Funchal in 2 days, on foot

This 2-day self-guided walking plan for Funchal covers 13 narrated sights in an easy day-by-day order. Each day is split into a morning and an afternoon loop, and every stop has a two to three minute audio story in the Gingerguide app.

You set the pace: this is a suggested order, not a schedule. Walk it in 2 days, or stretch it out. Reorder freely; Funchal rewards a detour.

The Funchal route at a glance

Day 1

Day 1 covers 7 stops over about 2.1 km as the crow flies, from Blandy's Wine Lodge to Zona Velha (Old Town). ≈ 2.1 km between stops, straight line

Morning

1. Blandy's Wine Lodge: A historic Madeira-wine lodge in central Funchal, on the site of a Franciscan convent, where old casks age in warm cellars and tastings run through the island's famous fortified wines. 0.4 km to the next stop
2. Parque de Santa Catarina: A hillside park above Funchal's marina, with lawns, ponds and sweeping bay views, around the little Capela de Santa Catarina, said to stand where one of Madeira's first chapels was built. 0.2 km to the next stop
3. CR7 Museum: The museum of Cristiano Ronaldo, Funchal's most famous son, on the marina below his hotel, displaying his trophies, Golden Boots and Ballons d'Or, with a bronze statue outside. 0.7 km to the next stop
4. Funchal Cathedral (Sé): Funchal's late-15th-century cathedral, one of the oldest buildings on the island of Madeira, with a magnificent Mudéjar ceiling of carved island cedar over its three naves. 0.4 km to the next stop

Afternoon

1. Mercado dos Lavradores: Funchal's farmers' market, a 1940 building of tiled panels and arcaded galleries, where flower sellers in Madeiran costume, tropical fruit and the black scabbardfish fill the halls. 0.3 km to the next stop
2. Funchal Cable Car: The gondola that glides from the old town up the mountainside to Monte, a fifteen-minute ride of about three kilometres with sweeping views over Funchal's roofs, bay and cruise port. 0.1 km to the next stop
3. Zona Velha (Old Town): Funchal's oldest quarter, the cradle of the city, now a maze of cobbled lanes where artists have painted the doors of Rua de Santa Maria and restaurants fill the evenings.

Day 2

Day 2 covers 6 stops over about 13 km as the crow flies, from Fortaleza de São Tiago to Cabo Girão Skywalk. ≈ 13 km between stops, straight line

Morning

1. Fortaleza de São Tiago: A bright yellow 17th-century sea fort at the edge of the old town, begun in 1614 to defend Funchal from pirates, with corner turrets guarding the shore beside São Tiago beach. 1.7 km to the next stop
2. Madeira Botanical Garden: A terraced hillside garden east of the centre, opened in 1960, with choreographed geometric flowerbeds, island-endemic plants and succulents, and a sweeping view over Funchal's bay. 1.4 km to the next stop
3. Monte Palace Tropical Garden: A spellbinding hillside garden at Monte, high above Funchal, where azulejo tile panels, koi ponds, an Oriental garden and tropical plantings wind down steep paths around a cascade. 0.2 km to the next stop

Afternoon

1. Monte Toboggan Run: Funchal's most famous ride: wicker sledges on wooden runners that two straw-hatted drivers steer and brake with their boots down the steep streets from Monte toward the city. 0.1 km to the next stop
2. Nossa Senhora do Monte: The twin-towered pilgrimage church of Our Lady of the Mount, high above Funchal at the top of a grand staircase, resting place of Karl I, the last Austro-Hungarian emperor. 9.8 km to the next stop
3. Cabo Girão Skywalk: A glass-floored viewing platform on one of Europe's highest sea cliffs, about 580 metres above the Atlantic west of Funchal, looking straight down onto farmed terraces and the sea.

Distances are straight-line between stops; streets add a little.

Where the route eats

Food and market stops on the Funchal tour, each with its own story in the app:

• Mercado dos Lavradores: Funchal's farmers' market, a 1940 building of tiled panels and arcaded galleries, where flower sellers in Madeiran costume, tropical fruit and the black scabbardfish fill the halls.

Updated: October 10, 2026

Full Funchal guide and all stops →