2 Best Sights in Madeira, Portugal

In his former home, this small museum is dedicated to the life of explorer Christopher Columbus. You can visit his restored kitchen and bedroom, look at maps of his journeys, and gape at treasures from a Dutch boat that sank off Porto Santo in 1724.

Once the home of a Genoese wine-shipping family, the 17th-century building and grounds of this museum are as impressive as its collection of antique furniture, paintings, drawings, sculpture, and ceramics. Of special interest are the palanquins—lounge chairs once used to carry the grand ladies of colonial Madeira around town. Don't miss the small garden filled with ancient stone columns, window frames, arches, and tombstone fragments rescued from buildings that have been demolished around the island. It also has an alluring café.