22 Best Things to Do in Funchal, Madeira (+ With Kids)

Short on Time? The Things to Do in Funchal You Can't Miss

• The classic half-day: cable car up to Monte, the Monte Palace gardens, then the wicker toboggan down. Kids love it.
• The Old Town: the painted doors of Rua de Santa Maria and the Mercado dos Lavradores, best in the morning, or on a guided Old Town tuk-tuk tour with Botanical Garden entry.
• On the water: a responsible whale and dolphin watching tour straight from Funchal marina.
• A taste of Madeira: poncha, bolo do caco and Madeira wine on a food and wine walking tour in Funchal.
• A swim: the Lido's saltwater pools, open year-round, with a children's pool.

What's Changed in Funchal in 2026

• The cable car closed for three months from January 2026 for its biggest overhaul in years. It reopened in April with new glass-floor cabins. One way is now €16 and a return €22.
• The Monte toboggan costs more. Since 1 May 2026, it's €30 for one person, €40 for two and €60 for three.
• Monte Palace is €18. Older guides (and Google's AI answers) still say €12.50. Under-15s are free.
• The Botanical Garden is €10, and free for Madeira residents since January.
• Cabo Girão's skywalk now charges €5, paid through the regional SIMplifica portal.
• The tourist tax may double. Funchal charges €2 per person per night. On 1 October 2026, the city council approved €4 from January 2027, but it's still in public consultation.

Things to Do in Funchal's Old Town and Center

Most of your first two days in Funchal happen here. The center is flat along the water, and everything in this section is within a 15-minute walk of the cathedral.

1. Wander the Old Town's Painted Doors

Free, and the best thing to do in Funchal before 10 a.m.

The Zona Velha, Funchal's Old Town, sits at the eastern end of the seafront. Its spine is Rua de Santa Maria, a narrow cobbled street where around 200 doors have been painted by local artists, part of a project called "artE pORtas abErtas" (the Art of Open Doors).

Some doors are pretty, some are strange, and a few are brilliant. Walk the whole street, then the lanes off it.

It's the most photographed street in Funchal, and it gets crowded when cruise ships are in. By late morning, restaurant staff are out on the street with menus. Go early, when the doors are still shut and the light is soft, then come back in the evening for dinner and poncha.

With kids: turn it into a door hunt. Give each child a theme (animals, faces, the sea) and let them pick a favorite.

Tip: if walking the hills isn't for you, this guided Old Town tuk-tuk tour covers the Old Town and includes Botanical Garden entry. It's rated 4.9 from 250 reviews.

2. Shop the Mercado dos Lavradores

The Mercado dos Lavradores, the farmers' market, opened in 1940 and still works as a real market. Flower sellers sit by the tiled entrance. Inside, the upper galleries are stacked with tropical fruit, and the fish hall downstairs is all about espada, the black scabbardfish that turns up on every Madeira menu.

Go in the morning. That's when the fish hall is busiest.

Important: at the fruit stalls, ask the price per kilo and watch it being weighed before anyone cuts you a sample. In 2025, a video of tourists charged €72 for a bag of fruit went viral.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday to 8 p.m., Saturday to 2 p.m. Closed Sunday.

With kids: easy and free. Let them choose one fruit they've never seen and buy just that.

3. Step Inside Funchal Cathedral

From the outside, the Sé do Funchal looks plain: white walls, trimmed with dark stone from Cabo Girão. Look up once you're inside. The ceiling is carved cedar wood, inlaid and patterned in a style influenced by Moorish design, and it's the reason to visit.

The cathedral was built from 1493 and inaugurated in 1514.

Cost: free. It's a working church, so hours are built around services; it's usually open from early morning into the evening, with a midday break at weekends. Ten minutes is enough.

4. Taste Madeira Wine at Blandy's

Madeira wine is fortified, then aged in warm lodges, which is why it keeps for decades once it's bottled. Blandy's Wine Lodge, on Avenida Arriaga, is the easiest place to try it.

The 30-minute Lodge Tour with two wines costs €17. If you already like fortified wine, the 1½-hour Vintage Premium tour (€59) pours five, including a frasqueira, the aged single-vintage style Madeira is famous for.

Verdict: the short tour is the right size for most people. Book the long one only if you know you love port or sherry.

5. Drink Poncha and Eat Espetada

Madeira's food is simple, garlicky and very good value. In Funchal, make sure you try:

• Poncha, the island's drink: sugarcane rum, honey and lemon juice. It's stronger than it tastes, which is the whole point and the whole warning.
• Bolo do caco, a round flatbread served warm with garlic butter.
• Espetada, beef skewers rubbed with garlic and bay leaf, served hanging from a hook at the table.
• Espada with banana, fried black scabbardfish with fried banana. It sounds odd and it works.

The Old Town is full of poncha bars. If you'd rather have someone explain what you're eating, this 3-hour food and wine walking tour in Funchal is rated 4.8 from over 540 reviews. For specific restaurants, see our guide to the best restaurants in Madeira.

Important: the bread, butter and olives put on your table at the start, the couvert, aren't free. Send them back if you don't want them.

6. Walk Avenida Arriaga to Praça do Município

This is Funchal's grand center, and a good 30-minute loop between the cathedral and the market.

Avenida Arriaga is the main boulevard, with Blandy's, the municipal garden and the cathedral along it. The Praça do Município, a square of patterned stone, holds the town hall and the Jesuit church, the Igreja do Colégio. Inside the church, guided visits (paid) include the bell tower.

There's no ticket for any of this.

It's where Funchal feels most like a small European capital.

7. Duck Into a Museum When It Rains

Funchal's best museums are small, and they're the plan for a wet afternoon in the city. Check the days carefully, because they don't share the same closing day:

• Quinta das Cruzes: a historic manor house museum above the city center. €10. Closed Mondays.
• Museu de Arte Sacra: best known for its Flemish paintings, from the years when Madeira grew rich on sugar. €10, under-12s free. Closed Sundays, and Saturday afternoons.
• Museu de Fotografia da Madeira – Atelier Vicentes: a 19th-century photography studio with old images of the island. Tuesday to Saturday only.

Verdict: if you only pick one museum in Funchal, make it the Sacred Art Museum.

8. Visit the CR7 Museum (If You're a Fan)

Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Funchal, and the CR7 Museum on the waterfront is his trophy room, with a bronze statue of him outside.

Cost: around €5 for adults. Hours vary; check the museum's social media before you go.

Verdict: fun for 30 minutes if you follow football. Skip it if you don't.

Things to Do in Monte and the Gardens

Monte is a hillside village above Funchal, with gardens, a pilgrimage church and the toboggan run. Plan a half day above Funchal, ideally in the morning.

9. Ride the Cable Car Up to Monte

The view of Funchal everyone remembers.

The Funchal cable car starts by the Old Town seafront and climbs over the city's red roofs to Monte, taking you from sea level into the hills in one long, quiet ride. Since April 2026, some cabins have glass floors.

Cost: €16 one way, €22 return. Under-7s ride free; children 7 to 14 pay half price.

Hours: daily, 8:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. (closed 25 December).

Tip: buy a one-way ticket if you're doing the toboggan. It drops you at Livramento, well below Monte, and from there a taxi back to the center is easier than climbing back up.

With kids: this is the highlight for most children. Go early, before the cruise groups.

10. Explore the Monte Palace Gardens

Monte Palace Madeira is a tropical garden on a steep hillside, a few minutes' walk from the cable car. Paths wind past koi ponds, lakes, tiled panels and exotic plants. The palace itself isn't open to visitors.

Cost: €18 for adults, free for under-15s with an adult.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from April to September, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from October to March.

Verdict: allow two hours, and wear shoes with grip. It's beautiful and very hilly, so it's hard work with a stroller.

11. Slide Down in a Monte Toboggan

Two men in white with straw hats, the carreiros, push and steer you down the hill in a wicker sledge on wooden runners. It's about 2 km of road, from below the Monte church to Livramento, and takes around 10 minutes.

Yes, it's touristy. Do it anyway. It's been a way down this hill for well over a century, and it's funnier and faster than it looks.

Cost: €30 for one person, €40 for two and €60 for three, since May 2026.

Important: you can't prebook it. Tickets are sold at the start point in Monte, and you queue, so go in the morning. It runs Monday to Saturday; Sunday hours vary, so don't plan it for a Sunday.

With kids: children ride in the basket with an adult. Most love it; very young or nervous kids may not.

12. Visit the Madeira Botanical Garden

The Madeira Botanical Garden is laid out in terraces above the city, with plants from around the world and a small natural history museum, included in the ticket.

Cost: €10 for adults, €3 for children aged 6 to 12, free for under-6s.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Verdict: smaller and less dramatic than Monte Palace. If you only have time for one garden, choose Monte Palace. If you love plants, do both.

Tip: Combine Monte and the Botanical Garden

A second cable car, the Botanical Garden cable car, links Monte and the garden in about 9 minutes, so you don't need to go back into town.

• Cable car only: €11 one way, €16 return (children 7–14: €6 / €9).
• Cable car plus garden entry: €19 one way, €24 return (children: €9 / €12). That's cheaper than paying separately.
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., last boarding 4:50 p.m.

A good order: Funchal cable car up, Monte Palace, Botanical Garden cable car across, garden, then a taxi or bus down. Save the toboggan for another morning, or skip the second garden.

Things to Do on Funchal's Seafront

13. Go Whale and Dolphin Watching From the Marina

Our pick for the one thing to book in Funchal.

You don't have to leave the city to see whales. Twenty-eight species of whales and dolphins have been recorded in Madeira's waters, and boats leave Funchal marina all year. Common, Atlantic spotted and bottlenose dolphins are the regular sightings; sperm whales, pilot whales and Bryde's whales turn up often enough to make it exciting.

Sightings are never guaranteed.

But several Madeira travel blogs put it first on their lists, and it's an easy morning out from any Funchal hotel.

Choose carefully. Madeira's rules say boats must keep at least 50 m away and limit the total time at a sighting to 40 minutes, shared between all the boats. A responsible operator follows them.

Cost: about €35 to €65 for 2½ to 3 hours, depending on the boat. A big catamaran is calmer and cheaper; a small RIB is faster, wetter and closer to the water.

This responsible whale and dolphin watching tour is rated 4.9 from more than 2,000 reviews.

With kids: a catamaran is the better choice for young children and anyone prone to seasickness.

14. Swim at the Lido and Funchal's Sea Pools

Funchal has no sandy town beach, so it does what Madeira does best: seawater pools with ladders into the ocean. (For sand, see our guide to the best beaches in Madeira, or take the ferry to Porto Santo.)

The Lido, in the hotel zone west of the center, is the family favorite: two large saltwater pools (one for children), lifeguards, loungers, a café and steps down into the Atlantic. It's open all year. Closer to the Old Town, Barreirinha has calm water for snorkeling, and Doca do Cavacas, beyond the Lido, has natural volcanic pools with sunset views.

Cost: the city's 2026 tariff is the same at all of them: €6 for adults, €2 for ages 7 to 17 and free for under-6s.

Hours: roughly 9 a.m. to 5:30–6:30 p.m., changing with the season; Doca do Cavacas stays open later in summer.

Important: don't believe the "free Lido" and "half-price last hour" claims floating around online. Neither is in the 2026 tariff.

15. Walk the Promenade to Praia Formosa

The seafront promenade runs west from the Lido past the Ponta Gorda pools to Praia Formosa, Funchal's long pebble beach, and then on through a short lit tunnel to Câmara de Lobos. The whole walk is about 5 km.

It's flat, free and the liveliest place in Funchal at sunset, with runners, beach bars and the cliff of Cabo Girão ahead of you. Walk one way, then catch a bus or taxi back.

With kids: the stretch between the Lido and Praia Formosa is easy with a stroller.

16. Watch the Harbor From Santa Catarina Park

Santa Catarina Park sits above the marina, with gardens and a small chapel founded in 1425. It's the best free view of the harbor and the cruise ships.

Hours: free, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in summer (to 8 p.m. in winter).

Then walk east along the water, past the Old Town, to the yellow Fortaleza de São Tiago, an old harbor fort you can wander around.

17. Have Afternoon Tea at Reid's Palace

Reid's Palace, Madeira's grand old hotel, has served guests above the sea since 1891, and afternoon tea on its terrace is a Funchal tradition.

It's served daily in the afternoon. Book ahead and dress smart casual (no flip-flops or hiking boots). Expect to pay roughly €50 to €65 a person; check the current price with the hotel when you book.

Verdict: a splurge, not a must. Worth it for a birthday or a last afternoon.

18. Time Your Trip for a Funchal Festival

Two events are worth planning around:

• The Flower Festival: in 2027 it runs from 29 April to 30 May, with the big parades on 2 and 16 May. Expect flower carpets on the streets and very full hotels.
• Christmas and New Year: the lights go up from 1 December, the market traditionally stays open all night on 23 December for the Noite do Mercado, and the New Year's Eve fireworks over the bay set a Guinness World Record for the largest fireworks display in 2006.

Funchal's hotels fill up months ahead for both, so book early.

Easy Trips From Funchal

Funchal is the best base for the rest of the island. These four are under an hour away, and some work by bus. For the full island list, see our guide to things to do in Madeira.

19. Drink Poncha in Câmara de Lobos

Câmara de Lobos is a fishing village just west of Funchal, with painted boats pulled up in a small harbor. Winston Churchill painted the bay here in January 1950. It's about 20 to 30 minutes by bus, or the end of the seafront walk in item 15.

Our Câmara de Lobos travel guide has more.

20. Step Onto the Cabo Girão Skywalk

A glass-floored platform on top of a 580 m sea cliff, a short drive beyond Câmara de Lobos. Standing on glass over that drop is exactly as unnerving as it sounds.

Cost: €5 for anyone over 12, paid through SIMplifica. Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Verdict: worth 20 minutes on the way west. Not a destination in itself.

21. Look Down on Curral das Freiras

From the Eira do Serrado viewpoint, you look almost straight down into a village in a deep bowl of mountains, the Curral das Freiras, or Nuns' Valley. It's one of the most dramatic views on Madeira, and bus 81 from Funchal runs to the village (some trips go via Eira do Serrado).

No car? This Nuns' Valley half-day tour adds Câmara de Lobos and has over 2,400 reviews.

22. Watch the Sunrise From Pico do Arieiro

The island's third-highest peak, at 1,818 m, is a drive from Funchal, and on a good morning you're standing above a sea of clouds as the sun comes up. It's cold up there, even in summer, so bring a jacket.

The Pico do Areeiro sunrise tour includes hotel pickup and has a 4.97 rating. See our Pico do Arieiro guide for the 2026 trail booking rules, and our Pico Ruivo guide for the ridge hike between the two peaks.

Things to Do in Funchal With Kids

Funchal is an easy city to visit with children. It's safe, the center is flat and the sea pools are designed for families. The best picks for kids, from the list above:

• The cable car to Monte, item 9: under-7s ride free, and it's half price up to 14.
• The toboggan, item 11, riding with a parent.
• Monte Palace, item 10: free for under-15s, with koi ponds and paths to explore.
• The Lido, item 14: a separate children's pool, lifeguards and €2 entry for ages 7 to 17.
• Whale and dolphin watching, item 13, on a catamaran.
• The painted-door hunt, item 1, and the fruit stalls at the market, item 2.

Our recommendation: stay near the Lido or the marina, so the pools and the promenade are a walk away.

How Many Days in Funchal?

Two to three days for the city itself.

One day covers the Old Town, the market and the cable car to Monte. Two days add whale watching, the Lido and the museums. Most people use Funchal as a base for the whole island, though, so a week in Madeira with four or five nights in Funchal works well. Our Madeira itinerary has day-by-day plans.

Getting Around Funchal

On foot, mostly.

The center, the Old Town, the marina and the cable car station are all on the flat strip along the water, and cruise passengers can walk into town from the port in around 15 to 20 minutes. Away from the seafront, Funchal climbs very steeply, so check how far uphill a hotel is before you book.

For everything else:

• Buses: the yellow city buses (Horários do Funchal) reach the hotel zone, Monte and the Botanical Garden.
• Taxis and ride-hailing: taxis are metered; Bolt and Uber both work, but cars are limited at peak times.
• From the airport: the Aerobus to Funchal takes about 25 minutes, or book a Welcome Pickups driver to meet you in arrivals.
• For day trips: rent a small automatic. DiscoverCars compares the companies at the airport. Our guide to driving in Portugal covers the rules.

Best Time to Visit Funchal

April to June, and September to October.

Funchal's weather is mild all year, with average highs from about 20°C (68°F) in winter to 27°C (80°F) in August, so there's no bad month for the city itself. Spring brings the Flower Festival, early autumn has the warmest sea, and December has the lights and fireworks. August is the busiest and most expensive month. Our Madeira travel guide has the month-by-month table.

Where to Stay in Funchal

Choose by area. The Old Town is best for restaurants and atmosphere, the center and marina for transport, and the Lido hotel zone in the west for pools and families. Our guide to where to stay in Madeira compares them in detail. A few picks:

• Budget: Vitorina Corte Guesthouse, on Rua de Santa Maria in the Old Town.
• Mid-range: Castanheiro Boutique Hotel, in restored townhouses near the marina, or The Vine Hotel, with a rooftop pool in the center.
• Splurge: Savoy Palace, the big five-star on the seafront hotel strip, west of the center.

What Funchal's Top Sights Cost in 2026

Plan Your Funchal Trip

1. Book your hotel early, especially for the Flower Festival and New Year. See our picks above.
2. Book the tours that sell out: whale and dolphin watching and the Pico do Arieiro sunrise in summer.
3. Arrange your airport transfer with Welcome Pickups, or rent a car with DiscoverCars for the island.
4. Get an eSIM such as Yesim before you fly.
5. Don't skip travel insurance: wind at Madeira's airport delays and diverts flights. EKTA is one option, and our Portugal travel insurance guide explains what to look for.

Still deciding what to do in Funchal and how to fit in the rest of the island? Our Madeira tours roundup compares the best day trips, and Madeira vs Azores helps if you're choosing between the islands.