20. Miradouro do Véu da Noiva

Between the settlements of Seixal and São Vicente on the northern coast, Miradouro do Véu da Noiva is another of the best places to visit in Madeira for striking views.

The small lookout offers views of the ocean, cliffs and a dramatic waterfall said to resemble a Bride’s Veil (the translation of Véu da Noiva) as well as a scenic cliffside road closed after a landslide in 2008.

There’s parking for a few cars at a time and a small snack bar.

Things to do in Funchal, Madeira

Madeira’s capital with a population of 100,000 may be small compared to Porto or Lisbon but it’s certainly your best bet for shopping, restaurants, markets and other city pleasures, plus it’s home to several of the most popular Madeira attractions.

If you’re not hiring a car, it’s the best place to stay. Most day tours will pick you up from your accommodation.

22. Explore the coastline during a catamaran tour

For a fun thing to do in Madeira, hop aboard a cruise of the harbour by luxury catamaran. You’ll soak up incredible island views you’ll see as you move from the harbour around the coast and back again. Snorkelling and snacks are provided and if you’re lucky, you may spot turtles, dolphins and whales.

23. Wander the cobbled streets of Zona Vieja

24. Doca do Cavacas natural pools

Although Porto Moniz steals the show when it comes to natural swimming pools in Madeira, it’s admittedly a trek from the capital. Luckily, there’s a set of pools near Formosa Beach, a 20-minute drive or bus ride from Funchal.

Volcanic rocks at Doca do Cavacas create a natural pool from which you can swim out into the ocean admiring views of Cabo Girão. The only downside is the long flight of stairs leading to the pools (no disabled access available).

Catch bus number 1 or 2 from Funchal.

The Funchal Cable Car will take you on a 20-minute journey suspended at 39m, soaking up breathtaking views of the island, coast and ocean. The finish point is Monte, a 19th-century health resort for high society, home to several of Madeira’s top things to do including lookout points, churches and the famous botanical gardens.

The Cable Car isn’t the cheapest Madeira attraction: it costs €12.50 each way per adult or €18 return (€6.50 / €9 return for 7-14-year-olds and free for under 6s). I’d recommend getting a one-way ticket and coming down the hill via the…

28. Monte Palace Tropical Garden

A minute’s walk from the top station of the cable car is one of the most visited places in Madeira, Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. This enormous complex boasts plants and trees from around the world set around a large lake home to swans and ducks.

Wander the quaint bridges, admiring Asian-style pagodas and African-influenced statues. It’s a real mix of styles and cultures with a museum, gallery of decorative tiles and a cafe.

The gardens are open from 9.30am-6pm and tickets cost €12.50 (under 15s go free).

From fruits and vegetables to artisan products, souvenirs and trinkets, Mercado Dos Lavradores has been a beloved meeting spot in Funchal since the 1940s. Undoubtedly, the prices are inflated so it’s a better place to browse than buy.

Peruse the fruit stands overflowing with guavas, dragon fruits and lychees, sip a beer at Madeira Beer Lab, head downstairs to see the impressive fresh fish market (and see what a deep-sea scabbardfish looks like up close!) and journey upstairs for coffee on the rooftop.

The market is open from 7am-7pm, closed Sundays and closing at 2pm on Saturdays.

My favourite cafe in Funchal is Art Food Corner Madeira, ideal for lunch, coffee, co-working or simply relaxing after ticking off the main things to do in Maderia. With colourful tables, funky artwork and gentle background music, it’s an easy place to while away the hours.

They serve excellent coffee (plant milks available), fresh juices, kombucha, brunch dishes, sandwiches, wraps and salads. There are plenty of veggie and healthy options.

32. Madeira Story Centre

To learn about the history of Madeira, pay a visit to Madeira Story Museum. From volcanic eruptions to pirate attacks, it covers everything in an interactive way that’ll keep you busy for around 45 minutes.

After all that learning, enjoy a traditional Madeiran meal in the restaurant. Museum entry is €5 for adults and €3 for children.

33. Swim in the Lido bathing complex

Funchal may not have the best beaches but it makes up for it with dedicated swimming areas. At the Lido, there are two ocean pools: one with slides for kids and a deeper one for adults. It’s a great place to relax for a few hours.

After a gentle swim with ocean views or session lounging on a deck chair, continue your Madeira sightseeing by walking the Lido Promenade to Formosa Beach (near Doca do Cavacas, the natural pools I mentioned earlier).

Walking from Funchal to the Lido takes 40 minutes or you can drive/catch a taxi in 10 minutes or board a number of local buses in 20 minutes.

34. Admire São Tiago Fortress

This mustard-coloured building is easily the most eye-catching along Funchal’s harbour. Wander inside Forte de São Tiago or snap photos of the classic cars positioned at the entrance.

Although it was built to defend the port from pirates, it’s now a famed Madeira attraction home to a fancy restaurant. If that’s not your vibe, walk a few paces to Barreirinha Bar Café to sip cheap beers with ocean views and watch locals catch lapas (limpets). Be sure to try them; they’re very tasty.

Culinary things to do in Madeira

So an old fable (that I just made up) goes, you haven’t been to Madeira if you haven’t got drunk on poncha!

Madeira’s national drink is rum-based and available in several citrus fruit flavours. You’ll find it in almost every bar on the island but not every poncha is made equal: a bad one has an overbearing honey flavour that’s too sweet for me, while a good one is fresh and tangy.

You can’t do better than Bar Filhos D’ Mar in Câmara de Lobos, the fishing village it was allegedly invented. Try the fishermen’s punch served with a bowl of peanuts and notice the Ronaldo theme; the bar is a shrine to him!

The majestic Valley of the Nuns (mentioned above) is not just a wonderful place to visit in Madeira but it’s also an excellent place to eat. Local restaurants make all kinds of dishes and delicacies with chestnuts.

The tradition began when Curral das Freiras, the main town in the valley, had a surplus. There’s even a chestnut festival still held each year on 1 November. If your holiday doesn’t line up with that, never fear: La Perla Restaurante and Restaurante Sabores do Curral serve chestnut cream soup, roasted chestnuts and chestnut liqueur year-round.

My housemates and I joked that we would each get a bolo do caco tattoo to commemorate our time on the island. Although we didn’t get a permanent reminder in the end, we devoured so many that I’ll certainly remember them forever!

To describe bolo de caco as garlic bread would be an insult. Although ‘bolo’ means cake in Portuguese, this is actually a type of bread, and a very good one at that. It’s crispy on the outside and soft inside served warm with lashings of garlic and oil. Heaven!

You’ll find it everywhere in Madeira but nowhere else in the world (to my knowledge anyway) so eat as many as possible! It’s the only sensible thing to do when in Madeira.

If you see a black scabbardfish at a Madeira market, you’ll be alarmed by the appearance of these deep sea-dwelling creatures with huge eyes and razor-sharp teeth.

They taste much better than they look as you can discover in any Madeira restaurant. Using the bounty of the island, it’s popular to prepare the fish with either passionfruit or banana. If you like sweet and savoury together, try it in Câmara de Lobos fishing village. There are plenty of great – although slightly pricey – restaurants like Vila do Peixe and Taberna dos Lobos.

40. Learn to love Madeira Wine

41. Sink an iconic Madeiran ‘Nikita’ cocktail

You may be surprised to know (and who wouldn’t be?) that Madeira’s signature cocktail is named after Elton John’s 1985 hit, Nikita. I didn’t know this British megastar had a close tie to Madeira but, after some digging, I discovered that the inventor of the drink just loved the song.

The inventor, a man named Marcelino who emigrated to Brazil (possibly explaining the key ingredient) used pineapple – either juice or ice cream – to concoct this cocktail infused with beer. The nikita cocktail tastes a little funky with a fermented after-kick reminiscent of kombucha.

42. Find the perfect pastel de nata

Okay, I never found any great natas in Madeira but I was probably spoiled after my hunt for the best pastel de natas in Porto! The ones on the island are worth a try if you’re not visiting the mainland.

Cultural things to do in Madeira

It’s typically the natural attractions in Madeira that bring the crowds. But that doesn’t mean you can’t experience the culture. From festivals to footballers, here’s what (and where) to celebrate on the island!

43. Visit the Ronaldo Museum

The CR7 Cristiano Ronaldo Museum is dedicated to (easily!) Madeira’s most famous individual. Locals are fairly obsessed with him but I suppose it’s not every day your volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic produces the world’s most-followed person on Instagram!

In the museum, you can learn about Ronaldo’s story from his childhood to his sporting successes, illustrated by trophies, photos and even lifesized waxworks.

Museum entry is €5 but, if you don’t feel like paying it, find the Ronaldo statue in Funchal as a free alternative.

45. Catch a festival

Towns and villages to visit

Once you’ve had your fill of nature and hiking, you’ll probably be craving food or a sundowner drink. There are several towns and villages worth visiting around the island with excellent cuisine, impressive architecture and other draws.

A few of the best places to visit in Madeira for city-dwellers include…

My housemate and I drove to Santana, parked up and walked to the Santana traditional houses – only to reel at the €10 entry fee and get back in the car. Instead, we took ourselves on a northern coast road trip towards Porto Moniz and spotted original Santana houses in the rural countryside.

If you don’t have time for this, the Santana cultural site is undoubtedly one of the top Madeira tourist attractions. It’s best to visit as part of an island tour because, although they’re pretty, the houses alone allegedly aren’t worth driving across the island for.

Put on the map by fresh seafood, the invention of poncha, and the approval of Winston Churchill (I’d prefer the rum cocktail any day), the small town of Câmara de Lobos is touristic but well worth a visit. The views are sublime and there’s a small (albeit rocky) beach alongside a fantastic culinary scene.

Lobos in English means sea lions and explains the town’s name: explorers who discovered Madeira were greeted by hundreds of seals at this port. It’s well-located, a 12-minute drive from Funchal, plus many of the other top things to do on Madeira are close by.

My friends and I lived close to Lobos during our month-long workcation in Madeira and I’m almost embarrassed to tell you the number of times we ate dinner at Pizzeria Sorrento! Everything there is SO delicious.

48. Ponta do Sol

Closeby to many Madeira attractions like Anjos Waterfall, Ponta do Sol is named after the extended daylight the settlement receives from its position in the south of the island.

The village boasts a spacious beach and an attractive street of colourful buildings, surrounded by banana plantations and levada walks. Since it’s no surprise people want to stay here, a digital nomad village has popped up in recent years.

49. Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz was our local during our second month in Madeira. It’s a pleasant place with a beach and several great restaurants located on the east coast close to the airport. Earmark it for a lunch stop when driving around the island or heading to Ponta de São Lourenço.

Relax on Praia das Palmeiras beach, visit São Salvador church and explore Quinta do Revoredo, a 19th-century mansion. Our favourite restaurant was Taberna do Petisco with fantastic seafood dishes, particularly the octopus. Obviously, you’ll need to order a bolo de caco too 😉

50 – take a day trip to Porto Santo

Porto Santo is the other island in the archipelago of Madeira. Measuring just 11km long and 6km wide, it’s much smaller than Madeira and can be seen in a day if necessary.

With so many places to see in Madeira, why leave, you might wonder? Well, Porto Santo is known for its pristine white-sand beaches that trump Madeira’s dark and stony ones when it comes to walking barefoot and building sandcastles.

Things to do on Porto Santo include visiting beaches like Praia do Porto Santo, admiring views from miradouros like Pico Castelo, finding hidden coves, and swimming in natural pools at Porto dos Frades.

Getting to Porto Santo: flights take just 15 minutes from Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport or you can catch a daily ferry from Funchal Harbour taking 2.5 hours. Tickets start from €35 per foot passenger; bringing a car is considerably more expensive.