Here are 45 of my favourite things to do in Funchal, Madeira, as well as a few things to do in Madeira more widely. I’m a bit of a Madeira geek (or expert!) and have visited many times over the years. This means I can give plenty of tips on how best to spend your time in this beautiful island city.

I’ve tried to avoid anything too obvious that you’ll see in every guidebook, like the Monte toboggans. And I’ve only focused on the city of Funchal itself and day trips you can easily do from it (without a car) rather than looking at the entire island of Madeira… Otherwise, this will turn into 45 million things to do and no one will have the patience to read it. 

Please note: I update this guide on my regular trips to Madeira, adding new finds and removing outdated stuff as frequently as I can. But if you spot anything listed that may no longer be open/doable/good, please comment to let me know. Feel free to leave your own recommendations too!

Anyway, read on if you want some tips from a self-confessed Funchal/Madeira addict…

If you’re looking for the best restaurants in Funchal and where to eat in Madeira more generally, you’re in for a treat. There is a real foodie scene on the island, with plenty of traditional places but also some cute hipster cafés. Most of the food Madeira serves up is delicious and I’ve sampled so much of it over the years that I feel a) fat and b) ready to recommend my favourites. 

I love Madeira and I love eating so this is my expert guide to combining the two: I’ve listed the best restaurants in Funchal, the best cafés/snack bars/food stalls in Funchal, and the best places I’ve eaten in other towns around the island that you might find handy on day trips too. Obviously, all this food needs washing down with some booze so don’t miss my other post on the best bars in Funchal.

I should also add that although Madeira is an island that produces a lot of its own delicious fresh fruit and vegetables, vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Funchal and Madeira generally are rare. It’s definitely a meat-heavy place. But there are plenty of restaurants in Funchal and beyond that serve meat/fish but also cater to vegetarians and vegans really well. So if like me you eat a mostly plant-based diet, it’s well worth doing a bit of planning ahead to make the most of it.

Anyway, dig out all your clothes with elasticated waistbands. Let’s get onto the eating. 

Beaches in Madeira may not be the typical golden sandy variety, well not naturally anyway, but that doesn’t stop them from being beautiful in their own way. I’ve seen so many people online making sweeping generalisations and saying there are ‘no beaches in Madeira’, which isn’t true at all. Madeira, an absolute gem of an island in Portugal that I’ve become something of an expert on, has plenty of gorgeous pebble beaches and black sand beaches. They’re set against the fantastic turquoise ocean and lush green cliffs of the island. And Madeira also has two golden sandy beaches full of imported sand, if that’s your thing. So there. 

I’ve been going to Madeira regularly for years now and I tend to visit the island in January/February. It’s lovely to sit in the warm winter sun watching the waves crashing, preferably with a drink in hand, while thinking of my friends back home in the UK in the freezing cold… So I thought I would put together a little guide to the best beaches in Madeira. I’ve organised the list of beaches by distance from Funchal, Madeira’s capital city, which is where I recommend basing yourself. And I’ve included how to reach them by bus because I always do Madeira by public transport. You don’t need a car on the island to enjoy it.

Anyway, here’s my guide to the best beaches in Madeira and how to get to them…

Here’s my pick of the best bars in Madeira, mainly focusing on the bars in Funchal that I know really well and always recommend. The island is full of places serving the Madeiran national drink poncha but there’s also an emerging craft beer scene (craft beer as in the hoppy hipster kind). And while Madeira isn’t the go-to place for crazy nightlife, there’s still somewhere to drink around every corner.

Poncha is a delicious and rather strong alcoholic drink from Madeira, made with boozy sugar cane rum, honey, sugar, orange/lemon juice and other fruit juices. The traditional lemon one is my favourite because I’m all about that sour life. But if you’re not so sour, you might like the maracuja (passion fruit) or tangerine variants. Legend has it that if you drink three poncha, you’ll be able to speak fluent Portuguese. I can confirm this is very much not true. You’ll barely be able to speak. 

Madeira’s growing craft beer scene should also be on the agenda. I’ve found some brilliant bars serving local hoppy IPAs from Portugal. This type of beer seems to be catching on in a bid to escape the generic Coral lager everywhere (Portugal’s Heineken).

If this all sounds up your street, you’ll like this list of the best bars in Funchal and other places to get your boozing on in Madeira…