Santa Catarina Park

Santa Catrina Park is a well-known and popular park located in the city centre of Funchal that covers an area of 3,6 hectares.

With a magnificent view over Funchal’ s harbor, this park has many species of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants from all over the world.

It has a children’s play area, a snack bar and a charming chapel named after Saint Catherine.

The Santa Catarina Chapel was first built, in the first quarter of the 15^th century, out of wood, and later, during the 17th century, was rebuilt with stone. Santa Catarina Chapel was named by Dona Constança, wife of Gonçalves Zarco, who also ordered its construction.

Location: Avenida do Infante, Sé - Funchal

Area: 36.000m² 

Altitude: 10 - 40 m

Entrance: free

Open: everyday

Time table: 07:00-21:00 (22 Mar-22 Sep) / 08:00-19:00 (23 Sep-21 Mar)

The Municipal Garden

The Municipal Garden, also known as the Dona Amélia Garden (named after the late Queen),is located right in the heart of downtown Funchal.  Previously a Franciscan Convent, this 8300m² garden is enchanting with its alluring flowers, native ancient trees and other exotic species of plants and flowers both endemic and from all around the world. All plants and trees are labeled with their species and origins.

Aside from all the beautiful plants and flowers, the “Jardim Municipal” has an outdoor amphitheatre where many concerts take place, exhibitions and fairs. During the holiday season, it is brightly lit and colourfully decorated.

At the garden there are many leisure areas such as a small pond where ducks, swans and other birds come for a swim and a small charming café.

Admission to the garden is free. 

Botanical Garden

Since the 17th century Madeira Island had been waiting for a botanical garden, a dream that came true in 1960. Located 3 km from the centre of Funchal at Quinta do Bom Sucesso – a private Quinta belonging to the Reid’s family – where the climatic conditions are much in favour of exuberant vegetation.
The Botanical Garden boasts harmonious forms, contrasting colours and more than 2000 plants. It is government owned and, apart from being a beautiful place of leisure, it also serves as a Science and Culture Centre.
Throughout the gardens visitors can find the plants labelled with their scientific names, common name and origin. 

There are five main areas to visit:

1 - Indigenous and endemic: This is the place where one can see plants exclusively from Madeira and other Atlantic islands like the Azores, Canaries and Cape Verde. There are about 100 indigenous plants exhibited, ranging from those characteristically found on the more exposed slopes of Madeira to those typical of mid-altitude vegetation and trees found in Madeira’s natural forest, the ‘Laurissilva’ forest.

2 - Tree Garden: Here you find plants from ecologically opposed areas of the earth, like the Himalaya and the Tropics.

3 - Succulents: The capacity of storing water is what distinguishes the plants in this department, most of them coming from South America.

4 - Tropical/Cultivated/Aromatic/Medicinal: In this area several tropical and subtropical fruit trees – such as mango, papaya, avocado – as well as coffee trees, sugar cane and popular medicine plants can be seen.

5 - Loiro Park: The Loiro Park gathers some of the most exotic and rare birds. Cockatoos and ‘Loricos’ (a parrot species) from the Asiatic tropical islands, Australian parakeets and dwarf parrots are only some of the many bird species that you can find in this park.

Santa Luzia Garden

Inaugurated on September 27^th 2004, Santa Luzia has a beautiful garden situated in the centre of Funchal. This place used to be the Hilton factory, where liquor and sugar was produced. The old chimney which belonged to the Hilton factory has remained in the same place.

This garden consists of 13,700 square metres of green area, including five different themed gardens: the Tropical Garden (Jardim Tropical), the Water Garden (Jardim da Água), the Terrace Garden (Jardim dos Socalcos), the Amphitheatre Garden (Jardim do Anfiteatro) and the Laurissilva "laurel forest" Garden (Jardim da Laurissilva).

Moreover, there is a children’s playground to entertain the younger one’s while parents savour a ‘garoto’ in the nearby café which attracts many locals and tourists alike.

Pedagogical Garden of Prazeres

Ten years ago, Father Rui Sousa, the priest at the little church at Prazeres, on the west of the island, paved the way in spreading the word about local produce by opening the rectory grounds as a “pedagogical garden”.

It's a great interesting cultural complex which has a little bit of everything for everyone of all ages: a herb garden, a tea room, an art gallery, a cider house, food and drinks and, of course, the main famed attraction of its small zoo which houses animals such as  turtles, geese, ducks, lamas, cows, horses, donkeys, ponies, goats, pigs, ostriches, rabbits, turkeys, chickens, pigeons, doves, pheasants, peacocks, and many others.

In the garden teahouse you can savour Father Rui’s homemade jams and ciders, and a variety of his herb teas.

Various events are organized throughout the year in order to raise funds to help pay for the maintenance of the Quinta. Such events include the Cider Festival, the traditional Blessing of the Animals, the Animal Auction and the Wheat Threshing Celebration. The Quinta is open daily from 9am to 7:30pm except during the summer months when it closes at 9pm.

Ideal for nature lovers, the Quinta allows its visitors contact with the increasingly scarce natural world.