Palheiro Gardens, a family-friendly year-round destination

Rustic Grotto

Water is the mainspring of any garden. At Palheiro, mountain springs are collected by levadas and fed into two large reservoirs at the top of the property. The passage of water through the garden is celebrated by a rustic grotto which feeds into a bubbling brill and then into a series of lozenge-shaped pools edged with tritonias.

Canary Pine

Forest species like oak, beech, chestnut and cedar grow beside exotics like eucalyptus and araucaria pines. The monarch of the garden is a splendid specimen of Araucaria angustifolia, the candelabra tree from Brazil, run close by the Hymenosporum flavum, the Australian jasmine tree. Other noble trees are a huge Californian redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, a magnificent 38-metre-tall Araucaria excelsa from Norfolk Island and a huge Araucaria bidwillii with pineapple-shaped cones.

Sunken Garden

A garden planted with brightly coloured flowers, including gazanias and lampranthus. Here freesias, ixias and nerines seed themselves freely. In the surrounding rockeries are agaves, aloes and dieramas.

Rose Garden

Created in 2007 by Christina Blandy around stone rings salvaged from Banger’s Pillar, a 1798 landmark on the Funchal waterfront demolished despite strong town opposition in 1939. This is planted with old-fashioned roses which are trained up the arches.

Jardim da Senhora

The lower garden is formed of neatly clipped topiary which looks like clusters of peahens with fantails. This part of the garden is perhaps the most visually impressive of the Quinta, with a wide range of exotic plants and trees combining to provide the visitor a rare opportunity to rest and reflect on one of the many park benches.

The Tea House

Opened from 10h00 to 17h00 for snacks and lunch, in partnership with the 5* Relais & Chateaux Hotel, The Casa Velha do Palheiro.

Farmland

Our seasonal residents

View point over the bay of Funchal

This area was the most affected by the fires in 2012, but the replanting program has allowed the surrounding forests to recover. Further plantings of endemic plants of Madeira surrounding the park benches included the estreleira (argyranthemum pinnatifidum), the maçaroco (echium candicans), and the figueira-do-inferno (Euphorbia piscatoria Aiton).

Palheiro Gardens, a family-friendly year-round destination

Rustic Grotto

Water is the mainspring of any garden. At Palheiro, mountain springs are collected by levadas and fed into two large reservoirs at the top of the property.
The passage of water through the garden is celebrated by a rustic grotto which feeds into a bubbling brill and then into a series of lozenge-shaped pools edged with tritonias.

Centennial Trees

Forest species like oak, beech, chestnut and cedar grow beside exotics like eucalyptus and araucaria pines.
The monarch of the garden is a splendid specimen of Araucaria angustifolia, the candelabra tree from Brazil, run close by the Hymenosporum flavum, the Australian jasmine tree.
Other noble trees are a huge Californian redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, a magnificent 38-metre-tall Araucaria excelsa from Norfolk Island and a huge Araucaria bidwillii with pineapple-shaped cones.

Sunken Garden

Rose Garden

Jardim da Senhora

The Tea House

Opened from 10h00 to 17h00 for snacks and lunch, in partnership with the 5* Relais & Chateaux Hotel, The Casa Velha do Palheiro.

Farmland

Our seasonal residents.

View point over the bay of Funchal

Palheiro Gardens Opening Times & Prices

Open Daily from 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:00)
Closed December 25th and January 1st

How to get there

Entry Price: €11 (Adults)
Children: Free
15 - 17 years: €6
Groups: of 5 pax: €10
Special price for Madeira residents: €6
(must present proof of residence)

30 days Pass: €150 30 single entry are valid for 12 months from the date of receipt, making them flexible and allowing the recipient to choose which time of year they would like to visit.

Kindly note that while this ticket is valid for entry to the gardens, it is not valid for Palheiro events and festivals.

Palheiro Gardens Slopes of Eden

The Palheiro Gardens are open throughout the year and welcome visitors. One of the most beautiful gardens in Madeira Island, nowadays they are part of the Palheiro Estate.....

The Gardener's Garden

Palheiro Gardens have been featured in the book "The Gardener's Garden" by Phaidon press. The book contains a selection of 250 noteworthy gardens from around the world...

The Garden Species

As a long time Island resident I was brought up on the story that the Madeira Trocaz pigeon lived exclusively in the laurel forests on the north of the island...

The gardens at "Quinta do Palheiro" are famous not only for the variety of plants that grow there but for the beauty of their setting in the hills to the east of Funchal, the capital of Madeira.

Madeira has long been called the "Garden Isle" and it seems that almost anything will grow in its fertile soil.

In Funchal many tropical plants have found a home and the visitor can see Hibiscus and Bougainvillea in flower almost all the year round along with Jacaranda, Spathodeas, Erythrinas and Bauhinias in their season.

The Palheiro Gardens are situated at about 500 meters above sea level. The original owner, the Conde de Carvalhal, planted many trees on the estate and laid the foundation to the Camellia collection; some of his early plantings can still be seen today.

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