The "Levadas" and other Funchal, Portugal Off The Beaten Path Tips

In addition to the natural beauties of Madeira, the region offers a man-made wonder in the shape of the traditional irrigation system of Levadas. These are ideal for the walker.

The Levadas represent living testimony to our ancestors’ efforts to bring fertility to the steep mountainsides and valleys by diverting the abundant sources of water that would otherwise cascade uselessly from the mountaintops. These Levadas represent the arteries in a vast circulation system that permitted the otherwise arid soil to be actively cultivated and people to settle up in the island’s highest regions.
Normally cut trench wise into the ground, the Levadas have also been cut directly into living rock, and built over rocky clefts or sheer precipices hundreds of metres deep. Others delve under mountains by means of tunnels hundreds of metres long. They cover the island from north to south with an extension of 100 km (62 miles).
Tracing the route of these Levadas on foot allows walkers to enjoy the very best island views, to recharge their batteries through contact with nature, and at the same time to contemplate the links between Man and Nature, and his efforts to tame its forces.

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Fabulous view all over Funchal! To get there get the number 4 in the yellow buses city center. It is possible to see 3 main Funchal areas from here: Sao Martinho, Santo Antonio and the Se by the sea

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Get the experiencience of Madeira stone beaches! You'll find this small beach at Zona Velha or Old Town next to Forte de Santiago. Enjoy the sun and after visit the Museum at the fort. Enjoy!

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If you want nice vulcanic pools with a cheap fish restaurant then this is the place. Enjoy the sun and for lunch or dinner try the Doca do Cavacas resturant. Great!

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Quinta da Cruzes museum collection includes Portuguese and foreign furniture from the 16th to 19th centuries. Porcelain from the Portuguese East India Company and from Europe. Portuguese painted dishware from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Indo-Portuguese and European ivory objects. Flemish and Portuguese sculpture from the 15th to the 18th century. Nativity scenes or cribs from the 18th and 19th centuries and paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries.

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Phone: 291 740670

Sao Martinho is a northern Funchal parish.
It's worth the visit to Sao Martinho old church and new church also. The gardens are well kept. It's a great place to relax and enjoy Funchal landscape.

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The old neighbourhood of Santa Maria is where the settlement of the island started more than five centuries ago, in the area today known as the Old Town. Its narrow streets are paved with cobblestones and lined with the ancient facades of the picturesque houses.

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Fishermen built this chapel between the 15th and 17th centuries. It is still maintained by the fishing community, which reveres St Pedro Goncalves Telmo, the patron saint of fishermen.

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Other Contact: At Old Town

This is a centre point for the town. It typifies the architectural period known as the New State (Estado Novo). The facade has a panel of tiles in a semi-circle, two tiled panels at the main entrance and several others in the section devoted to fish.

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Wander through the gardens to the Babosas panoramic view point stopping along the way at the famous Monte church where the last Austrian-Hungarian emperor, Karl I lies buried. His name is intimately linked to the neighbourhood, because he lived for a number of years at Monte Villa (Quinta do Monte).

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