Funchal City Guide
Funchal Cathedral
Funchal Cathedral, the Sé, is the oldest major building in the city centre, ordered by King João II in 1493 and a National Monument since 1910. It costs nothing to enter, it opens longer hours than almost any other sight in the city including Sunday, and the reason to step inside is a Mudéjar ceiling of island cedar above a Gothic portal cut from Cabo Girão stone. This page covers the hours, the history and what to look at. The rest of the city centre around it, including Blandy's Wine Lodge and the tourist office, is on Funchal city centre. The full Funchal city guide has the rest of the city.
Quick answer Hours, price, what to see, in three lines
Funchal Cathedral is free to enter and open Monday to Friday 07:15-18:30, Saturday 08:00-12:00 and 16:00-19:00, and Sunday 07:15-12:00 and 16:00-19:00. No official source publishes an entry fee. The reason to go in is the Mudéjar ceiling of island cedar above the nave, one of the finest of its kind in Portugal.
Key takeaways
- No platform sells a ticket for the cathedral because it needs none. The Old Town walking tour and the city highlights tuk-tuk tour both pass it with a guide
- The cathedral is open on Sunday, when the market and the toboggans are both shut, which makes it a reliable stop on that one day
- Avenida Arriaga, with the tourist office and Blandy's Wine Lodge, sits right outside. See Funchal city centre for the rest of the street
Key facts
Opening hours
| Monday-Friday | 07:15–18:30 |
|---|---|
| Saturday | 08:00–12:00 |
| Saturday afternoon | 16:00–19:00 |
| Sunday | 07:15–12:00 |
| Sunday afternoon | 16:00–19:00 |
Closed No closed day is published. Visits pause during services.
Admission
- Adult
- Free, no fee published
- Free
- Everyone, at any of the posted hours
Planning it
- Time needed
- Not stated by any official source. Our routing: 15 to 25 minutes for the nave and the ceiling
- Book ahead
- Optional — walk-up usually fine
- Address
- Rua do Aljube, 9000-067 Funchal
The cathedral sells no ticket of its own. The two tours below pass it as part of a longer walk through the centre and the old town, priced from the platform.
There is nothing to buy here. The only choice is walking in alone or joining a guided walk that explains the facade first.
| Option | Price | Includes | Cancel | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral entry, on your ownAnyone. Walk in during the posted hours, no ticket needed. | Free | The nave and the Mudejar ceiling during posted hours | Not applicable | Official site |
| Old Town walking tour, 2 hoursFirst-timers who want the history explained on the spot. | $18.84 as listed by the operator | A guided walk through the old town and centre, passing the cathedral | Free up to 24 hours before | Check Availability |
| City Highlights Tuk-Tuk TourVisitors who want the centre covered quickly, without walking it. | $91.89 as listed by the operator | A tuk-tuk route through the centre and city highlights, cathedral included | Free up to 24 hours before | Check Availability |
No platform sells entry to the cathedral, because the cathedral charges none. Figures current for Q3 2026.
Tours That Pass the Cathedral
Two bookings route past Funchal Cathedral as part of a centre or old town walk. Prices are the platform's own listed US dollar figures.
from $18.84
Funchal Old Town Walking Tour
A 2 hour small-group walk through Funchal's Old Town, the Jesuits' College, the Farmers' Market, a wine lodge and a historic sweet factory.
Check Availability
from $91.89
City Highlights Tuk-Tuk Tour
A 2 hour small-group tuk-tuk ride to 25 Funchal highlights including Pico dos Barcelos, the fortress, the Cathedral and the Farmers' Market, hotel pickup included.
Check Availability
from $29.86
City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
A 24 or 48 hour Funchal hop-on hop-off pass with a 14-language audio guide, a free Historic Centre walking tour and a wine tasting stop at Blandy's.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own. dollar figures are the listed prices — the platform bills in your account's currency.
1493 to 1910: The Building's Own Timeline
King João II ordered the cathedral in 1493, and it was completed in the early 16th century, making it older than most of what stands around it in the centre today. Built in a Manueline and Gothic style, its Gothic portal is cut from Cabo Girão stone, the same volcanic rock that forms the cliff west of the city. It was declared a National Monument in 1910, a status that has protected the building through more than a century of the city's growth around it.
The dedication is to Our Lady of the Assumption, and the cathedral has functioned continuously as a working parish church rather than a museum piece, which is why its hours pause for services rather than running on a fixed visiting schedule.
What to See: The Ceiling and the Portal
Two features carry the visit, one you see from outside and one only from within.
The cathedral's gable and rose window, seen from the square outside. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Facade and the Gothic Portal
From Rua do Aljube, the facade shows the pale volcanic stonework typical of Madeira's oldest buildings, with a rose window set into the gable above the entrance and a bell tower rising beside it. The Gothic portal, cut from Cabo Girão stone, frames the main entrance, a detail that ties the building physically to the cliff 30 km west of the city that the stone came from.
Looking down the nave toward the altar, with the carved ceiling visible above. Photo: Jufsferreira, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Mudejar Ceiling
Inside, the reason to look up is the Mudéjar ceiling of island cedar, carved in a style that blends Islamic-influenced Iberian craftsmanship with the wood the island itself produced. It is named specifically by Visit Madeira as one of the finest examples of its kind in Portugal, a claim that carries weight given how few buildings from this period survive intact on the island. The ceiling sits above the full length of the nave, so the best view is standing well back from the altar rather than close to it.
Hours: Open Longer Than Almost Anything Else in the City
The cathedral's hours are unusually generous. Monday to Friday it opens 07:15-18:30, more than eleven hours a day. Saturday runs 08:00-12:00 and 16:00-19:00, and Sunday 07:15-12:00 and 16:00-19:00, both split around the midday services.
No official source publishes a closed day, and no entry fee is published either, which together make this one of the easiest sights in the city to fit into any schedule, including the one day a week when the market and the toboggans close. The only interruption is a service in progress, when quiet visiting continues but a full walk around the nave may have to wait.
Source: visitmadeira.com.
Where the Cathedral Fits in a Day
The cathedral sits on the flat stretch of the centre, a few minutes from the tourist office and Blandy's Wine Lodge on Avenida Arriaga, and a short walk from the old town's painted doors. It fits naturally into any centre walk, at any hour of the day the posted schedule allows, and it needs no separate booking or timing the way the market or the fort's interior do. On a Sunday, when several other sights are closed, it is one of the few dependable stops left standing.
The rest of the centre is on Funchal city centre, and the full city plan is on Funchal in 1 day.
Funchal Cathedral Map: The Centre Around It
The cathedral sits just off Avenida Arriaga, a few minutes from the tourist office, Blandy's Wine Lodge and the old town.
Coordinates from OSM Nominatim.
Next Stop From the Cathedral
Three places within a few minutes on foot along Avenida Arriaga.
Funchal city centre
The tourist office and the rest of the centre's sights sit along the same avenue. See the city centre guide.
Blandy's Wine Lodge
Tours from $19.48 (€17), open every day including Sunday. See the wine lodge guide.
Funchal old town
The painted doors of Rua de Santa Maria are a short walk away, in the quarter where the city itself began. See the old town guide.
Funchal Cathedral Questions
Is Funchal Cathedral free to visit?
Yes. No official source publishes an entry fee, and there is nothing to buy or book. Walk in during the posted hours in the hours section.
Is Funchal Cathedral open on Sunday?
Yes, 07:15-12:00 and 16:00-19:00 around the midday services. It is one of the few sights open on the day the market and the toboggans are closed.
What is inside Funchal Cathedral?
A Mudejar ceiling of island cedar above the nave, named by Visit Madeira as one of the finest examples of its kind in Portugal, and a Gothic portal cut from Cabo Girao stone framing the main entrance.
How old is Funchal Cathedral?
King Joao II ordered it in 1493 and it was completed in the early 16th century, making it more than 500 years old. It has been a National Monument since 1910.
Is Funchal Cathedral worth visiting?
Yes, and it costs nothing. The Mudejar ceiling is a genuinely rare feature in Portugal, the hours are generous including Sunday, and it sits a few minutes from the rest of the city centre.
Funchal Cathedral on Film: The Facade and the Ceiling
Three looks at the building, from the square outside to the nave within.
Madeira - Se Catedral do Funchal, 4K 60fps HDR
A slow high-resolution look at the facade and the nave from inside.
Video: Let's Check OutInside Funchal Cathedral: Gothic Manueline Masterpiece of Madeira
A walk through the interior focused on the ceiling and the altar.
Video: Unfiltered TravelsFunchal Se Catedral - Se do Funchal
A shorter look at the cathedral from the square and the entrance.
Video: Madeira-WebVideos load from YouTube only when you press play. Prices and opening hours shown in older films may be out of date.
Prices, hours and terms are set by the venue or operator and confirmed at checkout.
We may earn a commission if you book through one of our links, at no extra cost to you. Full affiliate disclosure