Funchal City Day, the best pretext to visit Madeira Island

If you needed a reason to travel to this corner of Paradise, here you have it: Funchal City Day, the best pretext to visit Madeira Island.

This year, Funchal, the first city to be built by the colonists outside the European continent, right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, celebrates its 505th anniversary on August 21st. On this day, in the year 1508, King Manuel I granted the town’s charter, reason to celebrate even now, hundreds of years later.

You are most welcome to join in the fun and excitement. There are going to be parades, food, drink, music and a lot of excitement. You have the chance to make friends with the locals, who are considered to be the most kind among Europeans. At the Town Hall, you can attend a Solemn Assembly, while Thanksgiving Mass is a time for people to meet at the church.

Sports, music and recreation are also in store for the locals and the international visitors alike to enjoy.

Apart from the events to enjoy this summer, Funchal city is an amazing tourist destination. The atmosphere is very warm and pleasant, the architecture offers pleasant lines and vivid colors and the natural landscape is utterly breathtaking, the island stretching in the sun surrounded  by the seas and the deep cool forests of the Laurisilva. Hikes around the levadas are a very popular option among the more “sporty” visitors of Madeira.

But for those seeking cultural delight, there is also the option of visiting the city with its many highlights. The Colegio dos Jesuitas is one of the most famous destinations, along with the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte, a symbol of the city.

In Funchal, gardens are a great motif, so you can always take a walk along the Santa Catarina Park, the Botanical Gardens or the Presidential Palace Garden. For transport, you can rent a car in Madeira for a very accessible price.