Madeira garden tours from Funchal

Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How this works

Visitors who come to Madeira for its flowers usually find more gardens than time, spread between the seafront and the hills. The Madeira garden tours most people put together from Funchal come down to three paid gardens and two free ones: Monte Palace and the Botanical Garden on the hillside, Palheiro to the east, and the Municipal Garden and Santa Catarina Park in the city itself.

The two hillside gardens are joined by cable car: the main line climbs from the old town to Monte, and a second one crosses the valley from Monte to the Botanical Garden, so one day covers both. Palheiro, about 500 m up on an old estate, needs a car, a taxi or a tour.

Prices run from free in the city parks to €18 for Monte Palace, and most gardens open every day.

Monte Palace Tropical Garden

The common mistake is to treat Monte Palace as a quick stop after the cable car. It is a garden for a morning.

The Monte Palace Tropical Garden covers about 70,000 m² of the hillside at Monte, beside the top station of the cable car at Largo das Babosas. Adults pay €18, and children up to 14 enter free with an adult. Its museum, inside the garden, opens daily from 09:00 to 17:30.

The garden closes on storm days, so check before you ride up in bad weather.

Getting there is part of the visit. The Funchal-Monte cable car climbs 3,200 m from the old town in about 15 minutes, for €16 one way or €22 return, with children up to 6 free and ages 7 to 14 at half price; city buses 020 and 021 also go to Monte, at €1.45 a trip on a GIRO card.

Next to the garden stands the church of Nossa Senhora do Monte, completed in 1818, where Emperor Karl I of Austria is buried; and from Monte, the toboggans run 2 km down to Livramento.

The Madeira Botanical Garden

Visitors often expect a formal city garden. The Botanical Garden is a collection laid out on a steep slope, with the city below.

The garden opened in 1960 on the Quinta do Bom Sucesso, an estate established in 1881 by the Reid family. It covers about 8 ha, five of them landscaped, and holds more than 2,000 exotic plants from every continent. Its sections run from trees and ornamental shrubs to an orchid area, lawns, viewpoints and an amphitheatre, and it has its own natural history museum and herbarium.

Entry costs €10 for visitors over 12 and €3 for ages 6 to 12, and children under 6 go free; that price has applied since 28 October 2024. It opens daily from 09:00 to 18:00, except on Christmas Day.

From Monte, the Botanical Garden cable car crosses the João Gomes valley to the garden: 1,600 m in about 18 minutes, €11 one way or €16 return for adults, daily from 09:00 with the last boarding at 16:50. City bus 031 runs back down to the centre.

Palheiro Gardens

People often leave Palheiro out because it is off the cable car routes. It is worth the extra drive.

The Palheiro Gardens lie at about 500 m above sea level, east of the city. Their first owner, the Conde de Carvalhal, planted many of the trees and began the camellia collection, and some of his early plantings still stand. Oak, beech, chestnut and cedar grow beside eucalyptus and araucaria, and the estate has a tea house. A rose garden, created in 2007 by Christina Blandy, is built around stone rings saved from Banger's Pillar, a waterfront landmark of 1798 demolished in 1939.

The gardens open daily from 09:00 to 17:00, with the last entry at 16:00, and close on 25 December and 1 January. Adults pay €11, ages 15 to 17 €6, children go free, groups of five or more pay €10 each, and residents €6.

Palheiro is also the start of the Levada dos Tornos walk to Monte, 4 km in 3 to 4 hours with lunch, which joins two gardens in one day on foot. The gardens' visitor page has the current hours.

The city's free gardens

The mistake is to think every garden in Funchal charges. The two in the centre are free and open every day.

The Jardim Municipal, on Avenida Arriaga, opened in 1885 on the site of the old São Francisco convent, which had served in turn as a hospital, a barracks, a court and an asylum. It covers 8,300 m², with flowers from around the world, a pond with fountains and the marble sculpture Meninos, by António Maria Ribeiro, of 1943. It is open all year, and it hosts the free nights of the jazz festival in July.

The Parque de Santa Catarina, on Avenida do Infante above the marina, covers 36,000 m². At its heart is the Capela de Santa Catarina, the first church built on Madeira, in 1425; around it are a statue of Columbus, a lake, a playground and a viewpoint over the port. It opens from 07:00 to 22:00 from 22 March to 22 September, and to 20:00 the rest of the year.

Between them, the two make an easy free hour on any day in the city.

The sculpture Meninos was created by António Maria Ribeiro in 1943.

One day, two gardens

Visitors often plan the hillside gardens on separate days. The cable cars join them into one.

Start early at the lower station in the old town and ride up to Monte, about 15 minutes. Spend the morning in Monte Palace, then visit the church. Around midday, take the Botanical Garden cable car across the valley, 18 minutes, and give the afternoon to the Botanical Garden. Come down by bus 031 or a taxi.

The cost for an adult is the main line one way, €16, Monte Palace, €18, the second cable car one way, €11, and the Botanical Garden, €10: €55 in all, before the bus down. Children up to 6 ride the main line free and enter the Botanical Garden free.

Watch the times: the Botanical Garden cable car's last boarding is at 16:50, and the main line runs until 17:45.

For an easier day, walk the Levada dos Tornos from Palheiro to Monte instead, and finish in Monte Palace.

The Botanical Garden cable car takes 18 minutes to cross the valley.

Gardens in the museums

People often visit a museum and miss the garden behind it. Two of Funchal's museums have one.

The Quinta das Cruzes, in São Pedro, the last home of João Gonçalves Zarco, holds its museum of decorative arts in an 18th-century villa set in its own gardens, with a garden café. It opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:30, and adults pay €10.

At the Botanical Garden, the natural history museum and the herbarium sit inside the garden itself, included in the entry.

And at Monte Palace, the museum is inside the tropical garden, with the same opening hours of 09:00 to 17:30.

For the art museums in the centre, the museums guide has the hours and prices.

Flowers through the year

The common mistake is to wait for spring. The gardens are open all year, and the city has its own flower season.

The Flower Festival fills Funchal with flowers from late April through May, with the flower wall, the flower carpets and the parade in the city centre, much of it around the Municipal Garden and Avenida Arriaga. The Flower Festival guide has the dates.

For the hillside gardens, rain and cloud matter more than the season. Monte Palace closes on storm days, and the Botanical Garden's viewpoints look best on a clear morning. Keep a dry day for the hills, and use a cloudy one for the city gardens and the museums.

Visit Madeira lists the island's gardens, including those beyond Funchal.

Common questions

How much is the Madeira Botanical Garden?

€10 for visitors over 12, €3 for ages 6 to 12, and free under 6. It opens daily from 09:00 to 18:00, except on Christmas Day.

Is Monte Palace worth €18?

It covers about 70,000 m², and children up to 14 enter free with an adult, which makes it good value for families.

Can you visit Monte Palace and the Botanical Garden in one day?

Yes: ride the cable car up to Monte, then the second cable car across to the Botanical Garden, 18 minutes.

Are there free gardens in Funchal?

Yes, the Jardim Municipal on Avenida Arriaga and the Parque de Santa Catarina above the marina.