Two things run at once under one name. Wooden chalets take over Avenida Arriaga and the gardens beside it, selling bolo de mel, roast chestnuts, poncha, licores, crafts and decorations from late afternoon until late at night. Around them the city lights the whole centre, the seafront and the streets climbing the hill behind it, which is the part people actually travel for. The Mercado dos Lavradores decorates and trades later than usual, and presépios, the nativity scenes, go up in churches, gardens and shop windows across Funchal.
- CostNothing to walk through, and the lights are the main event. You pay only for what you eat and drink at the chalets, a few euros a time, and the smaller stands want cash.
- WhereAvenida Arriaga and the gardens beside it, in the middle of Funchal, with the lit streets running from the seafront up through the old town.
- Getting thereOn foot from anywhere central. Parts of the centre close to traffic in the evenings and the underground car parks fill, so a bus or a taxi beats driving in and looking for a space.
- Best timeAfter dark, once the illuminations are on. Early in the season and early in the week are the nights you can move on the avenue, the week before Christmas is not.
- With childrenYes, and the presépios are the part built for them: some are the size of a room, with running water and moving figures.
- If it rainsThe chalets stay open and the avenue has trees and arcades to stand under. Funchal in December is mild rather than cold, so a jumper and a light jacket is usually the whole answer.
This is an evening walk rather than a destination, and an hour of it is enough. Start at the seafront end of the avenue when the lights come on, work up through the chalets with something in your hand, and carry on into the old town where the lit streets are narrower and the crowd thins out. A table on a terrace over the avenue costs no more than it does in August and is the easiest way to watch the whole thing go past. If you are choosing nights, come before the last week: the avenue is at its best when you can still stop in the middle of it.
What people ask us about Christmas in Funchal
How long do the lights stay up?
Madeira keeps Christmas until the Epiphany in January rather than putting it away after New Year, so the illuminations and the chalets both run well into the new year. The dates listed for this event are the published ones for this season.
What should I eat at the chalets?
Bolo de mel, the dark honey and spice cake made for Christmas here, and a cup of poncha to hold while you walk. Roast chestnuts and licor de tangerina are the other two things every stand seems to have.
Is it like a German Christmas market?
No. It is smaller, it is warm enough to stand outside in a jumper, and the pull is the illuminations across the whole city rather than the stalls. Treat the chalets as somewhere to eat on a walk rather than as the event itself.
Which night should I come?
Any night after dark once the lights are on, and earlier in the season if you want room to walk. The exception is the night of Noite do Mercado, when the entire city is out until morning and the market district is the busiest it gets all year. That one has its own page at /events/noite-do-mercado-funchal.
