• Sé Cathedral. The central point in Funchal. Commissioned by Portuguese explorer Gil Eanes, the cathedral was built between 1493 and 1517. The ceiling is made from local wood.  edit

Funchal Airport (IATA: FNC) is in nearby Santa Cruz, sometimes known as Madeira international/Santa Catarina/Funchal. Once famous for its hair-raisingly short runway ending at a cliff over the Atlantic Ocean, the airport has been expanded to handle all sizes of aircraft. There are several daily flights from most major cities in Portugal (Lisbon,Porto). Flight time from Lisbon is 1 1/2 hours. Also, there are good connections from London (mostly Gatwick)(LGW), with TAP/ Air Portugal(TP) and British Airways(BA); its flying time is estimated at 3 1/2 hours.

The city centre is small enough to explore on foot. Orange city buses can take you around and up to Monte (lines 20, 21). Buy a giro card from the office for 2,20€, it is already preloaded with two journeys and can be topped up with additional journeys for 1,50€ a piece. Most city buses start from the waterfront area.

Funchal Airport Car Hire - Auto Jardim

Flowers,fruit (check with the airline/ship if they can be brought abroad).

The island is world-famous for its wines. Several stores offer varying selections. Consult Wikipedia [1] and other sites for details.

Funchal has an abundance of good, if not necessarily cheap, eating places. Most places serve traditional Madeiran and Portuguese food, which is well-prepared and well-tasting, but not terribly exciting. One of the most typical dishes and served almost everywhere, is espada com banana, scabbard fish with banana. It is usually served with fresh salad and potatoes. A bit more expensive, bacalhau (dried, salted codfish) is served in many restaurants. One of the more common, and best, varieties is "bacalhau com natas", codfish in cream sauce.

• Golden Gate Grand Café, Avenida Arriaga 21. Very centrally located, straight across the street from Palácio de São Lourenço. Its coffee, pastries, food and service is excellent and the café, opened in 1814, has a nice atmosphere with a good mix of local customers and tourists.

Inquire at the hotel for English, Germanic, Scandinavian pubs/bars.

Not the party capital of the world. Most of bars are very quiet. No decent Irish bars. Some think the best bar is Glorias Latino.