Madeira Island Tourist Trap Tips by Jerelis Top 5 Page for this destination

Monte - Monte's Municipal Garden.

At Monte, the fashionable hill town in Madeira, are the magnificent gardens that surround the cahteau-like Monte Palace. After our visit to the church we walked down the stairs and saw 2 white-clad "chauffeurs" with straw hats waiting for tourists to take a sledge ride.

We didn't take the toboggans ride and had a strowl through the Monte's Municipal Garden. It's certainly the most wonderful and varied garden on the island. To us it brought some peace in the day through its flower, ancient trees, the small river and the pebbly tracks.

Don't miss the opportunity to see the Koi fishes, a specie whose origins come from East Asia and considered extremely valuable. We liked the Buddhist sculptures, miniature islands and ornamental bridges. We also enjoyed the swans beauty and majesty on the central lake. A perfect place for an unforgettable morning!

Unique Suggestions: Do hike the stairs up to the church of Monte. It's worth it, not only for the church itself, but also breathtaking views over the city of Funchal.

Address:
Village of Monte

Directions:
Situated at the south side of the island. It's just northern of the capital of Madeira, Funchal, a 5 minutes drive.

Monte - Igreja Nossa Senhora do Monte.

We didn't visit Monte because of the quintas (although we liked them!), but heared great things about it's church and nearby gardens. It was rather hard to find a parking lot for our car. We did drive in circels a few times and were lucky to see someone leave and were able to sqeeze in. When we got out of the car we felt that the temperature was a few degrees lower, but the sun was generous and therefore pleasant.

From the parking lot it was a strenous walk to the Igreja Nossa Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of Monte Church). We noticed it's very impressive steps. Later on we learned that this 18th century church replaced a small 15th century chapel. Besides that it is the burial place of the Austro-Hungarian emperor Charles I who was exiled to the island and died here between the 2 world wars. The church contains some beautiful pieces of sculpted and gilt woodwork from the 17th and 18 century.

Unique Suggestions: Do hike the stairs up to the church of Monte. It's worth it, not only for the church itself, but also breathtaking views over the city of Funchal.

Address:
Village of Monte

Directions:
Situated at the south side of the island. It's just northern of the capital of Madeira, Funchal, a 5 minutes drive.

Monte - Resort for European aristocrats.

This small village perched up in the hills overlooking the city of Funchal is about 6 kilometers away from the centre of the capital. Well, it is called a village and probably once was, but it is more like a suburb today. Funchal has climbed high up the mountain slopes.

Monte once was the favorite holiday resort for European aristocrats, in particular the English upper class. With no need to work they had nothing better to do during the winter than to move their household to Madeira´s pleasant climate. Most of the guests stayed at the solemny Quintas, which up till now give Monte it's charming vibe. "Quinta" is the name given to the palatial homes that merchants used to set up on the island to live in pleasant surroundings and from which to run their wine empires. Monte was the ideal setting.

Unique Suggestions: Do hike the stairs up to the church of Monte. It's worth it, not only for the church itself, but also breathtaking views over the city of Funchal.

Address:
Village of Monte

Directions:
Situated at the south side of the island. It's just northern of the capital of Madeira, Funchal, a 5 minutes drive.

Monte - Toboggan ride.

This is one of the surprises Funchal had for us. Usually we are well prepared when we go on our journeys, but we never heared of the Toboggan ride before we arrived in Monte. We learned that originally it's a fast means of transport down to Funchal for people living in Monte, these toboggan sledges appeared around 1850.

The fun thing is that they are still in use today, of course as a means to attrack tourists. Asking around learned us that they attract thousands of tourists every year who want to make this exciting experience of sliding at high speed on narrow, winding streets down to Funchal. These two-seater wicker baskets glide on wooden runners, pushed and steered by two men traditionally dressed in white cotton clothes and a straw hat, using their rubber-soled boots as brakes.

They told us not to miss out on it, but we had our car parked on the hill in Monte and were there with the 3 of us. A bit difficult to arrange this downhill journey to Funchal which will be made in about 10 minutes on a total course of 2 km, reaching at times a speed of 48 km/hour. Adventurous, yet safe, an ‘old-fashioned’ toboggan ride to make your way down from Monte is the perfect contrast to the high-technology cable car going up to Monte.

Directions:
Find the Monte toboggans at the bottom of the stairs leading to the Nossa Senhora do Monte Church.

Ribeira Brava - Igreja de Sao Bento.

Near the principal square we visited the Igreja de Sao Bento (Sao Bento Church). It's situated just 2 streets back from the promenade and we noticed that the spire is easily spotted from most parts of Ribeira Brava. This beautiful church has its origin in a small chapel dedicated to this saint in the 15th century, that was later altered and expanded to become the parish church in the 16th century. The panels depicting the Virgin with Jesus, with Sao Benardo beside her, are of rare artistic standard. We liked the carved stone front and pulpit. The reveal Flemish influences, as does the image of Our Lady of the Rosery, dated from the 16th century. The church has its main body divided by two series of five arches, into three naves.

Be aware that the Igreja de Sao Bento closes from 1 pm to 3 pm for lunch. We arrived at the closed doors as we read that it was supposed to be open from 7 am to 7 pm, which is true, but do remind the lunchtime! The church clock chimes the hour twice and the church bells 'talks' to the community usually once and sometimes severals times a day, so its presence in the town is felt everywhere.

Unique Suggestions: We guess that there is not a real alternative. You must at least visit this place and maybe try not to take too much notice of the many tourists :-)

Address:
The village of Ribeira Brava

Directions:
The village is situated at the south side of the island at the beach. It's a 30 km drive from the capital of Madeira, Funchal.

Website:
http://ww.cm-ribeirabrava.pt

Ribeira Brava - The Camara Municipal.

So every now and then we are surprised by some sites we just encountered by accident. The Camara Municipal (Town Hall) of Ribeira Brava is such a site. We just took a street (Rua Visconde da Ribeira Brava) which was connected to the promenade. We hiked our way up northerly and reached the far side of the Igreja de Sao Bento (Sao Bento Church) and there it was on our right hand side.

At the facade we read that the Camara Municipal was built in 1765 and we believe that it stands out in the centre of the town as the pink building with dark green shutters, situated in beautiful flower gardens. These gardens are open to the public during office hours and are well worth a look. The garden is also decorated with pieces of rusting machinery, from a bygone age of sugar production, probably because the original owner was a local sugar merchant. It's surrounded by a greeb painted iron fence.

Unique Suggestions: We guess that there is not a real alternative. You must at least visit this place and maybe try not to take too much notice of the many tourists :-)

Address:
The village of Ribeira Brava

Directions:
The village is situated at the south side of the island at the beach. It's a 30 km drive from the capital of Madeira, Funchal.

Website:
http://ww.cm-ribeirabrava.pt

Ribeira Brava - The beach area.

The obviously new promenade consists of stone block flooring, with imaginative curvy raised and stepped areas, with wooden decking. Together with the beach area there is a childrens wimming pool, infants paddling pool, changing room, toilets and reception. Because of all these changes it is now considered a significant tourist destination, especially for those who are passing through on a day trip. We were this one day tourists, but rather liked to visit some historic sites. Like what was left of the Sao Bento Fort, built in the 17th century. It's a surviving witness to the battles against pirates. At this day it is the local Tourist Office.

Also the Mercado dos Lavradores with its beautiful tile entrance. Once we were inside we saw a rather large central courtyard. Immediately we witnessed the hive of activity and the atmosphere was a riot of colours. We smelled the aromas from the various exotic flowers, fruit/vegetables, willow work, fish and local crafts. Some of the vendors were in traditional costumes, which again added to the vibrancy of this magical place.

Ribeira Brava has a small harbour tucked away to the east of the town, but it is not visible from the town itself. We had to access it through a rock tunnel at the east end of the sea front. A fun fact is that this tunnel to the harbour is the coolest place in Ribeira Brava on a very hot day!

Unique Suggestions: We guess that there is not a real alternative. You must at least visit this place and maybe try not to take too much notice of the many tourists :-)

Address:
The village of Ribeira Brava

Directions:
The village is situated at the south side of the island at the beach. It's a 30 km drive from the capital of Madeira, Funchal.

Website:
http://ww.cm-ribeirabrava.pt

Ribeira Brava - One of the oldest towns.

Established in the mid fifteenth century, Ribeira Brava is one of the oldest towns in Madeira. It is situated on the southeast coast near the mouth of the river with the same name. Writers think that its name comes from the furious (Brava) river (Ribeira) that used to flow in this area.

The town is blessed with a long beach, a river and an unusually long thin strip of flat slightly sloping land on which the town is built. Apart from the sea front, it is surrounded on all sides by a wonderful lush mountain scenery. Facing east from the harbour, you will be looking towards the cliffs of Gabo Girao, one of the highest cliffs in Europe.

Ribeira Brava has made enormous progress in the last few years and has geared itself up to tourism. Now it's a lot of easier to access since the construction of the two lane motorway from Funchal. The town boasts many street cafes and shops and is certainly a place to spend a few hours taking in the sights and sounds.

Unique Suggestions: We guess that there is not a real alternative. You must at least visit this place and maybe try not to take too much notice of the many tourists :-)

Address:
The village of Ribeira Brava

Directions:
The village is situated at the south side of the island at the beach. It's a 30 km drive from the capital of Madeira, Funchal.

Website:
http://ww.cm-ribeirabrava.pt

Camacha - Soccer played for the very first time...

Next to the centre square there was a small look-out point which allowed us to overlook a part of the southern side of the island. Trully breathtaking!

Finally we we visited Achada, which is the centre of this small village where the locals socialize. Arriving there we were pleasantly surprised by the monument we saw there. We read that right here soccer was played for the first time (1875) in Portugal due to the influence of the British.

But eventhough we had this last positive surprise we won't stick with the opinion of the people that say that Camacha is the most picturesque village of the island. In our opinion it has some beautiful Quintas, great craftsmen, a nice little church and a soccer monument, but it's mostly a place where busloads of tourists are blocking the way and most old traditional houses are replaced by modern ones.

Address:
Village of Camacha

Directions:
Situated at the middle (bit to the north east) side of the island. It is a 18 km drive from the capital of Madeira, Funchal.

Camacha - More appreciation for the little church.

Camacha is situated on a mountain, it is rich on secular trees. We noticed that some of the magnificent Quintas da Madeira still remain with all their splendorous gardens.

More than the average (bus) tourist we rather had more appreciation for the little church which was situated near the centre square. It's quite old, because we learned that some documents presented us the year of 1452 as the date of its foundation. A funny fact is that we were about the only people visiting this beautiful little church and we admired its finely sculpted wood altars and the baroque tiles.

Later on we strolled down the street to have a look at the new and modern church which was inaugurated in 1998. It has a very interesting architecture - very, very different from the traditional churches on the island.

Address:
Village of Camacha

Directions:
Situated at the middle (bit to the north east) side of the island. It is a 18 km drive from the capital of Madeira, Funchal.