Madeira Botanical Garden

The Madeira botanical gardens are located high above the city. Established in 1960 on an eight hectare site, the gardens contain a wide variety of species of trees, shrubs, orchids,....

Where there are numerous ways to get to the botanical gardens, we opted for the for the cable car from Monte directly to the botanical gardens. This unique trip brings you across the stunning landscape of Ribeira de Joâo Gomes while providing you with stunning views towards Funchal. (More info: Botanical Gardens Cable Car - Madeira Island )

From Monte, you an easily have a drink before you head to the cable car station or visit the stunning Monte Palace Gardens, an other popular tourist attractions in Funchal. 

Once you arrive at the Botanical Garden station, you can enjoy a meal at  the panoramic restaurant or just enjoy the magnificent views across Funchal.
The botanical gardens house more than 2000 exotic plants from all around the world, some of which are endangered. Within the gardens is a research and conservation area which strives to preserve endangered species.

The botanical gardens exists out of different terraces where you can find different zones of plant. 

Plants from Madeira zone:

Here you find the indigenous plants of Madeira. Many of the plants you find in this zone can be found around the island. Whenever you go for a walk along a levada, you will have seen the many flowers that bloom year round. Examples of these are the many orchids, bird of paradise, hydrangeas,....

Cacti zone:

A very impressive zone where you can walk between cacti that tower well above even the tallest of visitors

​Agricultural zone:

​In this zone, you can admire the crops and fruits that are grown around the island. As an example, admire the sugarcane ,....


These are only a few of the zones, there are other zones like orchids, palm trees, topiary, aromatic and medicine plants,.... and the list goes on.

Probably the most impressive and famous area is the choreographed garden. This amazing display of multicoloured plants which are arranged in diamonds, squares, lines and lettering with Funchal as the backdrop makes for the perfect picture.
From the many viewpoints, you get the opportunity to admire the large cruise ships that are moored in Funchal.

Quinta do Bom Sucesso, home to the Madeira Botanical Garden, was established in 1881 by the Reid family and is now open to the public. Within this building, you can visit the natural history museum and the herbarium.
The garden also includes a bird park where you can admire a collection of around 300 exotic birds like macaus, parrots,...