As soon as you mention to friends that you were on Madeira — more precisely in Funchal — the almost Pavlovian follow-up question comes: “So, did you ride the wicker toboggan?”
Of course we couldn’t skip this traditionally adrenaline-charged attraction! (See photo further below.)
On our first tour there was finally no cruise ship in port, so we had space and time to take the cable car up to Monte, explore the botanical gardens, and finally glide back down on the famous wicker toboggans!
Total cost for 2 people: €120!
Felipe (our guide on the first tour) told us that before construction there were massive protests from residents because the cable car runs just above the rooftops of the houses.
That’s not exactly ideal sunbathing topless on an otherwise private terrace. 😉
But as always, something rules the world — and after a “generous compensation” the residents suddenly weren’t opposed anymore. 😏
We liked it so much that we created a separate page for it.
We stumbled upon an open-air concert series at the English Church almost by accident.
Depending on the day of the week, there are daily concerts — either in the morning, afternoon, or early evening. Outdoors in the garden if the weather is good, indoors in the church if it rains.
Wine, beer, and snacks are available self-service — (almost) at cost. 😉
We went twice — once for Ragtime and then for “Legendary Rock Orchestra.” They also offer: Elegant Classic, Jazz, Morning Tea, Beatles, and Virtuoso Masterpieces.
All concerts revolve around the star violinist Andrej Ladeishchikov, introduced to us as a former soloist of the Russian State Orchestra.
On a world concert tour he discovered Madeira — and decided to simply stay…
Everything felt slightly improvised — but in a charming way. There were plastic chairs under marquees, and when time got tight at one point, the maestro ran off himself to fetch wine bottles and tear tickets. 😆
One afternoon we took the Grand City Tour in a Tukxi — 1.5 hours for €45 (shorter tours are available).
The Tukxi is a three-wheeled vehicle, like the ones you know from films set in Bangkok.
Our driver Kat (short for Katherine) had lots to share. And this tour was MUCH better than the standard city tour on the big buses.
Why? Because Kat always tailored it to our personal wishes.
Plus, with the small vehicle we could take routes that no large vehicle can manage — for example, simply driving down the stairs in the photo below! 😄
Let’s start with a phenomenon that really surprised me HERE:
What I didn’t expect — Funchal has already adapted to the
smartphone zombies!
At several crosswalks there aren’t just the regular traffic lights, but also LED light strips on the ground that show red or green:
On hover it turns green 😉
Alright … on second thought …
With thousands of cruise passengers per day,
maybe it’s not THAT surprising … 😆
A few shots from the park:
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