All places on Madeira
Every place this guide has written about, by kind: why to go, when to come and what to know first. Each one opens on the 3D island too.
Explore them on the 3D islandTrails →
- Vereda do AreeiroThe ridge walk between the two highest peaks
- Levada das 25 FontesThe island’s most walked levada, for good reason
- Levada do Caldeirão VerdeFour unlit tunnels to a waterfall in a bowl
- Vereda dos BalcõesTwenty flat minutes to the best cheap view
- Ribeiro FrioLaurisilva, trout tanks, and the trailhead for two walks
- Ponta de São LourençoThe dry end of the island, with nowhere to hide
- PR1.3 - Vereda da EncumeadaAn 11km ridge walk toward Encumeada — currently a there-and-back, not a through-hike.
- Carros de Cesto do MonteWicker sledges steered by two 'carreiros' coast 2km downhill from Monte
- Jardim Botânico da Madeira2,000+ plant species terraced into a hillside, plus a parrot park and views
- Levada do Rei (PR18)A waterfall falls straight onto the trail near São Jorge — you walk right through it.
- Levada do Furado (PR10)Madeira's classic forest levada from Ribeiro Frio to Portela — verify it's open first.
- Levada dos Cedros (PR14)One of Madeira's oldest levadas, laced through fogbound ancient forest near Fanal.
- Rota da BananaA half-hour walk through Madeira's biggest banana plantation on tiny levadas.
- Vereda do LaranoOld coastal path from Porto da Cruz toward Machico; cliff edges, no guardrails.
- Levada do Alecrim (PR6.2)A quiet, easy levada at 1,300 m, far less crowded than the famous 25 Fontes.
- Levada da Ribeira da JanelaThirteen kilometers of levada and pitch-black tunnels into a hidden valley.
- Chão da RibeiraA hidden laurissilva valley above Seixal that locals call 'the sanctuary'.
- Levada Nova / Levada do MoinhoA loop past old watermill ruins and a rock tunnel to a waterfall above Ponta do Sol.
- Levada do Risco (PR6.1)A short, easy walk from Rabaçal to a 100m waterfall dropping straight off the cliff.
- Caminho Real do Paul do Mar (PR19)A cobbled royal path plunging 500m in under 2km from Prazeres to the surf at Paul do Mar.
- PR1.2 - Vereda do Pico RuivoThe short, cobbled, no-drama way to stand on the highest point in Madeira.
- PR12 - Caminho Real da EncumeadaA cobbled royal road toward Pico Grande — but only the first 3.5km are open right now.
- Monte Palace Tropical GardenAzulejo tile panels, koi ponds and a volcanic-rock garden on a former quinta
- Levada dos TornosThe levada walk you can start by cable car straight from old-town Funchal.
- Parque das Queimadas883 m thatched forest park, gateway to the Caldeirão Verde waterfall levada.
Viewpoints →
- Pico do ArieiroDrive to 1818 m and look down on the weather
- Pico RuivoThe summit — 1862 m, and no road to it
- FanalThousand-year laurel trees, best in fog
- Cabo GirãoStanding on glass, 580 m above the sea
- Pico das TorresThe knife-edge middle peak of PR1 — a lit tunnel, iron rungs, exposed rock.
- Achada do TeixeiraPark at 1600 m and reach Pico Ruivo's summit in under an hour and a half round trip.
- Ninho da MantaA buzzard-nest cliff a few steps off Areeiro's car park, no full PR1 commitment needed.
- Eira do SerradoThe postcard drop into Curral das Freiras' crater valley, steps from the car park.
- Bica da CanaThe east edge of Paul da Serra, where cloud seas break against Pico Ruivo's silhouette.
- Boca da EncumeadaThe one road pass where you can see both coasts of Madeira at once.
- Boca da CorridaA quiet balcony over Curral das Freiras' valley, without the Eira do Serrado crowds.
- Teleférico do Funchal (Monte)15-minute gondola ride climbing 560m from the seafront to Monte's hilltop
- Cabo Girão (Skywalk)Glass platform cantilevered 580m above the sea, Europe's highest sea cliff
- Pico dos Barcelos355m neighborhood viewpoint over Funchal's rooftops, harbor and Desertas islands
- Cristo Rei do Garajau1927 Art Deco Christ statue on a 283m clifftop, four years before Rio's
- Cascata do AguageA swimmable 20 m waterfall near Santana that most drivers have no idea exists.
- Penha d'Águia590 m volcanic monolith between Porto da Cruz and Faial; steep summit trail.
- Miradouro da Portela590 m pass viewpoint framing Penha d'Águia, between Porto da Cruz and Machico.
- Boca do Risco356 m clifftop gap with views to São Lourenço, Penha d'Águia and Porto Santo.
- Pico do Facho280 m roadside viewpoint over Machico bay and the Desertas Islands.
- Teleférico das Achadas da CruzA 5-minute plunge, roughly 450 m down, on a cable car billed as Europe's steepest.
- Miradouro dos Ilhéus da Ribeira da JanelaThree sea-stacks off the cliff, one pierced clean through by a natural window.
- Miradouro do Véu da NoivaA 30 m 'bridal veil' waterfall drops straight off the cliff into the Atlantic.
- Farol da Ponta do PargoMadeira's westernmost lighthouse, on a 290 m cliff, with the island's best sunsets.
- Casa das MudasA black-basalt art museum cut into the clifftop, built to look like the mountain itself.
- Cascata dos AnjosA waterfall that pours straight across the old coast road on the way to Madalena do Mar.
- Paul da SerraMadeira's high, flat, wind-scoured plateau, where nearly all its wind power spins.
- Miradouro da RaposeiraA viewpoint over a sheer 600m drop, framing Paul do Mar and Jardim do Mar below.
- Miradouro do MassapezA picnic-table miradouro over Paul do Mar and Jardim do Mar, grill included.
Beaches →
- Porto MonizSwimming pools carved by lava, filled by the Atlantic
- SeixalBlack sand, green cliffs, waterfalls into the sea
- Praia Formosa2km of Blue Flag sand-and-pebble beaches linking Funchal to Câmara de Lobos
- Doca do CavacasFunchal's only natural volcanic-rock swimming pool, at the edge of Praia Formosa
- Complexo Balnear da BarreirinhaZona Velha's municipal lido, cut into the rocks right below the old town
- Reserva Natural do GarajauPortugal's first marine reserve (1986) — dusky groupers in 20m visibility
- Caniço de BaixoQuiet resort shelf below Caniço's hilltop village, built around rock pools and diving
- Praia da MaiataBlack-sand surf beach outside Porto da Cruz; no lifeguard, strong currents.
- PrainhaMadeira's only natural black-sand beach, in a cove near São Lourenço.
- Poças das Lesmas (Piscinas Naturais do Seixal)Tidal pools under a lava arch, one headland along from Seixal's black-sand beach.
- Praia do Porto do SeixalBlack volcanic sand under green cliffs — Madeira's answer to a Hawaiian beach.
- Calhau das Achadas da CruzA pebble fajã you reach by Europe's steepest cable car, or a punishing footpath.
- Praia da CalhetaOne of Madeira's few sand beaches, with sand shipped in from North Africa.
- Praia da Madalena do MarA pebble-and-black-sand bay below Madeira's biggest banana plantations.
- Piscinas Naturais do Porto MonizLava-rock pools where the open Atlantic refills the water with every set of waves.
Towns & villages →
- Câmara de LobosA working fishing harbour that Churchill painted
- FunchalThe city that runs up the mountain
- Ponta do SolThe sunniest corner, and the nomads found it
- Curral das FreirasA village folded into a collapsed volcanic crater, chestnuts on every menu.
- Fajã dos PadresCable car down a 300 m cliff to a Jesuit-planted vineyard and its own restaurant
- Mercado dos LavradoresFunchal's 1940 Art Deco market, where flower sellers and the fish hall set the morning
- Zona Velha (Rua de Santa Maria)200+ hand-painted doors turn a once-derelict lane into an open-air gallery.
- Museu CR7Cristiano Ronaldo's trophy room, steps from Funchal's marina promenade
- Casas de SantanaTriangular thatched palheiros, painted red-white-blue, free entry by the town hall.
- FaialQuiet village below the 600 m Penha d'Águia rock, 5 km from Porto da Cruz.
- Porto da CruzHarbor village with black-sand surf beaches and a working 1927 steam rum mill.
- MachicoMadeira's 1419 founding town, with the island's longest sandy beach.
- CaniçalFormer whaling village, now home to Madeira's Whale Museum.
- Santo António da Serra670 m plateau town with a Robert Trent Jones golf course and a manor park.
- Grutas e Centro de Vulcanismo de São Vicente900,000-year-old lava tubes below the village — currently closed, check first.
- Porto MonizThe fishing village built around Madeira's most famous volcanic swimming pools.
- SeixalA cliff-hugging village between two of the northwest's best natural pools.
- São VicenteA 1692 parish church anchors this river-mouth valley town on the north coast.
- Ponta do PargoMadeira's westernmost parish, named for the fish once hauled from these cliffs.
- Ribeira da JanelaA river-mouth hamlet named for the sea-stack with a hole worn clean through it.
- Jardim do MarA cliffside village whose wave made it a 1990s big-wave surf legend.
- Paul do MarMadeira's surf capital: a working harbor village under an 8-metre winter wave.
- PrazeresA clifftop farming village perched 600m above Jardim do Mar and Paul do Mar.
- Estreito da CalhetaA hillside parish with a 1520 Manueline chapel hiding a rare Flemish altarpiece.
- Sé Catedral do Funchal1517 Manueline cathedral with a cedar ceiling carved in Mudéjar style
- Monumento ao Trabalhador MadeirenseThe levadas had builders, and this is the only place that says so
- Forte de São Tiago1614 red fort guarding the old town seafront, grounds open to walk any time
Places to eat →
- Taberna da PonchaHand-shaken poncha over a peanut-shell floor at the island's best-known tavern
- Restaurante ViolaEspetada on laurel skewers, grilled over open fire, in the dish's birthplace village
- Restaurante Santo AntónioFamily-run since 1966, still built entirely around laurel-wood beef espetada
- Blandy's Wine LodgeCenturies-old cellars in central Funchal where Madeira wine ages slowly in oak
- Vila do PeixeGrilled scabbardfish weighed at your table, on a terrace above the fishing harbour
- Quinta do Furão RestaurantTerrace tables over Madeira's wildest coastline, on a working Santana wine estate
- Abrigo do PastorA shepherds' shelter turned game house for wild boar, black pork, and roast rabbit
- Casa de Abrigo do PoisoWood-fire açorda and hand-shaken poncha at a mountain-pass chalet toward Arieiro
- Casa do Bolo do CacoGarlic-butter bolo do caco griddled on hot basalt, a Funchal lunch-counter fixture
- Sabores do CurralChestnut soup to chestnut liqueur, a menu built entirely around the Nun's Valley harvest
- Casa de Chá O FioSunset tea and herb-garden snacks on a clifftop terrace at the island's far west
- Casa de Chá do FaialA 1945 English tea house turned poncha stop under Penha de Águia on the north coast
- O JangoZona Velha espetada house on Rua de Santa Maria, open since 1992
- Engenhos do Norte1927 rum mill still run on steam, one of Europe's last; free self-guided visit.
- Restaurante LavradorCook your own steak on a hot stone with a valley view down to São Vicente.
- Engenhos da CalhetaA working 1930s sugarcane mill that still crushes cane into rum and honey each spring.
- Sol PoenteCliffside terrace on the Ponta do Sol pier, named for watching the sun go down.
- Restaurante A PoitaA family-run fish house in Madalena do Mar, working straight off the boats on ice.
- Poncha do EmanuelA village bar in Arco da Calheta pouring seven versions of Madeira's poncha.
- Casa de Abrigo do Pico RuivoPoncha and honey cake at 1761 metres, a 15-minute walk from Madeira's summit.
- Ribeiro Frio1960s trout hatchery in the laurel forest; roadside restaurants serve fresh trout.
- Restaurante CachaloteFresh fish built into the same rocks as the Porto Moniz natural pools since 1969.
- Obsidian 17Specialty coffee and sunset drinks directly across from Seixal's black sand