Monte Video 1 - A Brief Introduction

The video introduction to Monte (2 minutes 44 seconds) gives you a basic tour around this popular tourist attraction in Madeira. A short look around the Municipal Gardens gives you a flavour of the variety of flowers and vegetation that this mid-Atlantic island has to offer. The flora on display varies with the time of year, but if you like the Municipal Gardens, a visit to the nearby Monte Palace Tropical Gardens could be just for you. An entrance fee is payable for the latter.

The Nossa Senhora Do Monte church (our Lady of Monte church) was built in 1818. The video takes a brief look at the church and its surrounds. If you visit Monte, take time to go into the church and explore the fascinating history that it portrays. Find the final resting place of one of the Crown Heads of Europe. Leaving the imposing building behind you, descend the 74 basalt steps to a small square. Here you can watch the carreiros, or toboggan sledge operators, starting out on the wicker basket journey towards Funchal City centre.

Finally, we sample a bit of impromptu traditional entertainment. Perhaps this performance sums up Monte perfectly; a Madeira tourist attraction that has an veneer of innocence about it, but underlying this is the stark fact that holidaymakers bring income to the location and the locals have adapted accordingly.