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Welcome

Welcome to Madeira

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  Welcome to this site for visitors to Madeira. I hope it helps you to find places of interest on the island and to visit them. For general information on transport, see Getting Around and for what you need to know before you set out on foot, see Walking . Information on specific activities and destinations can be found in the menu. The main focus is on places you can visit in a day trip from Funchal, but we'll also look at some further-flung options if you're a repeat visitor or if you're staying for some time. NOTE: The official tourism website has been reorganised. For up-to-date information on the status of the official walking routes, check the page [you can change the language at the top] provided by the Institute for Forests and the Conservation of Nature ( IFCN ).
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Natural History Museum Closed May 4-8

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  The Natural History Museum is temporarily closed from 4th to 8th May as a result of the need to treat bugs in the woodwork.
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Music in Museums

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  There's a series of concerts  taking place roughly monthly in four of Funchal's museums: the Cidade do Açúcar Museum , the Henrique e Francisco Franco Museum , the Natural History Museum and Monte Station . The programme can be found here where tickets can also be purchased.  Alternatively, tickets (5 euros) can be purchased from the ticket office at the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias.
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Flower Festival April 27 - May 21

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  The preparations are in full swing for the annual Madeira Flower Festival, which runs from 27th to May 21st, with the stage and stalls springing up along the Avenida Arriaga.  The daily events mostly take place in the Avenida Arriaga or the nearby concert stage.  There are now posters in the street with a detailed event timetable. The Wall of Hope event (in which children add flowers to symbolise peace) takes place in the Praça do Município on 29th April between 9:00 and 11:00. The main Flower Parade is on 30th April at 4:30pm along the Avenida do Mar. Find a link to the full programme on the Visit Madeira website.
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New Airport Bus Timetable

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  Along with the arrival of Summer Time on Sunday, 26th March, there will be a new timetable for the airport bus service starting on Monday, 27th March and adding a few extra journeys. The new timetable is here - which is the same place as the old timetable: for now, you click on a yellow box at the top of the page to select the present or forthcoming timetable. SAM (the bus operator) have also announced they're unable to update their mobile app to reflect the new timetable, so use the website. The new timetable will also be posted on the airport bus stops when it comes into force.
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Queues at Cabo Girão

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According to the local press, the introduction of entrance charges for the Cabo Girão viewing point have led to queues of up to 45 minutes as arriving tourists scrabble for change and wrestle with uncooperative turnstiles. There are plans to roll out entrance charges to other popular visitor attractions,  partly to recoup some of the operating costs, but also to help manage increasing visitor numbers. Hopefully lessons will be learned before the scheme is extended.
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