Rota da Cal limestone quarry museum

You are shown round rather than left to wander. Someone from the museum takes you through the quarry, the kiln and the work that grew around them, and a short film does much of the explaining: how the men cut the rock, and how they lived while they did it.

The stone is the other reason to come. Madeira is volcanic, and this marine limestone sits inside it as a foreign body, with fossils in the faces. There is an open-air part of the museum as well, and it is easy to walk past without realising you have. The valley opens out below the site, and there is flat ground beside the buildings to sit and eat.

• The open-air section is easy to miss. Ask at reception where it starts before you walk out.
• Rain takes away half of it. The viewpoint and the outdoor section are the part you cannot see from inside.
• Toilets on site, and the place works for children — the film carries the story rather than the labels.
• Bring food if you want a break. There is room to sit and eat beside the museum, with the valley below.

Most people drive. The last stretch down to the museum is a narrow dirt road, and it is the right road — follow it down rather than turning back at the top. Parking is on the street by the site.

No bus reaches the door. The nearest stop is in São Vicente, about 1.2 km away, and the way up from the town is on the road and uphill throughout. If you walk it, take the road that passes the chapel on the hill: the view is better on that side.

Better: a clear day. The site sits above the valley, and the view is a good part of why anyone walks outside here at all.

Avoid: rain. The open-air section and the viewpoint are outdoors, and a wet day leaves you with the indoor rooms and the film.