Sacred Art Museum of Funchal

The Flemish paintings are the reason to come. The museum holds panels by Dieric Bouts, Gerard David, Joos van Cleve, Jan Gossart, Jan Provoost and Pieter Coecke van Aelst, plus two anonymous hands known as the Master of the Morrison Triptych and the Master of the Adoration of Machico. They were painted in the workshops of Bruges and Antwerp and reached the island through the sugar trade, which sent Madeira sugar north and brought art back.

Around the panels are carvings, sculpture and church treasures, most of it late Gothic and early Renaissance work from the 1400s onwards. The setting is the Episcopal Palace itself. The top floor adds a view over the roofs of the old town.

• Not step-free — there is no wheelchair-accessible entrance, and the toilets and parking are not adapted either.
• Labels in two languages — the display texts are in Portuguese and English.
• Toilets are available inside the museum.
• Works with children — the rooms are quiet and the collection is not large.

The museum occupies the Episcopal Palace in the Sé quarter of central Funchal, and the approach is short from every direction. Two free car parks sit within 90 m of the entrance, and the nearest bus stops are within 160 m. The last stretch is walked on sett paving, the small stone blocks laid through the old town.

Better: a weekday, when the museum stays open through the afternoon.

Avoid: Sunday, when it is closed, and the second half of Saturday.

This is an indoor museum in a stone palace, so the weather outside makes no difference to it. A wet day in Funchal is a good day to use it.