Things to see and do Monte

It was the foundation of the Portuguese businessman José Berardo who bought the Monte Palace in 1987. Nestling beneath the Monte Cathedral, spread over seven hectares, rich with more than 10,000 species of plants from the five continents (some of which are endangered), this exuberant park is well worth a visit (some even prefer it to the Botanical Garden!). Ponds, covered walkways, Japanese-style gardens, art gardens, azulejos, skilful architecture of the green spaces, viewpoints overlooking the bay of Funchal, and everywhere a restful calm. Don't miss the important collection of cycads (between the palm tree and the fern, this plant is said to be even older than the dinosaurs!), nor the section reserved for the island's endemic flora (zone E). Glass of Madeira offered at the end of the tour (in the café).

Monte Palace Museum. We meet it at the beginning of the visit. This small, modern museum has two temporary exhibitions, one dedicated to Zimbabwean sculpture and the other to a collection of minerals.

Quinta Monte Palace. In the middle of the vegetation, this residence was built at the beginning of the 20th century by a wealthy merchant, Alfredo Guilherme Rodrigues, who was inspired here by the castles on the banks of the Rhine that he discovered during a trip to Germany. It was later the headquarters of the Monte Palace Hotel, which remained in operation until the 1940s. Today, the estate is home to the social solidarity foundation of billionaire José Berardo.

Made of lime and basalt, the Church of Our Lady of the Mount houses the statue of Nossa Senhora do Monte, the Virgin who took Madeira under her protection. According to legend, the first chapel built here in 1470 was built by the first inhabitants born on the island. In 1748, an earthquake swept through the building, which was finally rebuilt in 1818. The crypt next door houses the tomb of Emperor Charles I of Austria (1887-1922), who fled to Madeira after the First World War.

At the foot of the church of Monte, sturdy men(os carreiros) wait for the customer next to their wicker wagon, all dressed in white, with a straw hat on their head and leather boots on their feet. They guarantee a safe descent in their sled and run behind it to guide it, turn it and brake it if necessary. If the folkloric carros de cesto, these wicker sleds, are used to take tourists in search of sensations down the slope that goes to Funchal (2 km), their ancestor was for a long time the main means of locomotion in Madeira.