PR 3.1 · Caminho Real do Monte

The church of Funchal's heights, at the top of its staircase, one of the island's most beautiful and historic shrines: Charles I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, who died in exile at Quinta do Monte in 1922, still rests here. The 18th-century building keeps tile panels evoking Nossa Senhora do Monte and a set of late-18th-century paintings by Nicolau Ferreira. The parish holds one of Madeira's oldest and most popular festivals: novenas from 5 August, the big feast on 14 and 15 August. A step from the cable-car station and the sledge departure.

Dreamed of since the 17th century, opened in 1960 in Quinta do Bom Sucesso (founded in 1881 by the Reid family), the Madeira Botanical Garden is run by the regional forestry institute: about eight hectares, five of them landscaped — ornamental trees and shrubs, an orchid area, lawns, an amphitheatre, lookouts over the capital — and more than 2,000 exotic plants from every continent, some endangered in their home countries, with a research and conservation section; on site, the garden's Natural History Museum and the Herbarium. Caminho do Meio, Bom Sucesso; the Botanical Garden cable car arrives here from Monte. Since 1 January 2026 entry is free for residents of the Region and remains charged for visitors.

On the hill of Monte, with a view over the bay, the estate bought in the 18th century by the English consul Charles Murray, then in 1897 by Alfredo Guilherme Rodrigues, who built the palatial residence that became the Monte Palace Hotel. The tropical garden covers 70,000 m² and shows some 100,000 plants from around the world, including centuries-old cycads, "living fossils", among lakes, worked stone, Buddhist sculptures, stone lanterns and a famous collection of tiles from the 15th to the 20th century. At the highest point, the museum shows José Berardo's collection: more than 700 minerals and more than 1,000 African sculptures. Caminho das Babosas 4-A, next to the cable-car station; paid entry (fee on the operator's site).

The Region's highest municipal garden, between 543 and 586 m, 26,000 m² in the heart of Monte, laid out at the end of the 19th century. Native and exotic species, including centuries-old trees; at the entrance, a bandstand and a marble fountain with the image of Nossa Senhora do Monte; in the centre, a lake with a map of the island carved in stone. Paths paved with small basalt pebbles run through the whole park — to be walked between the church, the cable car and the sledge departure.