Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

Madeira’s Top 10
26
Monte
Like the hill stations of colonial India, Monte (literally, “Mount”) developed in
the late 18th century as a genteel and healthy retreat from the heat, smells,
noise and commercial activity of the capital. Funchal’s suburbs now spread
their tentacles all the way up to Monte, but there is still a sense of escaping from
the city and entering a world set apart. The cool, clear air is filled with birdsong.
Few cars intrude onto the cobbled streets, and lush gardens are everywhere –
lushest of all, the extraordinary Monte Palace Tropical Garden (see pp28–9).
The Monte cable car
You can get to Monte
from Funchal by taxi,
or by buses 20 or 21.
The most exhilarating
way, however, is
to go up by cable car
(from the station in
Funchal’s Old Town)
and return by the
traditional Monte
toboggan … or you
can descend on foot;
the Caminho do
Monte is a steep but
direct road into
Funchal, passing
through some attractive
older suburbs of
the city. To get onto
it, just follow the
toboggan run.
• Map H5
• Nossa Senhora do
Monte Church. 291 783
877. Open 9am–6pm
Mon–Sat, 8am–1pm
Sun. Free
• Quinta Jardins do
Imperador. Camhino do
Pico. 291 780 460.
9:30am–5:30pm
Mon–Sat. Admission (to
garden only) €6 (children
€3; under 12s free)
• Toboggan run. Dawn
to dusk. Fare €10 per
person plus tips
Top 10 Features
1 Toboggan Run
2 Railway Terminus
3 Church Steps
4 Nossa Senhora do Monte
5 Quinta do Monte
6 Cable Car Station
7 Capela da Coneição
8 Fountain Square
9 Quinta Jardins do Imperador
0 Parque do Monte
! Toboggan Run
Madeira’s toboggans
are steered by smartly
dressed carreiros
(toboggan drivers) in straw
boaters on the 2-km
(1-mile) trip from Monte
to Livra-mento.
Railway Terminus
@ Now a café, this building
situated 550 m (1,804
ft) above sea level was a
funicular railway station
until 1943.
£ Church Steps
On the Feast of the
Assumption (15 August),
pilgrims climb on their
knees up the steep steps to
Monte’s church to pay
homage to the statue
of the Virgin, which
they believe was
presented by the Virgin
herself when she
appeared to a
shepherd girl in the
15th century.
The entrance to Monte Palace Tropical Garden lies to the south of
Nossa Senhora do Monte, near the start point for the toboggan run.