Monte, exit the Gardens, turn left, and you will find the starting point for the famous Monte Toboggans ride. These examples of a primitive form of transport are made from large, flimsy, wicker baskets mounted on ski-like wooden runners. Having seated yourself in position, a couple of skilled steering side-runners will manipulate your unusual type of transport down the steep twisting roads. Ernest Hemmingway once recorded that the Monte toboggan journey he went on was the most exhilarating experience of his life. Unfortunately, in this modern age concerned with health and safety, it now takes a form that is not so hair-raising, however you will still find nothing like it anywhere else in the world.
After all that excitement, you will be looking for a more relaxing experience to follow. So, catch a taxi or local bus back to the city centre and choose from the many restaurants and cafes that are available.
Overlooking the yacht Marina there are some excellent seafood restaurants. Here, you can guarantee that each and every dish offered will have been freshly caught during the early hours that very same morning.
Alternatively, head for the side streets where some quaint, traditional cafes list on their menus typical Madeiran meals at very reasonable prices. You may soon find yourself celebrating with an after meal glass of Madeira wine in a converted old wine cellar. Or, perhaps, enjoying an espetada, a traditional beef meal prepared by roasting chunks of meat over an open fire on skewers, whilst being entertained by a traditional Madeiran folk troupe.
Whatever you choose, it is almost certainly guaranteed that, as your cruise liner sails out into the vast expanse of the Atlantic again and the mountain tops of Madeira are disappearing beneath the horizon, you will be making plans to visit this truly unique island sanctuary once again.
For a full appreciation of Madeira Island, view your online Madeira map.
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