Jardi Tropical Monte Palace and Jardins do Palheiro

Friday July 26, 2019 Day 15

It rained in the night and we got up to the shutters banging in the wind. Beach day was off so Plan B was ‘gardens’. We went to both Jardim Tropical Monte Palace and Jardins do Palheiro, two very different gardens. Madeira not only has 3 world class botanical gardens but numerous beautifully landscaped parks.

Monte Palace occupy an area of 70,000 m2 and showcases exotic plants and trees from around the world. In the 18th century the British consul bought property south of Monte Church and transformed it into a beautiful estate. A new owner in 1897 built a palatial house that was later turned into a hotel which had sweeping views of the Bay of Funchal. In 1942 the hotel closed and the estate was bought in 1987 and donated to the newly formed Associacao de Coleccoes which began the labour intensive task of not only bring back but significantly improving the existing garden.

The community of Monte is up, very up, the hill overlooking Funchal. Then there’s the museums…it has an African sculpture museum and a rock and gem museum to start with. The art, in various forms, carries on down through the gardens. It has indigenous gardens, two oriental gardens and a classical garden all with the backdrop of Funchal and the Atlantic Ocean.

After considering if we were on garden overload, we decided to carry on to a garden near our home, the Jardins do Palheiro. The garden was the grounds of an estate that had probably seen better days but had a collection of amazing trees as well as English style gardens that could have used a little work. The highlight for Lucas was the tadpoles and frogs. Lots of them in the garden ponds along with lots of koi. It was a very relaxing peaceful end to the day.