Finding the place to catch the cable car was confusing as there is another cable car in town. We finally took a taxi there. But once there, it was well worth it. I'm a gardener and have seen many gardens but this was especially nice and well laid out with great views. We took the cable car up to Monte but ended up taking the other cable car down to return to city area without a return taxi drive. Good restaurant close to cable car drop off and views in Monte. Plus another smaller garden. Interesting history in Palace.

Firstly, this is NOT the cable car from Funchal to Monte. However, you can ride THIS cable car from Monte down a rural valley to the botanical gardens. It’s great but check it is the cable car you want before booking. We actually rode from Funchal to Monte on the OTHER cable car then walked downhill a little way before using this ticket to ride down to the botanical gardens then back up to Monte.

It was a bit confusing as I thought we’d bought tickets for the cable car from Funchal Centre TO the botanical gardens.However in the end it all worked out fine.We took the 31A bus up from the centre of Funchal then walked through the gardens to the cable car which is a nice ride higher up to Monte. This confusion must happen a lot so could be better explained at point of purchase.