The best museums in Madeira, in Funchal

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Visitors with a rainy afternoon in Funchal often ask which museum is worth it, and find the answer depends on the day of the week as much as the collection. The best museums in Madeira are almost all in the capital: Flemish paintings bought with sugar money at the Sacred Art Museum, 500 years of decorative art in the last home of the island's discoverer at the Quinta das Cruzes, a 19th-century photography studio still in place, and the most reviewed of all, the CR7 museum.

Many of them close on Sundays, and several on Mondays too, so check the day before you go. Prices run from free for children to €10 for an adult at the two biggest collections.

Most lie within walking distance of each other in the centre and in São Pedro, just west of the cathedral, where eight museums sit within 500 m.

Art: the Sacred Art Museum and the Quinta das Cruzes

The common mistake is to think of Madeira as nature only. Its sugar made it rich, and the art stayed.

The Museu de Arte Sacra, on Rua do Bispo in the centre, holds the island's most significant group of Flemish art, paintings, sculpture and silver bought through the sugar trade with Flanders. It opens Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:30 and on Saturdays from 10:00 to 13:30, and is closed on Sundays and holidays. Adults pay €10, and a guided tour costs €15.

The Museu Quinta das Cruzes, in São Pedro, was the last home of João Gonçalves Zarco, the island's discoverer, and holds decorative arts from the 15th century to the first half of the 20th: painting, sculpture, jewellery, ceramics, engravings, and Portuguese and English furniture, with a garden and a café. It opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:30, closed Sunday, Monday and holidays; adults pay €10, ages 13 to 25 and over 65 pay €5, a family €18, and children go free.

Between them, they make a morning of art. Do the Sacred Art Museum on a weekday morning, since it closes at 13:30 on Saturdays.

Houses and studios: Frederico de Freitas and Vicente's

Visitors often skip the smaller house museums for the big names. Two of them are among the most unusual on the island.

The Casa-Museu Frederico de Freitas is the 18th-century house of a collector, with sculpture, painting, furniture and ceramics, and a very important collection of tiles. It opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:30 and is closed on Sundays and holidays. Adults pay €6, ages 13 to 25 and over 65 €3, a family €10, and families enter free on the first Saturday of each month.

The Museu de Fotografia da Madeira, the Atelier Vicente's on Rua da Carreira, is a photography studio preserved on its own site: Vicente Gomes da Silva began as an engraver in 1848 and bought the building in 1865, and it is one of only two 19th-century photography studios left in Portugal. The archive holds between 3 and 4 million photographic items from the 1850s on, with old cameras and studio equipment. It opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00; adults pay €6.

Both are regional museums, with the same prices.

History and nature

People often look for a single museum of the island's story. There are two very different ones.

The Madeira Story Centre, on Rua Dom Carlos I in the old town, is a modern museum of Madeira's history with interactive exhibits, and a bistro with a terrace. It is one of the few open every day, from 09:00 to 19:00, closed at Christmas; tickets are reported at about €5 for an adult and €3 for a child.

The Museu de História Natural do Funchal is housed in the Palácio de São Pedro, an 18th-century palace bought by the municipality in 1929. Its displays cover the fish, birds, mammals, sea turtles, insects, plants, rocks, minerals and marine fossils of the archipelago, from reference collections of more than 110,000 specimens. It opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00; adults pay €4.63, young people from 11 and pensioners €2.42, and children up to 10 go free.

The Museu de Electricidade Casa da Luz, in the old town, is a small museum of the island's electricity with vintage tools and machines, closed on Sundays and Mondays.

The CR7 museum and the newer attractions

Visitors often expect CR7 to be a big stadium museum. It is a compact collection on the marina, and by far the city's most reviewed museum.

The Museu CR7, at Praça CR7 on Avenida Sá Carneiro by the marina, shows the career of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was born in Funchal. It opens Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00 and is closed on Sundays. Its own guide covers the visit, the statue and the other places connected with him in the city.

For a rainy day with children, two newer places stay open on Sundays. The 3D Fun Art museum, on Rua do Surdo, opens daily from 10:00 to 19:00, and the IMOM, the Immersive Museum of Madeira, on Rua dos Aranhas, opens from 10:00 to 20:00 on weekdays and Saturdays and to 18:00 on Sundays.

Above the city, the Monte Palace Madeira museum, inside the Monte Palace garden, opens daily from 09:00 to 17:30.

The museum dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00.

Planning around the closing days

The common mistake is to leave the museums for a Sunday. That is the day most of them close.

On Sundays, most museums in Funchal are shut: the Sacred Art Museum, the Quinta das Cruzes, Frederico de Freitas, the Vicentes studio, the Natural History Museum and CR7 among them. The ones that stay open are the Madeira Story Centre, the 3D Fun Art museum, the IMOM and the Monte Palace museum.

On Mondays, the regional and municipal museums close too: the Quinta das Cruzes, Frederico de Freitas, the Vicentes studio and the Natural History Museum. Monday is a good day for the Sacred Art Museum, which opens, and for CR7.

On Saturdays, several close early, among them the Sacred Art Museum at 13:30.

So the best days for a museum tour are Tuesday to Friday. Put the Sacred Art Museum and the Quinta das Cruzes on the same morning, and the Vicentes studio and Frederico de Freitas on another.

The Monte Palace Madeira museum opens daily from 09:00 to 17:30.

Beyond Funchal

People often assume every museum is in the capital. Three of the island's best are a drive or a crossing away.

In Calheta, 39 minutes west of Funchal by road, MUDAS, the Contemporary Art Museum of Madeira, occupies a 16th-century manor house enlarged in the 18th century. Nearby, the Engenho da Calheta, one of the oldest sugar-cane mills on the island, still makes rum and cane honey.

On Porto Santo, the Casa Colombo, the Museum of Porto Santo and of the Portuguese Discoveries, is in the house held to have been the home of Christopher Columbus. It opens Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 17:30, and on Saturday mornings, and costs €6 for an adult.

At Porto Moniz, 56 minutes away, the Aquário da Madeira shows more than 90 native species in a replica of the fort of 1730.

The Direção Regional da Cultura lists the regional museums with their hours and prices.

Tickets and discounts

Visitors often pay full price where a lower one applies. Check the ticket rules before you pay.

The regional museums, the Quinta das Cruzes, Frederico de Freitas and the Vicentes studio, share one structure: an adult price, half price for ages 13 to 25 and over 65, a family ticket and a group rate for six or more, with free entry for children and students. Carry proof of age or of a student card.

At the Natural History Museum, children up to 10 go free and young people from 11 pay €2.42. At the Sacred Art Museum, residents of Madeira pay €5, half the adult price.

Visit Madeira lists the island's museums, and the Sacred Art Museum's visitor page and the municipal museum's ticket page have their current prices.

Common questions

Which museums in Funchal are open on Sunday?

The Madeira Story Centre, the 3D Fun Art museum, the IMOM and the Monte Palace museum. Most others close on Sundays.

What is the best museum in Funchal?

For art, the Sacred Art Museum, with the island's main group of Flemish paintings, and the Quinta das Cruzes, both €10 for an adult.

Is there a museum about Madeira's history?

Yes: the Madeira Story Centre in the old town, open every day from 09:00 to 19:00.

Are Funchal's museums free for children?

At the regional museums, children and students enter free; at the Natural History Museum, children up to 10.