The Facts About Funchal
Funchal is a city located on the picturesque island of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean, about 980 km (600 miles) southwest of Lisbon. Madeira itself is an archipelago consisting of four islands, with Madeira being the largest and most populated island. Known for its beautiful landscapes and subtropical climate, Madeira is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, with a particular emphasis on its rich and diverse flora.
The island is characterized by its volcanic origins, noticeable in its mountainous terrain. The peaks of the island reach heights of up to 1,862 meters (6,108 feet) above sea level.
With its dimensions of 56 km (35 miles) by 23 km (14 miles), Madeira has the perfect balance between exploration and diversity; the compact size allows for easy exploration of every corner of the island, while offering enough diversity for one island at the same time.
Madeira has a very pleasant climate year round, with temperatures rarely dropping below 15 °C (59 °F). With its mild winters, it makes up for a perfect winter escape, especially from colder climates. In summer, on average, daytime temperatures range from 24°C to 28°C (75°F to 82°F).
Funchal is situated on the southern coast of Madeira and as the capital of Madeira, it is a great city to explore and a great start to discover the rest of the island. The city is known for its colorful architecture and charming atmosphere. Funchal is the most populated city in Madeira, with around 112,000 people in 2021. The economy is primarily based on tourism, attracting visitors from around the world, all year round.
What to Do in Funchal and on Madeira
There are many reasons to go to Madeira. Its stunning natural beauty might be the primary reason for people to visit Madeira. The breathtaking landscapes go from immense cliffs to scenic valleys, and from lush forests to high peaks. Beside the many hikes among the famous levadas, the Pico Ariero to Pico Ruivo hike might also be a reason for people to visit Madeira. It's considered a moderate to challenging hike of 12 km (7.5 miles), and it will reward you with views from the highest peaks on Madeira.
Due to several geographical factors and oceanic influences, Madeira has a great climate, all year round. The summer are warm, the winters are mild, and the climate is characterized by a high amount of sunshine and low rainfall. It makes up for an ideal destination regardless of the season. In winter, visitors can escape colder temperatures and enjoy mild temperatures, beautiful landscapes, and festive holiday celebrations. In summer, the island offers excellent beach weather, outdoor activities and water sports, and the opportunity to explore its stunning natural beauty.
Madeira, also known as Flower island, is renowned for its diverse flora, including many exotic species. During spring season, you'll be able to experience the vibrant bloom of flowers on the island. Outside this season, the island's flora can still be enjoyed, however, in lower proportions.
Madeira has a mixed cultural heritage, blending influences from Portugal, Africa, and Europe. The island has many old towns, historical sites and museums giving insights in its history and traditions.
Throughout the year, Funchal hosts several festivals. These include Madeira Carnival (Feb/March), Madeira Wine Festival (August/Sept), Funchal Jazz Festival (July), the Madeira Flower Festival (April/May) and the Atlantic Festival (June). Another special reason for many visitors to go to Madeira: Christmas. Funchal undergoes a magnificent transformation with beautiful Christmas decorations. The streets, squares, and buildings are decorated with colorful lights, ornate displays, and festive ornaments, which create a magical atmosphere in the city.
Our Temporary Home in Funchal
When we stayed on Madeira, we spend our 4-week stay in Funchal. We thought four weeks should give us enough time to explore the island during our weekends.
When searching for accommodation, we did not focus on one specific place. There are multiple towns on the island that could serve as a good base to discover the rest of the island. As we combine travelling and working, we also considered staying in Ponta do Sol, a 'digital nomad village'. However, we could not find a right place us for us there at that moment, so we ended up in Funchal. We found a small studio apartment right in the city center, allowing us to really explore the city. We found and rented it via Airbnb. The studio was quite small, but we had everything to ourselves, and it had pretty nice views on the hills inland. The location was great, because we could walk straight into both the city center as well as the old town, where most restaurant and bars are located.
Our four week stay happened in November/December. Although this is considered off-season (running from November to February) it gets a lot busier during the weeks around Christmas and New years, which we clearly noticed. So based on the amount of tourists, we couldn't really tell that it was low season. The same could be said for the weather. We maybe had 2 or 3 days of rain during our stay, and sometimes a little rain at night. However, the other days it was warm and very sunny. The average temperature during our stay was around 23°C (73°F), which is (for us) really warm for December! As said: a great place to escape winter!
Life in Funchal: Tips for Long-Term Visitors
The currency used is the Euro (€), the same currency as the mainland. As a popular tourist destination, Funchal and Madeira, in general, have several options for exchanging currency, including banks, exchange offices, and some hotels. Additionally, cards are widely accepted in most tourist establishments and larger shops, making it convenient for travelers to make transactions. The prices on the island are generally comparable to those on mainland Portugal, with only occasional slight increases due to Madeira being an island.
As for supermarkets, we had both a big Pingo Doce and a Continente, two Portugese supermarket chains, only a few minutes away. They both offer similar prices but have a variation in product availability, complementing each other well. We found a little store for fruits and vegetables in the city center (across from Decathlon and Mango), where the products were much more affordable than in the supermarkets. There is a popular Farmers market close to the old town, but the prices for fruit and vegetable here are super high. This is more of a tourist attraction than a genuine market for daily groceries.
Our studio apartment was also strategically located to go for a swim. We walked to the beach in about 10 minutes. There we would fine a pebbled beach where you could take a swim, without having to leave the city. You can also walk a bit further east to have a swim at Miradouro do Socorro. This place is more popular among the locals for a swim. If you walk even further and uphill, you will find stairs to a beach, where you'll find another pebbled beach with almost no visitors.
During our stay we wanted to explore as much of the island as possible, so we rented a car, twice. We used Insularcar. They would bring the car to us in the morning, and we could deliver it to their office at the end of the day, very convenient. If you want to rent one of the cheaper cars, try to rent a car in advance. We were only able to rent a cheaper car last minute due to low season.
There are also numerous buses operating on the island, offering transportation to almost every direction. The bus system can be a bit complicated at first, but once you familiarize yourself with it, it becomes easier to navigate. There are four different bus companies on the island, namely SAM, EACL, Horários do Funcal, and Rodoeste. The choice of company depends on your destination. Once you determine the appropriate bus company, you can consult the available bus lines to find the one that will take you to your exact destination. It is helpful to search for overview maps online to obtain this information and plan your bus routes accordingly. You can always send a message if you need help.
During our time on Madeira we did one 'tour' with a tour company, which was the hike from Pico Ariero to Pico Ruivo at sunrise. We chose to do this with a tour agency, because we did not want to rent a car just to get to the start of the hike, and public transport was more difficult, especially at 5am. We went with Pico transfers, they actually did not arrange the whole activity, just the drop off at Pico Ariero at sunrise and then a pick up and end the of the hike at the other peak. For this transfer, we were picked up and dropped off in front of our doorstep, perfect service!
Local bars & restaurants for food and drinks;
Flair Spot Bar - for cocktails and beers in the old town
Prima Caju - for breakfast and lunch
Xarambinha Pizzeria Expresso - for Italian food
Santa Catarina Caffè Garden - for a coffee or beer with a view on the marina
Our Madeira Experience
We loved Funchal and Madeira in December. We are not used to seeing this much sun in the winter months, so we really enjoyed that. It was not too hot for the hiking activities, or walks in and around the city, yet we could still go sunbathing and take a swim in the ocean. Despite it being off-season, it became increasingly busy as Christmas approached, which we were less fond of. However, it was fun to see the insane amount of Christmas lights they decorated the city with.
Madeira offers stunning views, with its mountainous terrain, it offers numerous viewpoints overlooking valleys and cliffs. We rented a car for a total of 3 days (1 full weekend and later for another day) and were able to explore the whole island. We did several hikes on the island. As mentioned before, we did the Pico hike, which was absolutely worth it. Steep in some parts, but overall very doable if you are used to some hiking.
On another day we took a bus (easy!) to the east side of the island to walk to the Ponta de São Lourenço viewpoint. This hike will lead you to the most eastern part of the island. The bus will bring you all the way to the start of the trail and leaves from the same point back to Funchal several times a day.
We also did a hike to the Risco Waterfall, a walk along the levadas, in the middle of the island. It was rainy and foggy, so we did not get to see the best views of the waterfall. This hike is also great in summer, since you'll be mostly walking in the shade and along the waters of the levadas. Another, less known, hike that was really amazing was the one we did around Cabo de Larano viewpoint. A beautiful hike with views on São Lourenço from the other side and on the magnificent cliffs on the northeast side of the island.
A fun activity for a morning or afternoon is taking a bus to Câmara de Lobos. A traditional fishing village next to Funchal. Have a stroll around, admire the views, have lunch and then walk back to Funchal. A flat and easy 5 km (3 mile) walk along the coast, where you will be walking along the Praia Formosa promenade, until you reach Lido and are back in the city again. Lido is a bathing complex with saltwater pools, in western Funchal. A place where you can go if you don't feel like going to one of the beaches. We haven't entered these pools, we only had a look from above when we passed by them.
Madeira has a lot of places that are, in our opinion, maybe a bit too touristic, yet nice to visit. One of them is the Cabo Girão Skywalk. A glass-floor platform on the cliffs at 580 m (1900 ft) high. It makes up for a nice stop when exploring the island by car, but expect many other visitors there. Another popualar place on the island is the foggy forest or Fanal forest, which is pretty cool to visit. It lies on the plateau higher up, in the middle of the island, and is usually covered in the clouds or fog. One second you'll see the funny shaped trees in the fields and cows walking around, while the next it might all disappear in front of your eyes, into the clouds.
While on a tour around the island, you don't want to miss Porto Moniz, on the northwestern coast. It is a small town, most popular for its natural volcanic swimming pools. These pools were formed by the volcanic rocks and are being filled with seawater once it is high tide. At low tide it provides the perfect place to take a dip. If you drive back to Funchal and take the steep road up, don't forget to stop and admire the views on Porto Moniz and its surroundings.
More activities to do in Fuchal itself include a walking tour, a Madeira wine tasting, and taking a trip on the cable car to visit the botanical gardens overlooking the city.
In conclusion, Funchal and Madeira offer a exciting destination filled with beautiful scenery, a comfortable climate, and a variety of new experiences. Funchal is a vibrant city with lots of things to do and explore. With its many shops, restaurants, bars, viewpoints, and beaches you don't have to be bored.
A month proved an ideal duration for us, it gave us enough time to do everything that we wanted to do, yet it allows you to explore what it's like to live in the city and experience a usual daily life there.
