Funchal
Capital of the island Madeira, half of the total population lives here.
With Machico and Camara de Lobos, it belongs to the oldest settlements on Madeira.
The name of the city bases on the Portuguese word for fennel ("funcho") and
concernes to the history of settlement. The whole gigantic bay, that stretches like an amphitheater of the coast into the height, should have been grown completely with fennel. One had to dispose the
plants in order to can settle there. The entire bay should have burned seven years long continuously, until
they started to build houses there.
The special form of this city and the colonization-density gives Funchal a particular sight, that opens up itself
to the observer in its whole splendor only from the sea.
Funchal, view from the botanic garden
Funchal, seen from Cabo Girao, the second highest steep-coast of the world
Funchal at night
The harbour of Funchal
Funchal offers many attractions, incipient from many old churches and fortresses and the market
place to some parks, in which you can learn about the partly endemic plant world
of Madeira.
The biggest and knownest park in Funchal is the "jardim botanico". Visiting
this botanical garden and the bird-park is a must, not only because of the flower-splendor; from some positions
you have breathtaking outlooks on the metropolis Funchal.
jardim botanico, the botanic garden
the bird park (jardim dos loiros) of Funchal, Madeira. Reachable via the
botanic garden
