The terrace carpet
The coloured geometry as photo icon.
Dr. Thomas Liptak — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bybbisch94, Christian Gebhardt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bybbisch94, Christian Gebhardt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jan Helebrant — CC BY-SA 2.0
The Botanical is Madeira's official green encyclopaedia: two and a half thousand species on the terraces of Quinta do Bom Sucesso (1960) above the valley — the coloured geometric-terrace carpet its photographed icon, its sections chapters: Madeira's endemics (a third of the island's flora grows nowhere else on the planet), the continents' cacti and succulents, tropical trees and a small parrot wing. Its worth is double, science and view: its balconies open all Funchal and the harbour — and arrival is half the joy: a second small cable line joins it from Monte over the deep João Gomes valley: the flight lovelier than the destination, many say. It is the plant lover's and quiet seeker's station where crowded Monte Palace fails them — with free seasonal guided tours on Tuesday mornings.
The coloured geometry as photo icon.
Dragon trees and the laurel's last kin.
Caminho do Meio, 9064-512 Funchal
The Monte Palace Tropical GardenMonte Palace is Madeira's most imaginative garden: seventy thousand metres terra5 minutes walk4.6
Henrique and Francisco Franco MuseumA museum devoted to two Madeiran brothers, the painter Henrique Franco and the s17 minutes walk4.3
The Monte Cable Car & Wicker ToboggansMonte is Funchal's complete rite: the cable car lifts you from the old town 560 20 minutes walk4.6
Funchal Old Town & the Painted DoorsFunchal's old town is Madeira's beating heart: the Zona Velha fishermen's quarte21 minutes walk4.5
Jardim de Santa LuziaA public garden in Funchal laid out on the site of an old sugar factory, part of22 minutes walk4.3The laurisilva — the humid laurel forest that clothed pre-glacial Europe and died out except here: a fifth of the island is UNESCO natural heritage for it, threaded by the levada walks. The garden shows its explained specimens — the real one is walked on the northern outings (Ribeiro Frio, Fanal).