Câmara de Lobos Harbour

Local name: Porto de Câmara de Lobos

Churchill came here to paint the fishing boats — a figure of him now marks the spot.

Câmara de Lobos Harbour sits on the southern coast of Madeira, just west of Funchal, at the foot of the town that shares its name. João Gonçalves Zarco landed here in 1419 and found a rocky bay shaped like an amphitheatre, sheltered from Atlantic storms, along with a colony of seals — lobos-marinhos — that gave the place its name; the monk seals are now confined to a small colony on the Desertas Islands. Fishing and farming have carried the town for six centuries, and the boats still work from the beach below the restaurants.

Viewpoint

Entrance: Free — no ticket, the harbour front is open to walk.
Accessibility: Step-free entrance, wheelchair-accessible parking bay and accessible toilet.
Parking: Paid car park at the harbour, with pay machines; it fills up quickly. A free asphalt car park is mapped about 130 m from the water.
Difficulty: Easy: level walking along the harbour front. The town climbs a hillside, so parking higher up means a downhill walk in and an uphill one back.
Transport: Bus stop "Câmara de Lobos", about 90 m from the harbour.
Advance booking: Not needed.
Hours: Open at any time — a working harbour with no gate.

What makes it special

The fishing boats are hauled out of the water and parked on the beach in blocks of colour, and you walk between them. Winston Churchill visited several times and painted the bay; a figure of him stands on the street that runs down to the water, and a restaurant on the waterfront, Churchill's Place, carries his name. Behind the harbour the lanes are hung with murals and lined with old barrels and tins planted up with flowers. Locals sit out on chairs and benches playing cards while the waiters work the passing trade. Walk left from the harbour, facing the sea, and the shore turns to orange rock with a garden running alongside; the path from there follows the coast the whole way back to Funchal.

Good to know

Car park "helpers": someone may wave you into a space and then ask for cash.
The waterfront works you: waiters step out to talk you into their restaurant as you pass.
Toilets and water: a public toilet sits about 270 m from the harbour and a second, charging one a little beyond it; drinking water taps are within about 80 m.
Cards are fine: credit and debit both accepted here.
The shot everyone takes is the boats on the beach; the murals and planted barrels in the lanes behind get walked past.

Getting there

Câmara de Lobos lies west of Funchal on the south coast, and most people drive — it is a short drive from the capital. Plenty come by bus instead, which spares the hunt for a space. However you arrive, the last stretch is on foot and downhill: the town is stacked up a hillside and the lanes drop towards the water, so a space found high up means a climb on the way back. There is also a walking approach — the coastal path from Funchal joins the shore beside the orange rocks, to the left of the harbour as you face the sea.

Best time to visit

Best: twice in one visit — once in daylight, with the colours of the hulls on the beach, and again after dark, when the lights come on around the harbour.

Avoid: arriving with a plan that depends on a space in the harbour car park, which fills up.

The bay is as much a place to sit and eat as a place to look at, so a visit stretches longer than expected; coming back for the second look costs little when the town is this close to Funchal.

Sun & daylight

Lighthouse

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Boa Morte Viewpoint