"Amphitheatre around a beautiful bay. " a Funchal Travel Page by Jerelis

Funchal city is the capital of the island of Madeira. It's a city of white rows of houses that climb up the hills, like an amphitheatre around a beautiful bay of blue sea. We loved to explore the city, and therefore we saw a lot of old and characteristic churches, mansions, palaces and monuments.

The compact town of Funchal is easy to get around, and the ideal place to explore on foot. Funchal is Portugal, and yet it is a culture unto itself. Historical buildings to stroll around include the 15th century cathedral, numerous churches, elegant colonial houses and the charming cobbled streets reveal delights at every turn. Nature lovers will appreciate the rich array of tropical plants found throughout Funchal. Time to explore it!

We can honestly state that the best way to explore Funchal is by foot and the second best way is also by foot! Besides giving you the opportunity to roam the narrow streets and the cosy squares, it is the quickest way too. If you really want to, you can cross the city in approximately 45 minutes. Remember that sometimes it might be quicker (and nicer!) to take a few short-cuts into picturesque alleys instead of following the masses of tourists. Maybe this is easy for us to say as we stayed for a longer period of time and not like most of the tourists only for one day. But even when your stay is rather short, do try to get away from the crowds and just have a 'look around'. Funchal is simply a perfect place to walk for a few hours and pretending to know where you are.

Don't forget to have a look at our Madeira Island page.

Madeira is a small archipelago of volcanic origin in the middle of the Atlantic. The weather is mild throughout the year. The landscape is luxuriant, irrigated by cascading streams, while mountain peaks seem to rise abruptly from the ocean.