Palace monte portugal. NB-Garden
The island of Madeira is literally full of different parks and gardens. Portugal's wonderful weather has contributed to this prevalence. One of the parks that you should definitely visit is the Tropical Garden of the Monte Palace.
A little about the park
The interesting park is located at an altitude of 600 meters right on the mountain slope. A huge number of different exotic plants grow here. Guests of the park can see in person such rare flora as orchids and azaleas from the Himalayas and heather from Scotland.
There is a lake in the center of the Tropical Garden of the Monte Palace. Its permanent residents are Icelandic and Scandinavian white swans, as well as Australian and Tasmanian black swans. Peacocks brought from Lisbon proudly strut throughout the garden. Another pride of the park is the palace located on the top of the mountain.
Note to tourists
There are several ways to get to the Tropical Garden of the Monte Palace. The fastest and easiest way is to take the funicular. The station is located on the coast. The journey will take 15 minutes. During this time you can have time to admire the city from above. The length of the tape is 3700 meters.
Once you reach the top of the mountain, you are given a booklet at the entrance. It is recommended to use it, as it contains several routes designed according to the different interests of guests. Naturally, each route has a certain intensity and different travel times. Of course, you can walk on your own, so to speak, haphazardly, but in this case there is a risk of missing out. interesting places in the garden.
The “Tropical Garden of the Monte Palace” on the island of Madeira pleases not only with its flora and fauna, but also with its cultural part. Thus, here you can find Portuguese ceramics, as well as a collection of African sculptures along the paths, as well as in the museum building. The park tells the story of Portugal. This is done on various painted boards hung along many paths. The drawings are somewhat reminiscent of pictures from a comic book magazine. They tell the story of who came to power, how, who killed whom and in what way.
On some paths you can find azulejos, a traditional Portuguese painting technique. The cultural part of the park also includes a corner where abstract and antique sculptures are located.
However, the “Tropical Garden of the Monte Palace” is still a plant park, and therefore for the most part people come here to admire the flora. It is worth noting that the first spring month– not entirely suitable for visiting the park. Most flowers have not yet awakened from their winter sleep; only a few are blooming.
In the park there are various small water reservoirs, where mainly aquatic plants are found. There is also the Eastern Garden - there you can find the national plants of this region, including dense thickets of bamboo. This corner of the garden was created by one of its owners in order to pay tribute to Buddhism. Oriental decor was used to decorate it: Buddhist sculptures, dragon figurines, guard dogs, pagodas.
While walking through the garden, if you follow the right paths, you can stumble upon cool grottoes. In the summer months, tired of the heat, these grottoes provide an opportunity to enjoy the coolness. Many grottoes are long, however, all passages deeper are closed with bars.
There is a cafe in the garden where you can have a snack and then continue exploring this amazing and beautiful park on the island of Madeira.
The garden is located on the top of Mount Monte, the slopes of which are densely built up
city houses of Funchal. Simplest
The way to get there is to use the funicular, the station of which is located on the embankment, not far from the center.
The line, a little more than 3,700 meters long, runs over the entire city and in itself is very good
a fifteen-minute attraction. Actually, I was so carried away by photographing the city from a bird's eye view that I completely
drained the batteries before we even got there. In general, as we walk through the garden, periodically
By removing the batteries and performing various shamanic actions with them, we managed to take a couple of dozen frames.
In general, having accidentally looked (after returning home) into the booklet that was given to us along with the tickets, we
We were surprised to discover that there was not only an excellent map of the territory, but also different routes -
compiled according to interests. For example, a route for those interested in flora and fauna. Or a route for those interested
history and art. Or combined - including both the first and second. Of course, all to varying degrees.
saturation and with different transit times. We wandered there completely haphazardly for a couple of hours, by chance
choosing turns, and it seemed like they were able to inspect most of them. Although, judging by the same map, something is still
missed.
Personally, I was generally very pleased with the eclecticism of the cultural part of the route. In addition to traditional Portuguese
ceramics in the Tropical Garden, a very good collection of African sculptures was discovered - partly along the paths and
in the form of a rather impressive exhibition in the museum building. However, there was no longer enough battery charge for the museum itself.
From the entrance to the garden there is a path leading to the central pond, with ceramic panels telling about
heroic Portuguese history. We, however, immediately turned into the thickets - it was more interesting to wander around the more lively
parts of the garden, and here, as we noticed, mostly pensioners wander around.
The history of Portugal on ceramic panels looks like a colorful comic book - even without knowing the language, it becomes so
it is clear who gave birth to whom, who poisoned or stabbed whom, who conquered whom, and who ultimately buried whom.
In addition to African motifs and historical comics, some paths are decorated with works made in
traditional Portuguese ceramic painting technique.
As far as flora is concerned, March is probably not the best month to visit - although Madeira is rightfully
called the flower island, early spring flowering plant units. But we did see something.
The park also contains small pools with aquatic plants.
Or dense thickets of bamboo - mainly in the Japanese part of the garden.
We were particularly pleased with the peacocks, who strolled quite calmly next to the pavilion of the four elements. Ibid.
You can admire other birds, but the rest are not kept so freely - they sit together in a large cage.
Actually, the Monte Palace itself - during the history of its existence, the building managed to change many owners, currently
At the moment, the Berardo Foundation is located here, an organization that is dedicated to the preservation and development of the garden.
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The palace and tropical garden of Monte are a rare and worth a visit a landmark in Madeira that is not natural, but man-made. And this is true: for so beautiful island It’s just a pity to waste time on buildings and museums; here you want to climb deep into the dizzying mountains, wander along the amazing surf edge cut by rocks, study ancient relict forests, expecting that you are about to stumble upon the cave of a prehistoric man. But the Monte Palace is an exception.
On the map of the island abandoned far into the ocean, the palace appeared in the 18th century, when the local lands were acquired by the English consul Charles Murray. It was thanks to him that a beautiful estate appeared here, which he named Quinta do Prazer. Already in 1897, it was bought by Alfred Guillermo Rodrigues, who significantly rebuilt the estate. Being inspired German castles from the distant banks of the Rhine, he orders the construction of a residence palace, later converted into the Monte Palace Hotel. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was one of the most fashionable and at the same time secluded places to relax; many great people of this world came here in search of peace and tranquility.
But in the midst of World War II, in 1943, Senor Rodrigues dies, and his heirs subsequently do not want to continue the profitable hotel business. The hotel is closed and becomes the property of Caixa Económia do Funchal. Afterwards, in 1987, businessman Jose Manuel Rodrigues Berardo bought it, and the amazing Monte Palace Tropical Garden - the tropical garden of the Monte Palace - reappeared on the map of the island.
The palace has remained unchanged since the ancient times of Alfred Guillermo Rodrigues, but the park has changed dramatically in better side. Amazing and rare plants for this strip were planted here from different countries world, for example, heather from Scotland, azaleas from Belgium, laurels from Canary Islands. Cedars, laurels and ferns, which are familiar to this area, also grow in abundance.
In the Tropical Garden of Monte, amazing and rare plants for this strip were planted from different countries of the world, for example, heather from Scotland, azaleas from Belgium, laurels from the Canary Islands.
In addition, two very beautiful artificial lakes were created and stocked with fish in the Monte garden. Black and white swans swim along it allegorically. The first represent Australia and New Zealand, their bright ones gather - Iceland and Scandinavia. But all kinds of stones, marble figures of dragons, ancient coats of arms, intricate niches and pagodas, sculptures and figures of Buddhas, lanterns from different parts of the world add special piquancy to the park, where, by the way, peacocks and fighting cocks from Indonesia stroll. Moreover, these are not just blocks or tasteless remodel gazebos. Here you can see a collection of ceramic tiles from the 15th to 20th centuries, as well as a whimsical panel of 166 terracotta tiles entitled "The Adventures of the Portuguese in Japan."
The three-story Monte Palace deserves special mention. Today, within its walls there is a museum, on two floors of which sculptures are exhibited, and on the third - a collection of minerals from different parts of the world. For example, the exhibition “African Passions” is famous for contemporary sculpture from Zimbabwe (1966-1969). The exhibition “Secrets of Mother Nature” demonstrates one of the best collections of minerals from Brazil, Portugal, South Africa, Zambia, Peru, and Argentina.
Another attraction of the Monte Palace is natural Observation deck at an altitude of 600 m, offering magnificent views of Funchal and the lead-blue Atlantic Ocean.
Palace and Garden of Monte
Coordinates
Address: Caminho do Monte, 174, Funchal. Phone: +351 291 780 800.
How to get there: There are two scenic ways to find yourself in one of Portugal's most beautiful gardens. The first one is cable car, the journey takes about 20 minutes, the fare is 11 EUR one way, round trip 16 EUR. The second option is by car or buses No. 20, 21, 22 and 48 (fare 2.5 EUR). Moreover, they say that along a regular road the views are no less breathtaking than from the cable car cabin. There are several entrances to the park - at the cable car and at the bus stop.
Prices on the page are for April 2019.
The cost of visiting the park is 12.50 EUR (including wine tasting on the terrace), children under 15 years old are free. You can ride along the powerful paths of the park in a small trailer, which will cost another 4 EUR. You can enter the palace museum for free (but it is impossible to get there without going through the garden and 12.50 EUR). Another local fun is the descent from the park on a wicker sleigh, which will be pushed to the serpentine by two hefty men. Safe, but guaranteed to increase adrenaline in the blood, cost 25 EUR.
Dec. 27, 2013 10:42 am Madeira. Monte, Tropical Garden.Like any decent seaside city, Funchal has its own botanical garden. But the Madeirans decided not to limit themselves to one thing - and really, if so much grows on the island, then why not make more gardens?! In general, I don’t know exactly what their motivation was, but it so happened that in addition to the botanical garden, in Funchal there is also a Tropical Garden, located in the village (or is it now just a district? You can’t tell) Monte, high on the slope , along which the city rises from the sea.
The easiest way to get to the Tropical Garden is by taxi. You can also take the bus. But the most popular way among tourists is, of course, the funicular, which runs from the embankment almost to the garden gates. It really offers wonderful views, which I wrote about in previous posts.
You can also go down using any of the methods listed above, but be careful! The tropical garden closes at 18:00 and the last cable car leaves at 17:40! Soon after this, the last taxi leaves, Monte is empty, and then you will have to either walk or take a bus down. We, of course, found ourselves in exactly this situation :) However, it is quite possible to wait for the bus.
A thousand-year-old olive tree, they say, planted by the Romans. Not Madeira, of course - the legions of Rome did not have time to visit here. The tropical garden received it as a gift for Portugal’s active participation in some kind of conservation program. Doesn't matter. The tree is really impressive
Along some of the park's paths, there are mosaics that briefly tell the history of the Portuguese kings. On most of the mosaics you will certainly find a picture of the “war with the Moors”. One of the rare museum places where you can find signatures in English!
The Tropical Garden also has a collection of minerals and precious stones, but we didn’t go to see it
The garden has the shape of a funnel, at the bottom of which there is a palace and a pond, and the slopes look something like this
A place for some picnics. Here are the different agricultural tools used in Madeira in the past
Palm tree stump from which something is already growing again
Why I love the Portuguese is that they don’t forget dogs when they erect sculptures and monuments
Martians are among us :)
Classics of the genre
Palace of Monte. For most of its non-museum life, it served as an expensive hotel.
In front of the palace there is a small exhibition of sculptures
The pond near the palace is inhabited, as usual, by swans and ducks
The pond, by our standards, is not large, but beautifully decorated
An island at the edge of the pond is home to sculptures of animals and people.
Some seem to be having a dialogue
The most valuable and stupid thing in the collection, this sculpture from some ancient century somewhat spoils the view with its glass sarcophagus
The pond even has its own fort! True, water pours from his cannons, but he looks stern
View of the pond and the palace at once
Another small pond covered with duckweed
"Eastern Garden"
The rightful King and owner of all local surroundings!
There is also something to see outside the park. Firstly, Monte is located on one side of a deep ravine, the slopes of which are covered with forest. This is very a nice place, especially when the correct lighting is installed. Secondly, there is a rather interesting chapel and church nearby.
Station of the second funicular. He goes from Monte to Botanical Garden. Yes, yes, to get to the last one, you need to ride as many as two cable cars! Here a taxi will definitely be faster and cheaper
It’s already high enough here that the clouds touch the mountain and get stuck on it
Monument to the last Emperor of Austria, who died here in exile
Here we need to tell you a little. Once upon a time, at the beginning of the 20th century, there was a line from Funchal to Monte Railway. Of course, a special mountain one. And this building was a station, as evidenced by a sign with the name of the city and its height. However, one day a steam locomotive carrying carriages along this road (by the way, it was the only railway in Madeira) exploded, unable to withstand the load. After that, the road was dismantled, the station was abandoned, and when the cable car was built, they completely forgot about it. At some point, however, according to old guidebooks and a sign next to the building, they renovated it and started holding events there (tea parties are mentioned). But then, apparently, something went wrong again, and we were greeted by buildings that were again abandoned, in poor condition and without any signs of use. In general, we saw Monte completely empty: on central square where this station is located, we did not meet a single person, neither local nor tourist, only a pack of stray dogs ( a rare event for Portugal). The first sign of life was a bus that arrived about 10-15 minutes later (without passengers).
This article was conceived by me as beautiful))) and I specifically tried to time it to coincide with our Women's Day.
But it's still about Madeira).
Today I invite you to visit a tropical park.
In addition to the general words that the park is very beautiful, I was advised to come there early in the morning and spend the day there. Because "time flies by." This is true.
The tropical park is located on a mountain just above Funchal in the village of Monte. Actually, to be precise, the park is called: "Tropical Garden of the Monte Palace."
The history of this wonderful place:
Back in the 18th century, the English consul Charles Murray liked the plot of land south of the church in this village. It's good to be a rich consul. He bought this plot of land and turned it into a wonderful corner, which he called “the land of joy.” (my translation is approximate, but that’s the gist).
In the 19th century (1897), this land came into the possession of Alfredo Guiherme Rodrigues and the new owner built a hotel here. The hotel building looked more like a palace. It was called the Monte Palace Hotel. The hotel was a success. Guests from Portugal and abroad enjoyed staying there. The view from the mountain to the capital's bay alone is worth it. Everything was great, but after the death of the owner in 1943, his family refused to engage in the hotel business and the hotel fell into disrepair, and then closed completely.
For some time, the land and buildings were owned by a credit institution.
And since 1987 there has been a new owner. An entrepreneur with a very difficult name for me.
The tropical park now also includes museums, exhibitions, cafes and many, many wonderful exotic plants.
You can get to the park in a cable car cabin. About twenty minutes and you are already at the entrance. The pleasure costs ten euros. True, if you take a round-trip ticket, you pay fifteen. I don’t know why, but the climb didn’t make much of an impression on me. I admired approximately the same views from the bus window every time I drove from the hotel to Funchal or returned back. 
The photo was taken from the bus window. The glass in the cable car cabin was dirty and I didn’t want to take pictures.
In addition to the cable car, it is possible to get to Monte by an ordinary regular bus. A ticket costs about 2 euros, but believe me, the experience is no less. The roads are narrow, the drivers are cheerful. Bus lines 20, 21, 22 and 48.
There are also taxis. But “our people don’t take a taxi to the bakery.” That's why I don't say anything about the price.
You can enter the park not only from the cable car. There are two more entrances if you come here by bus. The Babosas entrance is just north of the main entrance and another one is Monte on the west side.
To decide and at least roughly estimate financial expenses. Let's do the math. Entrance to the garden also costs 10 euros. Children under 15 years old accompanied by adults are free. The ticket price includes wine tasting on the terrace.
Some of the paved paths in the garden are wet and quite slippery. Except comfortable shoes(I always recommend it) there is another option to avoid slipping. Drive through the garden in a small trailer. This pleasure costs 4 euros.
Visiting museums is free. You can also taste wines on the terrace for free.
If you want, you can go downstairs on a wicker sled after exploring the park. There is such a local fun. Two men are speeding up a sled right on the road, and you are sitting in it and squealing, because the road is serpentine. So, here you still have to pay twenty-five euros.
More information. The tropical garden is open daily from 9:30 to 18 hours. Except December 25.
You can get to the museums from 10 to 16:30
Museums cannot be visited separately from the garden; if you want to go to the museum, buy a ticket to the garden.
In general, it runs. But if you think about it, they also offer a lot for this price.
Everything with dry information is finished.
Imagine we are entering a park. Breathe in. Do you feel it? What kind of air?
What? Cool in the morning? January, winter. Are you wearing a light blouse again? Me too.
You know, let's go to the museum first?
Which? There are several of them here. Shall we start with the hotel?
The hotel itself does not look very presentable. But this has its own charm. You see an ancient palace, like in a fairy tale. Not a very big palace. 
Sculptures meet us already in the alley leading to it. 
I really liked some of them. 
The girl jumping on the rolling pin simply captivated me with her lightness and enthusiasm.
Inside on the ground floor is a collection of minerals and precious stones. On the second there is a collection of sculptures from Zimbabwe.
Beautiful, interesting, entertaining.
Are you tired of admiring the sculptures?
Let's go to the African pavilion. It's in a separate building. You can take photographs here. The figures are quite similar, I’m not an expert, but it’s funny. 
Especially when you get to know the character. Well, for example, monkeys who don’t see, don’t hear and don’t say anything. 
The "Secrets of Nature" pavilion amazed me. I usually take every opportunity to look at minerals; I’ve seen quite a lot. But the samples collected in this pavilion are magnificent.
About seven hundred pieces and all as one, fascinate with their beauty and surprise with their size. From Brazil, Portugal, South Africa, Peru, Argentina and North America.
Amethyst grottoes are especially good. 
Such a bright, rich color, it’s amazing. But this mineral loses its color intensity when in a lit room. Not right away, over time. The surprising thing is that they don’t even prohibit photography there. I walked around the entire pavilion twice. I liked it that way.
It's warmer outside, you can get out of the room.
The tropical garden guide outline shows four routes. Flora and fauna route for 2 hours 30 minutes. The Art route is an hour and a half, mixed (apparently at a gallop) for one hour and you can go around everything by train in just twenty minutes.
I decided to see everything and spent the whole day in the garden.
Right at the entrance I was greeted by ancient olive trees. 
The tropical garden covers an area of 70,000 square meters. I will not be able to describe in detail everything that I saw there within the framework of the article. I was very impressed by the tree ferns. 
It's like they came straight from the pages of a textbook ancient world. I probably wouldn't be surprised if a couple of dinosaurs emerged from the palm forest.
There are a lot of different palm trees in a tropical garden. 
The trees are all wonderful and many are familiar only from pictures or are not familiar at all. 
Well, it’s all the more interesting to watch, but I didn’t even try to remember the names, there are too many to remember.
In the end it doesn't really matter. A festive mood is important today. 
Plants in the garden are collected from all corners globe. Mainly, of course, tropical areas. Silver trees, hydrangeas, clivias from South Africa, azaleas from Belgium, Himalayan orchids, giant sequoias from America, Acacias from Australia.
By the way, Azaleas. I have never seen such huge ones anywhere before. 
But a tropical garden is not only about plants. A wonderful combination of flora and sculptural elements. Here are Portuguese coats of arms from different times and just sculptures. 
Wonderful clivias 
and orchids. 
Angelic trompettes and giant fuchsias. 
And other unfamiliar flowers. 
In fact, the garden is divided into sections according to theme. East End the park is called Laurisilva and is represented by tropical forest. It stretches from the museum pavilions in the north to the terrace in the south. The middle part of the garden is occupied by a palace and a lake. 
To the south of the palace there are orchids and a unique corner of Japan. 
I liked this place the most. 
Elements of Japanese park architecture, small ponds with huge fish. By the way, almost all fish are gold. 
To the west of the palace is a palm farm. 
Under the palm trees, here in the photo is Strelitzia. 
There are just so many palm trees here. 
And further west there is again a pond and again fish.
After wandering through the alleys of the park, we again climb the mountain on the western side. We admire the paintings on the tiles. I read that these are copies of paintings. 
The originals are in national museum in Lisbon. These paintings depict the entire major history of Portugal, from the 15th to the 20th centuries. A person who does not know this story and does not speak Portuguese has nothing left to do but walk and admire, appreciating all this splendor, “yes, it’s beautiful.”
We go around the palace and lake from the north and find ourselves in a Chinese park. 
Well, it seems we've already covered everything. Have you decided how you will return to Funchal?
If by cable car, then we leave where we entered. If you go out the north gate, turn right, you will come to bus 22. If you go left, you will be offered to go down on a wicker sleigh. Like that. 
In both cases, emotions and the release of adrenaline into your blood are guaranteed. Local drivers are risky guys.
P.S. I was pleased to tell you about the park today. Show photos.
May there be many flowers in your life, may it please and surprise you every day.
