A Perfect Day in Funchal, From Gaula

The walk Maria knows by heart — the city she grew up beside, in the order we'd take you.

Funchal is only 20 minutes from the apartments, but a good day there isn't about rushing between sights. It's a walking city, best done slowly, in roughly the order below. This is the route Maria has walked her whole life — start to finish, it's an easy, beautiful day, and it's the one we'd take you on ourselves.

Start: park at Almirante Reis

Drive in and park at the Almirante Reis car park, on the edge of the Old Town. It's the right place to begin — central, easy, and it puts you at the start of the walk rather than fighting the city-centre traffic. Leave the car here for the day.

The Old Town (Zona Velha) and the painted doors

From the car park, walk up into the Zona Velha and find the painted door street (Rua de Santa Maria) — dozens of old doors turned into artworks, each one different. Maria used to live just here, in Barreirinha, and walked this street every day; it's still one of our favourite corners of the whole city.

Two stops to make as you go: Mariazinha, a tiny old bakery, for something fresh and warm in your hand as you walk; and a little further, the Barreirinha Bar Café — a lovely spot built right above the sea. Stop for a quick coffee or snack overlooking the ocean, and if the day is warm and you've brought your swimwear (you always should, on this island), there's a swim to be had right there off the rocks.

Mercado dos Lavradores and Rua Fernão de Ornelas

Carry on to the Mercado dos Lavradores — Funchal's farmers' market. Tropical fruit you've never seen, fish downstairs on marble slabs, flowers, the noise and colour of it. Taste before you buy the fruit; it's expected, and it's half the fun. Best in the morning, and avoid it when a cruise ship is in if you can — it gets very full.

A gentle word from us: the market is a feast for the eyes, but the fruit stalls aimed at visitors can charge a little dearly, especially when a cruise ship is in. Enjoy the tasting, soak up the colour, buy a piece or two if something calls to you — but for your week's fruit, you'll find the same Madeira bananas and passion fruit at a kinder price in any local supermarket or the smaller Santa Cruz shops near us. The market is best enjoyed as a feast for the senses first, and a shopping trip second.

From the market, walk down Rua Fernão de Ornelas, one of the main pedestrian shopping streets — and this is where we'd ask you to make time for one particular stop.

Bordal — a workshop, and a memory

At number 77 on Rua Fernão de Ornelas is Bordal, one of the last factories on Madeira where embroidery is still entirely done by hand. You can visit the factory for free, and there's an embroidery workshop every Thursday from 10:30 to 12:00 where you can sit down and try it yourself.

This stop is a personal one — for Maria especially. As a child, embroidery wasn't a museum piece to her; it was a second job for the women of her neighbourhood. At weekends they would gather and embroider together, and being the youngest, Maria would stay close to her mother and most often fall asleep with her head in her lap, lulled by the rhythmic movement of her garanitos — the thread pulled through, again and again. In 1940 there were 50,000 embroiderers on Madeira; today there are under 1,000. A handmade piece from Bordal is the most Madeiran thing you can take home — and now you know why we send every guest through that door.

The Sé Cathedral — look up

Continue into the city centre toward the Sé, Funchal's cathedral. Step inside, even if you're not one for churches, and look up. The ceiling — recently renovated — is extraordinary; carved cedar wood, far older than the room beneath it, considered one of the most beautiful ceilings in all of Portugal. It costs nothing and takes five minutes, and most people walk straight past the door.

Avenida Arriaga and Blandy's Wine Lodge

Out onto the Avenida Arriaga, the city's grand tree-lined avenue. You'll pass the Golden Gate Café — very touristy, but a beautiful old building and worth a look. A little further is Blandy's Wine Lodge, the home of Madeira wine. Take the tour and tasting if you have time — and here's the local trick we always pass on: you can buy your wine here and collect it inside the airport, after security, so you don't have to carry it around or pack it. Nobody tells visitors this.

UauCacau — and a little something to take home

Just a few steps from the cathedral, on Rua da Queimada de Baixo (there's also a stall inside the Mercado dos Lavradores), is UauCacau — the island's finest artisan chocolate, made by master chocolatier Tony Fernandes. The bonbons are little jewels, filled with the flavours of the island: poncha, Madeira wine, sugarcane honey, passion fruit, banana. Order the made-to-order hot chocolate — thick, dark, served with a chocolate spoon — and buy a box to take home; the passion fruit one has won national medals. We love it for another reason too: Tony built his team from people he trained himself, some with hard life stories, who became the heart of the place. Good chocolate, made with the same care we like to think runs through this whole island.

And if you've a creative streak, ask about Funchal's free traditional craft workshops — alongside Bordal's embroidery, you can sometimes sit in on a knitting session and learn to make a Barrete de Orelhas, the classic Madeiran eared woollen cap. Hands-on, free, and a story to go with the souvenir.

Lunch — eat where the locals eat

For lunch, skip the obvious tourist terraces and find the prato do dia — the day's special. Madeira is full of small restaurants doing one honest plate a day at a fair price. Two we'd point you to, both near the market: A Bica, a tiny, very local place — good food, reasonable, the kind of room where you might be the only visitors — and Restaurante Londres, the same idea, dependable and local.

If the weather's perfect and you'd rather eat outside, take a simple prego up in the Parque de Santa Catarina, or at one of the spots near the CR7 Museum on the waterfront, looking out over the marina and the cruise ships. The CR7 statue and museum are right there too — guests do ask, and they're worth the short detour if you're a football family.

The walk back — and a swim, if there's energy left

Return along the Avenida do Mar, the seafront, to the Praça do Povo, and back toward the car. If you've still got energy and the sun is out, carry on west to the Lido promenade and the sea-water bathing complexes — ladders straight into the Atlantic, sun loungers, an easy, refreshing end to a day on your feet. If your legs are done by now, that's the right amount of Funchal for one day — you've seen it the way it should be seen.

Cable car, toboggan and Monte — save it for another day

One thing we'd gently advise: don't try to do Monte on the same day. The cable car up, the Monte Palace tropical gardens, and the famous wicker toboggan ride (carros de cesto) back down are a half-day in themselves, and the gardens deserve unhurried time. Make it its own outing — you won't regret giving it the space. (Note: the cable car closes for maintenance for a stretch each winter, so check before you plan around it.)