Madeira Photography Museum - Atelier Vicente’s

What survives here is not a collection assembled later, but the working premises of one studio. The Vicente family photographed Funchal from 1848 onwards, and the daylight studio, the darkroom and the printing equipment are still in place. Cases hold very early cameras, and the display follows the printing processes that went with them, including early colour and 3D work. The portraits double as island history. The studio photographer appears as a self-portrait at 30, and again at 70 with his grandchildren around him. A video runs alongside the displays. The house is part of the visit, and the courtyard holds a café.

• Café: coffee and freshly baked sweets, with tables in the courtyard among large prints.
• Leave time: a video runs with the displays, and the captions are worth reading.
• Toilets: on site, including a wheelchair-accessible one.
• Set expectations: the strength is the cameras, the studio and the printing processes; the hung prints vary in interest.
• Children: the museum is set up for family visits.

The museum is in central Funchal, and most people reach it on foot while walking through the town. The street entrance is wheelchair accessible, and there is wheelchair-accessible parking. Arriving on foot is the simplest option.

Better: a weekday morning soon after opening, while the rooms are still quiet and there is time for the video and the captions.

Avoid: Monday and Sunday, when the museum is closed, and arriving close to closing time.

The displays are indoors, so the weather makes no difference. Time does: the museum repays reading rather than a walk-through.