Funchal

Madeira’s hillside capital: old-town lanes, a lively market and a cable car up to lush gardens.

Plan your Funchal trip

Flight + Hotel PackageRecommended Best option if you want the trip arranged together. View Packages Packages
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Flights Already have accommodation? View Flights Flights
Things To Do Tours, attractions and experiences. View Activities Activities

Overview

Why go to Funchal

Funchal climbs an amphitheatre of hills above the Atlantic, with a warm year-round climate, a colourful old town and a famous fresh-produce market. It is the perfect base for gardens, wine and levada walks.

City breakCulture & historyFood & drinkCouplesNightlife

Where: Madeira Islands, Portugal
Recommended stay: 3–5 nights
Best time to go: Year-round; April–October is driest, and the New Year fireworks are famous.
Approx. daily budget: £55–110 a dayPer person, excluding flights. Indicative.

What does Funchal cost?

Full cost guide

Budget traveller£50–70a day
Mid-range traveller£100–145a day
Luxury traveller£200+a day

Approximate per person per day, including a share of a twin room, and excluding flights. Not live prices.

Things To Do

Top picks in Funchal

See all 12

Shopping & MarketsFree

Mercado dos Lavradores

Funchal centre

A tiled 1940s market hall with tropical fruit, flowers and a busy fish section.

Suggested time: 1h 15m
No booking needed
Suits: Food lovers

Monday–Saturday mornings; reduced Sunday hours

Viewpoints~£12

Funchal Cable Car to Monte

Zona Velha to Monte

A cable car sweeps above rooftops and gardens to the hillside village of Monte.

Suggested time: 1h 30m
Booking recommended
Suits: Couples · Photographers

Daily, roughly 9:00–18:00

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Must SeeFree

Funchal Cathedral (Sé)

Funchal centre

A 15th-century cathedral with a carved wooden ceiling and a mix of Gothic and Moorish details.

Suggested time: 45 min
No booking needed
Suits: Culture lovers

Daily; hours vary around services

Hidden GemsFree

Câmara de Lobos

A colourful fishing village west of Funchal with a small harbour, where Winston Churchill once painted.

Suggested time: 1h 30m
No booking needed
Suits: Everyone

Open all day

Hidden Gems

Beyond the checklist

See all 5

Hidden GemsFree

Câmara de Lobos

A colourful fishing village west of Funchal with a small harbour, where Winston Churchill once painted.

Suggested time: 1h 30m
No booking needed
Suits: Everyone

Open all day

Hidden Gems~£2

Cabo Girão Skywalk

Cabo Girão

A glass-floored viewing platform on one of Europe’s highest sea cliffs, high above farm terraces.

Suggested time: 45 min
No booking needed
Suits: Photographers

Daily

Hidden Gems~£6

Madeira Botanical Garden

Funchal

Terraced gardens above the city with rare plants, flowers and sweeping views over the bay.

Suggested time: 2 hrs
No booking needed
Suits: Outdoor lovers

Daily

Hidden Gems~£12

Monte Palace Tropical Garden

Monte

A terraced garden of exotic plants, Japanese ponds and Portuguese tiles above the city.

Suggested time: 2h 30m
No booking needed
Suits: Couples · Photographers

Daily, roughly 9:30–18:00

Hotels

Best-value hotels in Funchal

Well reviewed and fairly priced for what you get: not simply the cheapest.

All 3 hotels

Best Luxury ValueBest for Families

Example listing

Quinta Jardim Funchal

Funchal centre, Funchal

9.2Guest rating 9.2/10 · Exceptional

Excellent value

Rated 9.2/10, priced in line with similar 5★ hotels in Funchal, in a central location.

From £160 per night · check current availability

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Best ValueBest Mid-Range Hotel

Example listing

Lido Atlantic Hotel

Lido, Funchal

8.5Guest rating 8.5/10 · Excellent

Very good value

Rated 8.5/10, priced in line with similar 4★ hotels in Funchal, right by the beach.

From £90 per night · check current availability

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Best Budget Choice

Example listing

Zona Velha Inn

Zona Velha, Funchal

8.6Guest rating 8.6/10 · Excellent

Very good value

Rated 8.6/10, priced in line with similar 3★ hotels in Funchal, in a central location.

From £60 per night · check current availability

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Food & Restaurants

Where to eat

Food guide

Espada com banana

Black scabbardfish served with fried banana
Madeira wine tasting

From dry Sercial to sweet Malmsey, in historic lodges
Lapas

Grilled limpets with garlic and lemon

A suggested Funchal itinerary

3 nights Couple

Funchal · Highlights

Funchal in 3 nights

A balanced first-visit plan built from our Funchal picks: the headline sights, a local favourite or two and time to breathe.

Day 1 · Mercado dos Lavradores, Funchal Cathedral (Sé), Monte Toboggan Ride, Monte Palace Tropical Garden
Day 2 · Blandy’s Wine Lodge, Lido Promenade and Sea Swimming, Funchal Cable Car to Monte, Zona Velha Old Town
Day 3 · Câmara de Lobos, Pico dos Barcelos Viewpoint

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