All info is as of Feb 2008. Details: Garden open daily 9.30am-6pm, Museum open daily 10.30am-3.30pm. Palace closed to public. Children under 15 are admitted free. If you want to visit one garden while in Madeira, you could do a lot worse than choose Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. There is an element of fun here that you may not get... more

You can take a cable car from Funchal to the top of the hill and to the entrace of the gardens. They are designed mostly in Japanese style with appropriate fish ponds and architecture. I thought it was reasonably small for my pace but for more leisurely couples should be perfect. more

Well worth a few hour visit. You can access via the cable car which is along the sea fron about 5 min walk from the centre of Funcal. An allincousive return trip on the cable car and entrance to the gardens is 24 euros. We chose to just do the single trip and come down on the toboggans. My suggestion... more

I'm not a big fan of gardens but this was well worth the entrance fee. It was a garden with many different interesting sections such as the Japanese garden. It was nice a cool as it had lots of shade with superb views. The cable car trip to get to it is also an experience. From Monte you can go... more

Sorry about the title - i think i've had too much madeiran wine. These gardens are well worth a visit and as a previous reviewer said i don't think you need to be a gardener to appreciate the beauty of them. unfortunately the house is out of bounds but the views are spectacular. Well worth a visit. more

We went up in the cable car and bought a combi ticket for the gardens as well. These are truly beautiful gardens. There are waterfalls galore, statues, decorated tiles, views, flowers, birds, everything! Dotted around the garden was pieces of architectural salvage which just add to the place. I don't think you even need to like gardens or gardening to... more

I have visited Funchal six times in the past six years and, each time, have visited the Monte Gardens. Throughout the year the gardens are beautiful, I have visited in both July/August and December - they are different but beautiful! There is a museum in the gardens with a great display of African art and ,on the lower level, a... more