Madeira Botanical Garden

Madeira Botanical Garden

Madeira Botanical Garden
4
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
A visit to the Botanical gardens provides visitors with the names and origins of the splendid variety of exotic flowers, vegetables, herbs and other useful plants found on Madeira.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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  • Majorfeng
    Liverpool, United Kingdom133 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Maderia Botanical Garden visit
    A good place to spend some time reviewing flora and fauna with some unusual and native plants. A good location for one of the cable cars and a good tea room. Like most places in maderia it is walking up and down with some flat sections.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written October 30, 2023
  • RoverP
    Inverness, United Kingdom800 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Quite enjoyable but nothing special.
    Interesting cable car ride across the ravine to get to the gardens. The gardens would have been better earlier in the year but still plenty to see. But as these were official botanical gardens I might have expected the gardens to have been better tended and to have had more information about what was on display. Having paid extra for a map of the gardens, I would also have expected it would contain a bit more information than on the basic map boards dotted around the gardens. Given that gardens are such a feature of Madeira, it was a bit disappointing that the gardens didn't provide a bit more of good visitor experience. Having said that there was still plenty to enjoy and they are worth a visit.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 8, 2023
  • Urška A
    Ljubljana, Slovenia148 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    special botanical experience
    It is nice, but very steep. The palm trees are gorgeous. There is not much to see, the whole experience is still worth it because of the views over the city and the terrace approach, which is unique for a botanical garden. If you cant walk well or have any difficulties walking uphill, you should not visit this place.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written December 4, 2023
  • Florance03
    Burnley, United Kingdom49 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Stop vandalising plants
    Even in December these gardens were beautiful, fabulous bird of paradise flowers. The fish pond could do with a make over, a lot more could be done with it. There are plenty of toilets, a cafe and good paths to walk round, very steep in places. The biggest disappointment of this garden is the vile tourists who think it’s acceptable to carve their names into the plants. Some of the plants are years old and it’s upsetting to see their leaves withered and brown due to human vandalism! Camera and fines would help this to be stopped!
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written December 9, 2023
  • jua c
    Delray Beach, Florida99 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice gardens
    The views were very nice. Beautiful gardens, very nice plants, gorgeous areas, native plants, orchids, trees, small museum. You can be dropped off at the entrance and picked up at the exit. Nice place to spend an hour or two
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written January 2, 2024
  • Not disclosed
    287 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful hillside garden
    A beautiful hillside garden with lots of interesting plants and pools. Be warned its on a steep slope with lots of steps and steep paths with beautiful iviews. You can sit on the terrace overlooking the Japenese garden with views across to the sea. If you have mobility problems there is an electric large car that takes you half way down the garden. There is a cafe on site and it's not far to walk to the cable car or bus stop.
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 3, 2024
  • Katrin D
    11 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Enjoyable half-day excursion
    We went by bus, because I am not a big fan of cable cars. The bus ride is abt. 15 minutes. It is a nice garden to stroll around and there are several viewing platforms with wonderful views of Funchal and the ocean.
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 18, 2024
  • KarmaRoo
    Ontario, Canada33 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Not as good as Monte Palace Garden
    A bit of a let-down, especially after visiting the fabulous Monte Palace gardens. Perhaps this place would be a bit more impressive during the spring or early summer, but when we visited in October it was a little disappointing. If you only have time for one garden while in Madeira, skip this one and head to Monte.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written February 4, 2024
  • kperkins38
    Boston, Massachusetts699 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful garden!
    Beautiful and huge garden! I had some time to kill so decided to stop by. It wasn’t too busy, but the parking lots nearby were pretty full. I did find a spot though - parking across the street and down the hill. There is also a cab stand outside if you take a cab there - it is easy to find one to leave. There is a cafe and museum in the garden as well. I didn’t eat at the cafe, but it was pretty full. Wonderful views of Funchal!
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written February 11, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles8,149 reviews
Excellent
3,010
Very good
2,908
Average
1,480
Poor
491
Terrible
260

Been a few places
Epsom, UK1,071 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020
Spent a couple of hours exploring the Botanical Gardens which were very pleasant. The multicoloured choreographed plants are what everyone comes for but we really enjoyed the cacti and succulents. However, if you only have time for one garden in Madeira I would recommend the Monte Palace garden. We found free parking on the street outside which saved us the cable car fare.
Written November 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

FyreFaery
Tomar, Portugal103 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021
Usually city botanical gardens are free and for the €6 entry I was very disappointed. Paths were closed and vast areas dug up and covered in workers and plastic pipes. There was a cafe in the centre and the minimum spend to pay by card was €15, so without cash I couldn't even sit down for a cup of tea and cake

There is a tropical garden in Funchal, entry about €12, which is absolutely amazing. Go to that instead.
Written June 28, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ceri Roberts
Buckley, UK47 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021 • Couples
Beautiful gardens with a very interesting African museum. It’s 12.50 euros each but we spent about 2 hours in there wandering and finding paths through the exotic plants, water features and small caves. There are many photo opportunities on bridges and by plants. There was a fantastic viewing point for watching the basket sledges pass by. The ticket includes a free sample of Madeira wine in the cafe at the far side of the gardens where there are toilets and a view point. At the cafe the small birds are so friendly and they were eating out of our hands. We were surrounded by nature. It was fantastic. We travelled to it in a cable car and from it in a basket then had lunch in Funchal centre. It was a fine morning out. One to remember.
Written October 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

connoj01
Hadleigh, UK26 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2020
The cafe is not great - so bring a small packed lunch to eat on the benches around the gardens.
Monte Palace Gardens are bigger and better, but these are defo worth a view... just make sure you leave enough time to also fully enjoy the Monte Palace Gardens.
Written November 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Teresa B
32 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
Had a lovely afternoon here and the garden is well maintained and full of tropical plants and trees. Not much colour but it was winter so wasn't expecting many flowers. The centrepiece is beautiful and there are lots of seating areas to stop and take in the surroundings. Bus from Funchal stops right outside and costs less than €2 or rake the cable car from Monte.
Written January 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian Curnow
Truro, UK7 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
We opted to take the cable car dispite the taxi drivers offering better package value, you can then take as long as you like to sit down and take in the wonderful views together with a drink as it was so relaxing and quiet.
We walked from Reids palace Hotel to cable car then around the gardens and back through town to Reids, that was approximately 10,000 steps.
Try to avoide the cable car queues when the cruse ships are in.
Written February 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Shippers
Haywards Heath, UK108 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
As a keen gardener, one of the problems about going away in winter is the lack of floral colour in public gardens. No so in the Funchal Botanical Gardens - so many plants were blooming their heads off and all, in a magical setting with extensive views looking over Funchal and the bay beyond. Of particular interest I felt were the two sections given over to endemic Madeiran plants - a reminder that the island had a unique range of plant life before being discovered by man. But it was all pretty delightful.
Two tips - the 31 and 31A buses from Funchal stop outside and run throughout the day, and are a far cheaper and I think more interesting alternative to the Cable Car. And if you go when the ground is wet, there are some steeps paths which can be slippy, particularly near the eastern entrance; I'd wear shoes with some grip.
Written January 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dave W
Rochford, UK7 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
After previous visits I would have to say the gardens were looking tired.
We travelled via the cable car and found the climb back to, and from the cable car to much for our old legs. We exited via a road gate and got the bus down to the town centre. The moral of this story is, if your legs are not up to a considerable climb, just get one way tickets and save on the fare. Go by bus!
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Widetraveller
Ashford, UK41 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
The bus 31 from the seafront is quick and cheap to get up here - and the gardens are extensive, impressive and very well labelled . We had a couple of hours around here and refreshments in the cafe which looks out over the bay. You can get taxi or bus back or cable car if it’s in operation - was closed for maintenance on our visit. Being adventurous we walked back down into Funchal - it’s a completely straight route down, very steep with v.few pavements. As two old goats we made it down in about 30 minutes!
Written February 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Keith S
Wisbech, UK101 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
We are on holiday in Madeira for the first time. We have come to escape our wet winter. These gardens are lovely. Spread over a hill side they are interestingly set out. There are many flowers to see in January and many interesting trees and cacti. Even a few interesting birds flying around. We stayed in the garden 2 hours , there is a pleasant cafe and a number of seating areas with spectacular views. Well worth a visit if you have the time.
Written January 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Madeira Botanical Garden - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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