Jardim de Santa Luzia

The garden is built on the floor of an old industry. Until the urban renewal scheme of the early 2000s this was the Santa Luzia sugar factory; the park opened in 2004.

The layout is terraced. A long water channel runs down the middle, with large lawns to either side and shaded benches along the walkways. Planting is arranged by theme: a rose garden, a bed of medicinal herbs, edible plants at the far end. A brick tower stands near the centre of the park, beside the cafe.

There is a small pond with frogs, and monarch butterflies are seen around the flower beds. The upper terraces look out over Funchal. The lawns are wide enough for a football and a picnic at the same time, which is why the park fills with families rather than tour groups.

• Season: the beds are bare in late winter. In February the flowers are only starting; the planting is at its best in summer.
• Not a night park: the gates close in the evening, so this is a daytime visit only.
• With children: a playground, a large lawn for ball games, and walkways wide enough for a pushchair.
• Dogs: dogs are allowed in the park.
• Refreshments: a cafe near the centre of the park sells snacks and drinks.

Jardim de Santa Luzia stands at the edge of central Funchal, a short walk from the old town. Buses stop at the park itself, and there is free parking right beside it, so there is no last stretch to speak of: you leave the pavement and you are in the garden. Inside, the ground is laid out in terraces, linked by wide surfaced walkways.

Best: summer, when the beds are in full flower and the lawns are in use.

Avoid: late winter, if the flowers are the reason you are coming.

This is a planted garden rather than a piece of landscape, so the season decides what you see. In late February the beds are only beginning to open. By early summer the rose garden and the flower beds are working, and the monarch butterflies come with them.