3 Best Sights in Madeira, Portugal

The village of Monte is home to one of Madeira's oldest and most eccentric attractions: a snowless sled ride down the mountain. The toboggan sleds were first created to carry supplies from Monte to Funchal. Nowadays the rides are just for fun, and no visitor to Madeira should miss out on this white-knuckle adventure.

Dressed in white and wearing goatskin boots with soles made of rubber tires, drivers line up on the street below the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte. Resembling big wicker baskets, the sleds have wooden runners that are greased with pig fat so they'll go even faster. Two drivers run alongside the sled, controlling it with ropes as it races downhill on a 10-minute trip halfway to Funchal. At the end of the ride there are several souvenir shops where you can pick up a photograph of yourself taken by a sneaky photographer shooting you somewhere on the ride. To get back to Funchal, walk about 1 km (½ mile) or take one of the many waiting taxis.

This colorful garden is known around the world, and for good reason. Tiled panels recall the adventures of Portuguese explorers, pagodas and gateways lend touches of Asia, and cannons pour their salvos of water from a stone galleon in a lake. The garden was once part of a luxury hotel that closed in 1943 and languished for years. Fortunately, millionaire entrepreneur José Manuel Rodrigues Berardo bought the property in 1987 and transformed it into the garden you see today.

A peek into the cool interior of this hilltop church reveals several ornate carved golden altar pieces, a grand organ, and gilded chapels decorated with colorful azulejo tiles. The tiny statue above the altar was found by a shepherdess in the nearby town of Terreira da Luta in the 15th century and has become the patron saint of Madeira. The church also contains the tomb of Emperor Charles I of Austria, the last Hapsburg monarch. He was exiled to Madeira, developed pneumonia, and died on the island in 1922. Standing in front of the church rewards you with dramatic views of the city and ocean.