Shopping in Madeira

Owned by the Blandy family since 1811, the Old Madeira Wine Lodge in the centre of Funchal is visited by some 200,000 people per year and acts as an excellent show place for many of the finest wines of Madeira. It also includes a special tasting room solely devoted to Frasqueira-Vintage Madeiras. Open from monday to friday 10:00 - 18:30.

You may visit the factory and taste as many wines as you like on a complimentary basis and you are not pressured to buy!

Bordal is one of the oldest manufacturers and exporters of Madeiran embroidery. The fabric, mainly linen and cotton, is worked by the craftswomen, creating intricate textures. You may visit the factory at this address where you can see the different stages of this art: the design, washing and pressing of the final product.

Among the several pieces made are pillows, sheets, table cloths and baby clothes.

The Mercado dos Lavradores, is held Monday through Saturday from 7am to 7pm, but the best time to visit is in the morning. Flower vendors dressed in typical Madeiran garb of corselets, leather boots, and striped skirts will generally let you photograph them if you ask for permission -- especially if you buy some flowers. The market is filled with stalls selling island wicker baskets, crafts, fruits everything from yams to papaws, and vegetables, and offers Madeira's largest array of that day's fish catch.

You can buy tropical (although expensive) flowers such as birds of paradise and orchids.

If you want to take flowers home, you can ask for them to be boxed and they can go in the hold of the plane with your luggage.

Founded in 1875, the Santo Antonio Factory is an ex-libris of sweets. Here at this traditional factory you may find several kinds of biscuits, Madeira's very own famous honey cake, cookies, fennel and eucalyptus sweets among other specialities.

Here you may also find several types of jam such as passion fruit, mango and banana jam.

 Recently opened, Dolce Vita is located in the centre of Funchal. It has around 70 shops (international and national) as well as many cafes, restaurants and bars. It is next to the Santa Caterina Park and just a few minutes away from the Marina. There is also a Health Club and a car park.

Open Hours: 9:00 to 22:00 everyday.

Located to the west of the city centre in direction of the village of Câmara de Lobos. With its modern gallery-style architecture on several levels, grouping around a central tower and open square, the Forum Madeira also boasts an attractive roof garden from where visitors can enjoy stunning views over the Atlantic Ocean. With 86 shops, including 17 restaurants, cafés and snack bars, 6 cinemas, car park and a hypermarket, the Forum Madeira provides everything for a modern and extremely pleasant shopping experience

At the factory Patricio & Gouveia, you can see the staff making stencil patterns on embroidery and checking for the quality of materials. Of the several embroidery factories of Funchal, this is not only the most famous, but also the best place to buy embroidery because many of the routine souvenir shops scattered throughout the island sell embroidery from Taiwan and other places.

Oliveiras Wine began in 1820 with João Pereira d’Oliveira, and is one of the oldest companies which has offered an unparalleled variety of old vintages wines that date back to the 19th century.

In the mid 1970s, the company started to market wine under its own label, but continued to sell wines to other companies, like the MWC. Wines sold the MWC include the 1882 Verdelho, 1900 Moscatel, 1910 Sercial and 1910 Maldasia, and the company has been successful in acquiring wines from others producers.