Whaling Museum of Madeira

Every visitor is handed a headset at the ticket desk, and the museum is built around it. The audio guide triggers by position: stand in front of a section and it plays, move on and the track changes. The opening part covers Madeira's whaling era and casts the crews as heroes; the brutality of the work goes largely unsaid. The last room is the strongest — models of the animals living in the water off Madeira, plus films on marine life and on how the island was formed. Some of the displays and headphones are worn. Allow an hour for the full circuit.

• Allow an hour. The audio circuit is long, and rushing it leaves most of the museum unexplained.
• The audio guide is automatic. It switches tracks by position, so stand still while a section plays.
• Some fittings are worn. Displays and headphones show their age, and a few are damaged.
• The opening section honours the whalers. The tone is celebratory, which not everyone will want.
• Toilets are on site, and a café at the rear serves snacks and drinks.

The museum stands by the water in Caniçal, and most people drive. Its own car park is at the door, about 40 m from the entrance, with a second car park a little further along the street. Arriving by bus leaves a walk of roughly 260 m from the nearest stop. There is no climb and no trail on the last stretch: you park and walk in.

Better: pair the visit with the PR8 walk, before or after — the museum works well as the indoor half of a day on the eastern tip of the island.

Avoid: turning up with less than an hour left before closing. The audio guide runs the whole route at its own pace and cannot be hurried, so a short visit means walking out mid-commentary.