The Japanese wing
Red gates and koi under Atlantic mist.
Phil Webber from St Albans, UK โ CC BY 2.0 ยท Allie_Caulfield โ CC BY 2.0 ยท Jan Helebrant โ CC BY-SA 2.0 ยท Jan Helebrant โ CC BY-SA 2.0
Two temperaments: Monte Palace is the imagination โ Japan, tile, mist โ the Botanical the science, with its geometric terraces and view. The first threads the cable car trilogy naturally, so it wins on tight time โ the Botanical for pure plant lovers, with its own cable link from Monte itself.
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Monte Palace is Madeira's most imaginative garden: seventy thousand metres terracing a valley around the old palace lake โ assembled by the millionaire Berardo as an encyclopaedia: a complete Japanese wing with red gates and koi, the world's largest cycad collection (the dinosaur age's plants), tree ferns and orchids under the mountain's standing mist. Its second secret is azulejo: the greatest private collection of historic Portuguese tile (15th-20th century) strewn as walls and panels along the paths โ the garden an open tile museum the size of a valley โ while its stone museum (Mother Earth's Secrets) startles children with giant minerals and crystals. It directly neighbours the cable car's upper station โ so the Monte trilogy (cable car, garden, toboggan) is Funchal's first golden day uncontested. The paths drop seriously: start at the top gate and descend โ the lake as finale.
Red gates and koi under Atlantic mist.
Five azulejo centuries along the valley.
Caminho do Monte 174, 9050-288 Funchal