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Madeira: Funchal and Palheiro Gardens

Nai-publish: 08.04.2022

In the morning, after breakfast, we met with our travel group and met our tour guide from Studiosus, who would accompany us for the next week.

After a short introduction, we took the bus to the capital of Madeira: Funchal.


Funchal Promenade
Funchal Promenade


After a city tour, we walked through the old town to the cathedral, which was inaugurated in 1517 and was the first bishop's church outside of Europe.


Cathedral Funchal
Cathedral Funchal


Like many buildings in Portugal, it was built in the Manueline style by King Manuel I.


Cathedral Funchal
Cathedral Funchal


Inside, it was quite crowded: there were not only many tourists, but also some locals who were praying or waiting in front of the confessionals. Unlike what we are used to, the confessionals were open, so you could see the priests and the faithful from the outside.


Cathedral Funchal
Cathedral Funchal


Our next stop was the Mercado dos Lavradores, a market hall with a diverse range of fruits, souvenirs, flowers, and fish.


Mercado dos Lavradores
Mercado dos Lavradores


First, our guide showed us some exotic fruits that you can't find in our supermarkets. Then we had time to explore and shop at the stalls ourselves.


Mercado dos Lavradores
Mercado dos Lavradores


We only saw the fish market from above, but we already caught a glimpse of the black scabbardfish, which we were going to eat in the evening.


Fish Market Mercado dos Lavradores
Fish Market Mercado dos Lavradores


But our guide assured us that it tasted better than it looked...


Fish Market Mercado dos Lavradores
Fish Market Mercado dos Lavradores


We then bought some fruit at a stand where we were not invited by the vendors to try it. There, the fruits usually cost twice as much...


Mercado dos Lavradores
Mercado dos Lavradores


Our path led us further through the narrow streets of the old town, which slowly came to life late in the morning. Tables were set up in front of the restaurant doors and price boards were hung up.


Old town Funchal
Old town Funchal


Fortunately, not all doors were open yet: In fact, at many doors in the old town, you can admire the works of about 100 artists who bring color to the old town of Funchal with their works.


Art on doors in the old town
Art on doors in the old town


The project is called 'Arte Portals Abertas' and the works are designed in different styles.


Art on doors in the old town
Art on doors in the old town


After a short walk back along the waterfront, we were picked up by our bus again.


Port of Funchal
Port of Funchal


Next, we went up to the 'Palheiro Gardens', which are located at an altitude of 500 meters.


View from Palheiro Gardens
View from Palheiro Gardens


The estate belongs to the English Blandy family, who still live in the Victorian villa built in 1891 in the middle of the garden.


Palheiro Gardens
Palheiro Gardens


We strolled through the gardens and our tour guide told us the names of many plants, which unfortunately we did not remember...


Palheiro Gardens
Palheiro Gardens


For a break, we had coffee and cake at the tea house before exploring the grounds on our own.


Palheiro Gardens
Palheiro Gardens


Palheiro Gardens
Palheiro Gardens


Palheiro Gardens
Palheiro Gardens


Palheiro Gardens
Palheiro Gardens


In the evening, we went to a restaurant where we tried the black scabbardfish, which is typical for Madeira.


Black scabbardfish for dinner
Black scabbardfish for dinner


According to our tour guide, it tastes good even to people who don't usually like fish. And indeed, we found it quite delicious.

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