Funchal is the capital of Madeira.

One of the major attractions of Funchal are the cable cars that take you to some tourist attractions.

The cable car from the seaside in Funchal to Monte up the Hill is very popular with travellers and so get there as early as possible in order to avoid a long queue. There is a queue to buy tickets and then another separate queue for the cable cars. It takes about 15 minutes to get to Monte up the hill.

Here you can visit the extensive tropical gardens with their wonderful flowers, lake, and statuery. The church of Nossa Senhora houses the tomb of Karl, the last of the Hapsburgs. People can also experience the toboggan ride down the hill though there will likely be a queue for this too, perhaps for an hour or more according to the reports I heard.

Another attraction is the Botanical Gardens (as in the picture) which are accessible via another less popular cable car – indeed I was on my own in my car in both directions without having to wait. This car passes over ravines rather than the rooftops of Funchal and I heard birds singing for the whole journey. These gardens are less popular but no less impressive, including the cactus garden and the ‘choreographed’ garden.