Things to do in Madeira & the Azores

From Funchal's seafront old town, the Funchal–Monte Cable Car rises over the bay to Monte, where the Monte Palace Tropical Garden spreads 70,000 m² of Oriental gardens, koi ponds, peacocks and flamingos, and carreiros in traditional outfits steer the Monte Wicker Toboggan Ride down the steep streets toward Livramento. Back in town, the Mercado dos Lavradores, opened in 1940 with colourful tile panels, is piled with tropical fruit, flowers and fresh fish, and in the Christmas season Funchal glows with lights, a Christmas market and an ethnographic village at Largo da Restauração before the famous New Year's Eve fireworks over the bay. West of the capital, the Cabo Girão Glass Skywalk hangs about 580 metres above the sea, the Levada das 25 Fontes Walk (PR 6) follows an irrigation channel through UNESCO-listed Laurissilva forest to a lagoon fed by 25 springs, and centuries-old til trees stand in the Fanal Ancient Laurel Forest. On the northwest tip, the Porto Moniz Natural Pools fill volcanic rock with seawater refreshed by the tides, and in the Azores the Terra Nostra Garden in the Furnas valley on São Miguel has a thermal pool fed by a volcanic spring at about 42°C.

Good to knowMonte toboggan tickets are sold on site for the same day only, Monday to Saturday, and children up to 6 ride the cable car free, so ride up and slide back down. Visitors over 12 pay the Cabo Girão access fee and the Levada das 25 Fontes trail fee via the SIMplifica portal, the trail fee in advance, and the walk takes about 3 hours return. Go early to the Mercado dos Lavradores, which is closed on Sundays, wear comfortable shoes for the slopes and cobbles of the Monte Palace Tropical Garden, and bring swimwear for the Terra Nostra thermal pool.