Exploring Funchal
Monday - May 8th 2023
Today we hadn't booked any guided tours, instead we planned to explore
Madeira's capital city Funchal. After breakfast in the hotel gardens we walked
into the city. Along the way we came accross a familiar sight, a statue of
Empress Elizabeth or Sisi, the wife of the former Austrian Emperor Franz
Joseph. Then we checked out the building of Funchal's Casino, designed by
famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, before continuing our walk towards
the
Monte Cable Car.
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| Breakfast |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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Empress Sisi
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Casino Madeira
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Casino Madeira
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| Funchal |
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Funchal Harbour
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Funchal Harbour
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
Once we had bought our tickets, we boarded the gondola to get up to Monte. A
lovely couple from the US joined us and we had a great conversation about
traveling to Madeira. When we arrived on top of Monte, we had to change to
another cable car line to reach Funchal's botanical garden. The view from the
gondolas was amazing, especially of Funchal, and soon we arrived at the
botanical garden. Before returning to Monte, we stopped at a cafe and got a
beer while we enjoyed the lovely view of Funchal.
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Monte Cable Car
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| Funchal |
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Monte Cable Car
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Monte Cable Car
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| Funchal |
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Botanical Garden
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| Botanical Garden |
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| Botanical Garden |
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| Botanical Garden |
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Botanical Garden
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Monte Cable Car
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| Monte |
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| Monte |
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| Funchal |
Back at Monte we visited the
Monte Palace Tropical Garden. The lush vegetation was amazing, so we just strolled through the beautiful
garden and soaked up the atmosphere. Sometimes it felt like we were in the
jungle. Later we took a break at a small restaurant, where we got ice cream
and a traditional Madeira Wine. We didn't like the wine, but the ice cream was
good.
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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| Tropical Garden |
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Monte Palace
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| Tropical Garden |
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Tropical Garden
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Taking a Break
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Madeira Wine
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In the early afternoon we left Monte Palace Tropical Garden and checked out
the Nossa Senhora do Monte Church, where former Austrian Emperor Karl I. is
burried. Then it was time for the highlight of the day, the Madeira Toboggan
Ride on traditional Wicker Basket Sledges. Once we bought our tickets, we had
to wait for about half an hour, but finally we were able to ride. The toboggan
ride was so much fun and it took about ten minutes until we made it to the
finish line. From there we took a taxi to Funchal's city center, where we got
bolo do caco for a late lunch.
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| Monte |
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| Monte |
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| Monte |
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| Monte |
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Toboggan Sleigh Ride
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Toboggan Sleigh Ride
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Before we returned to the hotel, we just strolled around Funchal and admired
the beautiful architecture of the buildings and churches. There was also the
Flower Festival going on and so we had to check that out as well. First we got
a glass of poncha and then we took a look at the wonderful flower displays.
Back at the hotel we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool until it was
time for dinner. For starter we ordered a soup and tofu with vegetables and
for the main course we both got the veggie burger that we already had on the
days before.
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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| Funchal |
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Funchal Flower Festival
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| Poncha |
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Funchal Flower Festival
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Funchal Flower Festival
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| Funchal |
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Pool Time
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| Dinner |
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| Dinner |
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