Monte is a civil parish on the hillside above Funchal, a few kilometres east of the city centre and part of the same municipality. The ground climbs from 300 to 1300 metres across it. The parish was created in 1565 and became a summer refuge for wealthy Funchal families, who built cottages along the hills; the main church, Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte, went up in 1741. Charles I of Austria, last of the Habsburg rulers, died in exile here on 1 April 1922 and was buried in the parish. Old gardens, the cable car and the wicker toboggan run bring most visitors up.
Monte
- Currency
- Euro, in place of the escudo since 2002. Multibanco and ATM Express cash machines take international cards almost everywhere and mostly charge nothing of their own, while the Euronet machines clustered in tourist streets take high fees and give poor rates. VAT is already inside every price in shops and restaurants: 23% standard on the mainland, 22% in Madeira and 18% in the Azores.
- Language
- Portuguese, spoken here with a heavy accent even by mainland standards. English gets you about as far as it does on the mainland, and an attempt at a few Portuguese words is always taken well.
- Power plug
- Type C / F, 230 V, 50 Hz
- Visa
- Schengen: entry and short-stay limits follow the common Schengen rules.
- Time zone
- UTC+0 (UTC+1 in summer)
- Tap water
- Safe to drink across the country. Bottled spring water (água mineral) is sold everywhere for those who prefer it.
- Tipping
- Not expected, appreciated for good service. Around 8–10% in a restaurant if the service was exemplary, and it is perfectly acceptable to leave nothing if it was not. No tip for a coffee or a cake; €1–2 if you eat a full meal in a café. Nothing in pubs and bars. In a taxi, round the fare up and add €1–2.
- Emergency
- 112
When to go
Low season
Dec – Mar
Cloud settles onto the slope and rain runs hard off the hillside — the 2010 mudslides killed and injured people in the parish. The gardens stay open; the views often do not.
Shoulder
Apr – Jun
The hillside is still green from the winter rain and the gardens fill out. Fewer people on the cable car than in high summer.
High season
Jul – Sep
The busiest stretch, and the reason wealthy Funchal families built up here in the first place: 560 metres of altitude takes the edge off the coastal heat. The dry summer also leaves the parish forests open to fire.
Shoulder
Oct – Nov
Crowds ease off and cloud starts returning to the higher ground above the parish.
How long to stay
Half a day covers the church, a garden and the ride down. Give it a full day if you take the second cable car across to the Botanical Garden and eat in the parish afterwards. Monte also works as a base rather than a day trip: hotels and small restaurants sit in the centre of the parish, and the cable car puts downtown Funchal 15 minutes away.
Getting around
The cable car from Parque Almirante Reis in downtown Funchal climbs 560 metres over 3,718 metres of line and takes 15 minutes one way. Cabins hold eight, and the system shifts 800 passengers an hour. A second cable car runs from Monte across to the Botanical Garden, so both can be done on one outing without dropping back to the seafront.
Going down, the carros de cesto — wicker baskets on wooden runners, steered by two drivers in white uniforms and straw boaters — cover 2 kilometres to Livramento. Livramento is where they stop; the rest of the way into Funchal is yours to sort out. Roads reach Monte as well, and they work for their living: the parish runs from 300 metres up to 1300.
What to see
Destinations in Monte
Frequently asked questions
How do you get from Funchal up to Monte?
By cable car from Parque Almirante Reis in downtown Funchal. The line is 3,718 metres long, the height difference is 560 metres, and one way takes 15 minutes. Cabins carry eight people, and the system moves 800 passengers an hour.What are the carros de cesto?
Wicker baskets on wooden runners, pushed and steered downhill by two drivers in the traditional white uniform and straw boaters. Residents came up with the method in 1850 as a fast way down to Funchal, and the baskets have been running since the late 19th century. The descent covers 2 kilometres to Livramento.Which emperor is buried at Monte?
Charles I of Austria, the last of the Habsburg rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He died in exile on 1 April 1922, and his last residence on the island was the Quinta do Monte, close to the parish church.Is the old railway to Monte still running?
No. Madeira's only cog railway worked between 1893 and 1943, carrying passengers from Funchal to Monte and on up to Terreiro da Luta at 867 metres above sea level. It was deactivated during the Second World War, and the cable car opened nearly a hundred years after the railway did.How high is Monte?
The parish covers 18.59 km² of foothills in the northeast corner of the Funchal municipality, and the ground rises from 300 metres to 1300 metres across it. Central Monte looks out over the neighbouring parishes of Santa Luzia and Imaculado Coração de Maria.