Funchal Cable Car

Fares And Hours At A Glance

Children aged 7-14 pay half price. That is the only concession published on the operator's price page. There is no student fare, no senior fare and no family ticket on this line.

E-tickets bought online are valid for 60 days after purchase, so you can buy ahead of a trip without pinning yourself to a day.

The 08:45 Versus 09:00 Opening Question

The operator's own pages disagree on the opening time. One page says the line starts at 08:45. Another says 09:00.

Both pages agree on everything else. The price-page hours of 08:45-17:45 are the ones we print, and both pages agree 17:45 is the last boarding. If you turn up between 08:45 and 09:00, treat the line as possibly not yet running and plan to wait a few minutes.

This matters most for early risers hoping to beat the queues. From mid-morning onwards the discrepancy makes no practical difference.

Weather And Breakdown Rule

If the return trip becomes impossible because of weather, a power failure or a breakdown, holders of valid tickets get alternative transport back or a 50% refund. The operator wrote this into its own terms rather than leaving it to goodwill, because the line runs on an exposed 3.2 km cable up an Atlantic hillside where wind and low cloud are routine, not rare. This is written into the operator's terms, so the worst-case scenario on a cloudy day is covered either way, ride or refund.

It is one of the quieter arguments for buying a return only when you genuinely intend to ride down, since a return you cannot use is not covered by this rule, only a return the weather blocks.

Three Routings Compared

The door-to-door figures below are our estimates built on the operator's 18-minute journey time and published station locations. No official source publishes a walking time between the lower station and any other point in Funchal, so the approach legs are our estimates, not operator figures.

What The Table Does Not Tell You

The toboggan runs Monday to Saturday 09:00-18:00 and closes on Sundays and public holidays. If your Monte day falls on a Sunday, the third routing is off the table and you are choosing between the first two. The toboggan also sells tickets on site only, same-day, so you cannot pre-commit to the descent.

If the return leg of your cable car ticket goes unused because you came down by sledge, the operator's breakdown refund rule does not apply. That rule covers failures, not changed plans.

The Cable And The Cabins

The cable is 3.2 km long. Cabins seat 7, with a minimum of 6 when other passengers are waiting, so you will almost certainly share. Average travel time is 18 minutes each way.

The line climbs from sea level to Monte, which sits about 550 m above sea level, from 543 to 586 m at the municipal park per Visit Madeira's gardens page. One other official page rounds Monte to about 500 m, so treat the exact altitude as a range rather than a single number. Press reports after the 2026 modernisation say the fleet grew from 39 to 44 cabins with a capacity of 900 passengers per hour, but that comes from the press, not the operator.

The Lower Station

The Funchal station sits in the Jardim Almirante Reis garden beside the old town, at Rua Dom Carlos I, 9060-190 Funchal, GPS approximately 32.6472, -16.9013, a location the operator chose at sea level specifically so the ride could climb the full distance to Monte in one span. It is not at the west end of the marina, a mistake that costs people ten minutes of walking in the wrong direction before they double back. If you are coming from Funchal Old Town, the station is at the eastern edge of the quarter, close enough that most walkers reach it by following the old town streets downhill and east rather than by any signposted route.

The Upper Station

The Monte station is at Largo das Babosas 8, 9050-541 Funchal, GPS approximately 32.6761, -16.8991, chosen because Largo das Babosas was already the meeting point of the old parish roads before the cable car existed, which is also why the rival Botanical Garden line's Monte terminal sits at the same square. From here, Monte Palace's cable-car-side entrance is signposted and the church and the toboggan departure are a short walk uphill through the parish. Arriving mid-morning without a plan for where to go next wastes the clearest views of the day, so decide before you board whether you are heading for the garden, the church or the toboggan rank.

Accessibility

Boarding areas and cabins are accessible to reduced-mobility passengers, and both stations have adapted toilets, a standard the operator built in because the alternative route up to Monte, on foot or by winding road, is unworkable for most wheelchair users. Cabins slow down inside the stations and staff can stop the line entirely to help boarding, which is worth knowing before you assume you will be rushed. One wheelchair per cabin is the safety limit, so a group with two wheelchair users should expect to split across cabins and should tell staff at the desk rather than discover it at the platform.

The Case For One Way Up

The ascent is the scenic half. You face downhill, the city and the bay open out beneath you, and the views are new. The descent shows you the same views in reverse from the same cabin type.

Paying $6.87 (€6) to repeat them is the weak half of the deal. Instead, buy one way up and take the Monte toboggan down. The sledge is a 2 km run of about 10 minutes, rideable Monday to Saturday 09:00-18:00, closed Sundays and public holidays.

A two-person sledge costs $45.84 (€40).

The Catch At The Bottom Of The Sledge

The toboggan ends in Livramento, not in central Funchal. No official source publishes a fare or a shuttle for the leg from Livramento back to the centre or back up to Monte, and we print none. Budget time and a walk or a taxi for it, and remember the sledge closes on Sundays, so a Sunday visit settles the argument in favour of a return ticket.

Families with young children, or anyone who found the ascent nervy, may also prefer the quiet of the cabin down. The one-way case is a default, not a rule.

The Two Lines Side By Side

This page covers the Funchal-Monte line, operated by Madeira Cable Car, from the Jardim Almirante Rei station up to Largo das Babosas in Monte. The other line runs from Monte down to Madeira Botanical Garden and is operated by a separate company, Teleférico do Jardim Botânico. That company's Monte station is also at Largo das Babosas, which is why the confusion is so easy.

You finish ride one and find the second line waiting there.

How To Tell Them Apart At The Station

The Funchal-Monte line is the one at sea level in the Jardim Almirante Rei garden. If you are standing in the old town and can see the sea, that is your line. The Botanical Garden line exists only up in Monte, its main station is at the garden itself on Caminho das Voltas 15, and it also sells tickets from an office on Avenida do Mar in Funchal.

If someone offers you a combined garden and cable car ticket in town, check which line it is for before you buy.

Press Versus The Operator

Regional press reported in March 2026 that the line had reopened after a January-to-April modernisation with five new glass-floor cabins, at a reported fare of a premium over the standard rate. That fare tier is not on the operator's own price page. The operator's current price page lists only the standard €16 one-way and €22 return, with no glass-floor option and no premium tier.

We therefore treat the glass-floor cabins and any premium fare as press-reported and unconfirmed by the operator. If a glass-floor ride matters to your visit, check the operator's own site and ask at the ticket desk on the day rather than planning around it.

Five Facts With Sources

• The cabins seat 7 but run with a minimum of 6 when other passengers are waiting, so a private cabin is essentially off the menu in busy hours (madeiracablecar.com, prices and hours page).
• If the return trip fails for weather, power or breakdown reasons, the operator owes you alternative transport back or a 50% refund, a rule written into their terms (madeiracablecar.com, about us page).
• The e-ticket validity window is 60 days, so you can buy months before a trip without fixing the day (madeiracablecar.com, about us page).
• Staff can stop the whole line to help a reduced-mobility passenger board, and cabins deliberately slow inside stations, but only one wheelchair is allowed per cabin (madeiracablecar.com, reduced mobility page).
• The cable is 3.2 km long, which makes this one of the longer urban cable car rides anywhere on the islands, and construction began in 1999 with the line opening in 2000 (madeiracablecar.com, about us page).

From The Old Town And The Market

The lower station stands in the Jardim Almirante Reis garden on Rua Dom Carlos I, 9060-190 Funchal, at the edge of Funchal Old Town. No official source publishes a walking time from the market or any other point, so treat any figure you read elsewhere as an estimate. In practice the station is the obvious garden-side structure at the eastern end of the old town and most walkers find it by following the old town streets downhill and east.

The operator states plainly that the station is not at the west end of the marina, and cruise passengers walking from that side should cut across to the old town garden rather than following the waterfront west, since that is the single most common and entirely avoidable wayfinding error on the line. The GPS point, 32.6472, -16.9013, will get you there faster than any description.

At The Top

You arrive at Largo das Babosas 8, 9050-541 Funchal, on a square shared with the rival Botanical Garden cable car's own Monte terminal, which is why so many riders board the wrong line by mistake at this exact spot. The Monte Palace entrance next to the cable car exit is the nearest door of anything, with the church and toboggan departure uphill through the parish. Buses 20, 21, 22 and 48 serve Monte if you want to descend by road instead of paying for a second cable car ride.