Madeira Story Centre

The exhibition covers the island in sequence: discovery, settlement, culture, economy and the major events in between. Madeira has taken in tourists and health visitors since the 1800s, and the display follows that thread to the present. It works best as a first stop, before you go out to the places it describes. Everything is on boards in four languages, so the visit is mostly reading. The rooms go quickly; the panels do not. A lift climbs to a roof terrace with a bistro, part of it open and part covered, and stairs in the corner lead to a further level laid with astro turf. From up there you look over Funchal's rooftops and the cable cars.

• Reading, not looking. Everything is on boards, in four languages. The rooms go quickly; the panels do not.
• Touting outside. Expect to be stopped on the street and invited up to the rooftop restaurant.
• The terrace is through the museum. The roof bistro is reached through the exhibition or the souvenir shop, then by lift.
• Toilets. There are toilets on site, and free public ones about 80 m away.
• Good for children. The displays are interactive and the museum is set up for families.

Madeira Story Centre stands in Funchal's old town, with the marked historical centre about 50 m away and the cable car terminus about the same distance off. The approach is flat and paved. The entrance is at street level, through the shop, and a lift inside serves the upper floors and the roof terrace, so nothing has to be climbed to reach either the exhibition or the bistro. Only the topmost level of the terrace is stairs-only, up a flight in the corner.

Better: early in your stay, before you set out around the island. The exhibition explains the places you will see afterwards, and the context carries over to them.

Avoid: the last stretch before closing, and any slot you have to rush. The display is text on boards, and reading it is the visit.

The museum is indoors, which makes it a straightforward option on a wet day.