Funchal was settled in the 1420s as Portugal's first Atlantic colony — a laboratory for sugar plantations, slavery and navigation that Columbus himself visited. Three days of forts, azulejos, colonial churches and museums built on sugar and wine money.
Manueline cathedral consecrated 1514, built on the orders of King Manuel I from local limestone and volcanic basalt. The ceiling is knotwork cedar inlaid with ivory, made from Madeiran juniper. Free entry, open 09:00–12:00 and 16:00–17:30 daily.
Ochre-yellow fortress begun in 1614 after French corsairs sacked Funchal in 1566, killing hundreds. Ramparts, powder magazines and a governor's residence sit directly on the black-pebble shore at the east end of the Old Town. Entry around €3.
Convent founded around 1476 by João Gonçalves Zarco's grandson; Zarco, the captain who claimed Madeira for Portugal in 1419, is buried in the church. Walls are covered in 17th-century azulejo tiles. Guided visits by nuns, roughly €3.
Jesuit college and church begun in 1629, seized by the Crown when the order was expelled in 1759, later a barracks and now the University of Madeira. Gilded baroque altarpieces and tile panels survive inside. Guided tours around €5.
Housed in the former bishop's palace of 1600, this collection of Flemish paintings was bought by Madeiran sugar merchants who traded directly with Bruges and Antwerp in the 1500s. Panels by Gerard David and Jan Provoost. Around €5.
The civic square laid in black-and-white basalt calçada, ringed by the 18th-century Câmara Municipal — once the palace of the Count of Carvalhal — the Jesuit college and the Sacred Art Museum. The central fountain dates from 1798.
The estate house of Zarco's family, rebuilt in the 18th century and filled with furniture made from sugar-chest wood shipped back from Brazil. The garden holds Manueline stone window frames rescued from demolished Funchal mansions. About €3.
Hilltop fort of São João Baptista, built 1611–1632 above the city and used as a naval radio station until 2012. Free entry, dry-stone bastions and a full panorama over the amphitheatre of Funchal and the harbour below.
Site of the 15th-century Franciscan convent, demolished in the 1800s; its wine cellars survive as the São Francisco lodge and the garden became Jardim Municipal in 1878. Fragments of the cloister arcade still stand among the trees. Free.
Pilgrimage church of 1741 above the city, holding the tomb of Charles I, the last Habsburg emperor, who died in exile in Monte in 1922 aged 34. His body still lies in a side chapel. Reached by cable car from the Old Town.
The estate where Emperor Charles I lodged in 1921–22, later the Monte Palace Tropical Garden with 19th-century azulejo panels narrating Portuguese history and stone recovered from demolished Funchal quintas. Entry around €15.
Small museum on Praça Colombo, built over the excavated cellar of the house where Christopher Columbus is said to have stayed in the 1480s. Displays sugar moulds, ceramics and Flemish trade goods from Funchal's sugar boom. About €2.