Funchal cruises, Portugal

What's great about Funchal cruises?

Sweeter than wine, Madeira’s a fine excuse to binge on beautiful scenery to your heart’s content. Funchal is the island’s capital, a bewitching collection of cobbled streets, quaint museums and buzzing café and restaurant life.

• Get to know Funchal. This spellbinding city is a portion of Portugal sprinkled with a dash of Garden of Eden and Edwardian Britain. The whole place seems to be smothered in vivid bougainvillea, jasmine and other exotic blooms. Don’t miss the covered market, a dizzying montage of exotic fruit stalls and flower-sellers wearing traditional costume. And take a look at the city’s impressive Sé cathedral with its ornate ceiling and artworks.
• If you’re really into blooms, meander around Funchal’s tranquil Botanical Gardens, admiring their dazzling displays of orchids, cacti and Madeira’s iconic dragon trees.
• Take a cable car up to the mountain village of Monte and hurtle back down the cobbles towards Funchal in a wicker toboggan.
• Gaze in awe at the colossal Cabo Girao, one of the world’s largest coastal cliffs. Then take in the simple charms of the quaint fishing village, Camara de Lobos, one of Winston Churchill’s favourite retreats.
• Sign up for a jeep tour to explore parts of the island that are usually off limits.