Monte Palace Tropical Garden

How to visit without the wrong-way climb

The garden sits high above Funchal in Monte, and the trick is to arrive at the top entrance and walk down. The cable car from the Old Town (about 15 minutes, €16 single or €22 return) drops you right by the gate, which is the scenic and the sensible way up — you pay the €18 entry (about £15.50) at the door, then descend through the site on foot rather than slogging uphill. The line reopened in April 2026 after a refurbishment, with five glass-floor cabins now in the rotation if you want the see-through ride. If you’d rather not pay cable-car money, buses 20, 21, 22 and 48 climb to Monte for around €2; the bus and the cable car are both separate from the garden ticket.

Inside, the route falls away in terraces: koi ponds thick with carp, an Oriental garden of red lacquered bridges and stone lanterns, and long stretches of hand-painted azulejo tile panels set into the path walls. There’s a small museum (open until 17:30) with a mineral and African-sculpture collection if you want a sit-down break from the slopes. Allow about two hours, wear shoes with grip, and don’t plan it for the same half-day as a levada walk — the constant steps add up.

The toboggan, and is it worth it?

The wicker toboggan run that everyone photographs is not inside the garden. The carros de cesto leave from near the Church of Our Lady of Monte, a couple of minutes’ walk away, and two carreiros in straw boaters push you down a steep stretch of public road towards Funchal — a separate paid ride you book on the spot. Treat it as an add-on, not part of the garden visit.

If you like gardens, this is the one paid attraction in Funchal worth the climb — the tilework and the Oriental section are properly distinctive, not just “nice plants”. If you don’t, the €18 and the steps won’t convert you, and the free municipal gardens lower in town will do. Pair it with the cable car up and the toboggan down for the full Monte loop, then walk or bus back into Funchal for lunch.