Caniçal

At the end of the Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço (PR 8), after three kilometres of walking one way, a small cove where you can swim. It is not a fitted-out beach: no support services, no lifeguard, and the official page asks for care. The water is translucent and the site lies inside the partial nature reserve. From here the view runs far over the Atlantic, with the Desertas and Porto Santo on the horizon.

On the northern slope of the parish of Caniçal, a protected site of reddish tones known locally as 'Mars in Madeira'. The name comes from a local legend: a bode, a goat, is said to have fallen from these cliffs; it already appears on maps of the late nineteenth century. The place holds two geosites. The first is where the Upper Volcanic Complex reaches the surface: it is the island's best point to observe spheroidal weathering. The second, inside the Natura 2000 network and the Ponta de São Lourenço Natural Monument, shows a 'dykes within dykes' complex, typical of fissural volcanism.

On Caniçal's seafront, a complex opened in 2003 with a view over the vastness of the Atlantic: two seawater pools — a large one for adults, a small one for children — and two staircases leading straight into the sea. Changing rooms, loungers, parasols, a bar with terrace. Paid entry. Not an official bathing water in 2026: no lifeguard service is guaranteed; follow the notices on site and the flags.

The fishing village of the eastern tip, in the municipality of Machico, beyond the Caniçal tunnel: Madeira's former whaling capital in the 20th century, whose Whale Museum (founded 1989, new premises 2011) keeps the memory with life-size models and 3D films. On the sea side, the 2003 bathing complex, the Ribeira do Natal cove and the coppery-sand Prainha below the Piedade fossil dunes; on the nature side, it is the gateway to Ponta de São Lourenço and its PR 8 trail.

"An open door to knowledge and a window to the sea": at Caniçal, the former whaling port, the museum founded in 1989 and housed since September 2011 in new premises is one of the most innovative of its kind in the world, with life-size models of whales and dolphins and stereoscopic 3D films. A vast ethnographic collection — old tools, testimonies, accurate documentation — traces whaling in Madeira through the 20th century, while the museum runs research and conservation projects on the archipelago's marine life. Rua Garcia Moniz 1

North of Machico, on the road that climbs to the summit before the Caniçal tunnel, Pico do Facho (280 m) is steeped in history: great bonfires were lit here to warn the population of the arrival of enemy ships. The view takes in the whole valley and town of Machico, the peaks of the island's centre, Ponta de São Lourenço to the east and the Desertas (Ilhéu Chão, Deserta Grande, Bugio) to the south-east — a lesson in the island's volcanic relief.

On the São Lourenço peninsula, a Natural Monument, at Caniçal, Ponta do Rosto has a rare feature: you see both the north and the south coast of the island at once. Sheer cliffs of great geomorphological interest, a semi-arid climate and northern winds that explain the creeping plants and the absence of trees — the very opposite of Madeira's green forests — rare plants, one of the region's largest gull colonies and protected seabirds such as Cory's shearwater and Bulwer's petrel. On clear days, Porto Santo. Reachable by car on the road to Baía d'Abra (PR 8, further on, is charged).

The bay that opens Ponta de São Lourenço, at the island's eastern tip, and where PR 8 starts. A semi-arid climate and exposure to northerly winds have made a landscape of cliffs and low plants, the opposite of the green of the rest of the island. The peninsula is classified a partial nature reserve for the rarity of its flora and fauna. From the viewpoint you follow the outline of the coast, cut by sea and wind, and pick out the Desertas and Porto Santo.

The marina at the island's south-eastern tip, at the entrance to the Ponta de São Lourenço protected area, 7 km from the airport and 12 nautical miles from the centre of Funchal. It offers 264 berths for boats from 6 to 45 m, with water and electricity on the pontoons, fuel, changing rooms, toilets, laundry, bar, restaurant and wi-fi. The setting is that of the natural park: bare rock, ochre tones, endemic species.