I discovered Madeira on TikTok. Its nature charmed me. The fact that people called it the Hawaii of Europe intrigued me. It didn’t take me long to decide that the island was something I would love to explore, so we booked plane tickets, and once we finished touring Lisbon, we were ready to continue our adventure in Funchal!
We arrived at Funchal in the afternoon. The capital city has a small airport. It is one of the most dangerous airports in Europe as the runway is close to the water and very short, so you can imagine how anxious I was. But everything went smoothly, and it ended up being one of the most beautiful landings I had the chance to watch.
The plan for the rest of the day was simple – walk around the city, find something to eat and drink and enjoy our time. We checked into our hotel and then strolled the streets. The promenade was lovely, the city was clean and well-kept, and most importantly, it felt safe. I didn’t expect it to be so touristy, though. I was surprised by the number of restaurants, cafes and hotels, yet it didn’t feel overwhelming at all. The vibe was pleasant and familiar.
By the end of the day, we tasted Poncha and Nikita, traditional alcoholic Madeiran drinks, bought a few souvenirs and made a short stop at Mercado dos Lavradores. For dinner, we tried chicken Espetada and Bolo do Caco, a Portuguese bread that became our favourite side to order in Madeira, which was delicious!
The next morning we ordered our favourite breakfast – espressos and Pastel de Nata, and then we headed back to Mercado dos Lavradores. We didn’t have the chance to explore it properly the previous day, so we decided to visit it early in the morning. We were thrilled about the decision – the market wasn’t as crowded, but we also had the opportunity to see the fishermen preparing and selling the freshly caught fish.
Dominik bought fruit for us to try, and I bought various spices. I enjoy visiting markets all over Europe as they always have something interesting to offer. You can bet you will find something special that is not sold anywhere else.
On top of one of the city’s hills, there were botanical gardens that offered a beautiful view of Funchal. To my horrified surprise, the fastest way to get there was a cable car. I’m not the biggest fan of heights, but I survived worse things than riding in a tin can held in the air only by a wire.
The gardens were lovely. We decided to do a small photoshoot there as I needed to practice my photography skills, and the place was made for it. We spent the morning exploring the gardens and enjoying the sun.
I was excited about the next thing on our agenda ever since I first saw it – an adventure called the Toboggan Ride. This Madeiran tradition originated in the 19th century. It is a ride down the streets of Funchal in basket sledges. Two trained “Carrireiros” are responsible for pushing the sledge down the hill, using it as a means of transportation. I had an absolute blast on that ride! We decided to splurge on it as the three-minute experience was comparable in cost to a nice dinner, but I had zero regrets!
After the ride, we took a taxi to the city centre and walked along the sea. We popped into Cristiano Ronaldo’s gift shop for some shopping, and we also tried another traditional Portuguese food. Dominik enjoyed his Francesinha, a sandwich that could cure the world’s biggest hangover just by looking at it, and I ordered Espada.
Espada, a fish served with bananas, sounds like a crazy combination, but it’s absolutely delicious. Well, you can take my opinion with a pinch of salt. I put pineapple on my pizza, and one of my favourite Czech traditional foods is chicken breast with peach and melted cheese on top of it (yes, it exists, no, I’m not kidding).
We finished our night with a couple of drinks, well aware that our adventure in Madeira only began!
