Funchal City Guide
Madeira Story Centre
The Madeira Story Centre is a small interactive museum on Rua Dom Carlos I, on the edge of Funchal's old town, telling the island's roughly 14-million-year geological and human history in about 45 minutes. Entry is $5.73 (€5) for adults and $3.44 (€3) for children, and the museum opens every day of the year from 09:00 to 19:00, including Sundays and holidays when several other sights in the centre are shut. This page covers the price, the hours and what the visit covers. The wider old town around it is on Funchal old town. The full Funchal city guide has the rest of the city.
Quick answer Price, hours, length of visit, in three lines
The Madeira Story Centre costs $5.73 (€5) for adults and $3.44 (€3) for children, and it opens every day of the year, 09:00-19:00, with no closed days published. A visit runs about 45 minutes.
Key takeaways
- It is one of the only paid sights in the centre open on a Sunday, useful when the museums and market are closed
- The museum sits at the edge of Funchal old town, a short walk from Rua de Santa Maria's painted doors
- A small-group old town walking tour covers the surrounding streets if you want the wider area guided rather than self-directed
Key facts
Opening hours
| Every day, all year | 09:00–19:00 |
|---|
Closed None published. The museum's own site lists daily hours with no exceptions stated.
Planning it
- Time needed
- About 45 minutes, per the museum's own description
- Book ahead
- Optional — walk-up usually fine
- Address
- Rua D. Carlos I, no 27-29, 9060-051 Funchal
The museum sells its own entry directly at the door. No platform resells this ticket, priced from the museum's own site.
There is one ticket, sold at the museum's own desk.
| Option | Price | Includes | Cancel | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Museum entry, adultAnyone visiting the museum, sold at the door. | $5.73 (€5) | The full interactive exhibit, about 45 minutes | Not stated | Official site |
| Museum entry, childChildren visiting with an adult ticket holder. | $3.44 (€3) | Same exhibit, child rate | Not stated | Official site |
No affiliate platform resells this ticket. Buy directly from the museum. Figures current for Q3 2026.
Tours That Pass This Part of the Old Town
No platform booking includes the museum's own ticket, but these tours cover the surrounding old town streets. 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 $37.90
Guided Tuk Tuk Tour to Toboggan Rides & Old Town
A 90 minute tuk-tuk ride to Miradouro dos Marmeleiros and Monte with a driver-guide, the toboggan ride down paid separately on the day.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own. dollar figures are the listed prices — the platform bills in your account's currency.
What the Story Centre Covers in 45 Minutes
The Madeira Story Centre's entrance on Rua D. Carlos I, on the edge of Funchal's old town. Photo: Joãofcf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Madeira Story Centre packs the island's geological formation, its uninhabited discovery by Portuguese sailors in the fifteenth century, the sugar and wine trades that built Funchal, and the emigration waves that followed into a single interactive route through several themed rooms, using sound, light and touch exhibits rather than static display cases. The museum describes the visit as multi-sensory: recorded voices, smells associated with sugar and wine, and hands-on games aimed as much at children as adults. It sits at Rua D. Carlos I, no 27-29, right on the edge of the old town, and includes a rooftop cafe and a small shop selling Madeira wine and vintage Portuguese port on the way out.
Price and Hours: Open Every Day
Entry is $5.73 (€5) for adults and $3.44 (€3) for children, with no family rate published. The museum's own site lists a single set of hours, 09:00-19:00, applying every day of the week with no closed-day exceptions stated, which makes it unusual among Funchal's paid museums: the cathedral, the market and several other sights either close or run reduced hours on Sunday, while this one does not change. There is no online ticket sale mentioned on the museum's own page, so admission is a walk-up purchase at the desk.
Source: madeirastorycentre.com, read 2026-09-19.
Why It Works on a Sunday or a Rainy Afternoon
A painted door on Rua de Santa Maria, the old town street the Story Centre sits just off. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Funchal's Sunday closures hit museums and the market hardest, covered in full on Sunday openings in Funchal, and the Story Centre is one of the few paid indoor sights that simply does not change its hours for the day of the week. The exhibits are entirely indoors and largely hands-on rather than glass-case viewing, so it also works as a wet-weather fallback when an outdoor walk through the old town or up to Monte is not appealing. At 45 minutes it is short enough to fit either as the first stop of a Sunday morning or as a late-afternoon filler before dinner in the old town.
Madeira Story Centre Map: Old Town Doorstep
The museum sits at the edge of the old town, a short walk from the market and the painted-door streets.
Coordinates estimated from the museum's street address.
Next Stop From the Centre
Three places within a few minutes' walk of the museum.
Funchal old town
Rua de Santa Maria's painted doors are a short walk away. See the old town guide.
Mercado dos Lavradores
The farmers' market, closed Sundays and holidays. See the market guide.
Funchal cable car
The lower station sits a short walk from the museum, on the same stretch of Rua Dom Carlos I. See the cable car guide.
Madeira Story Centre Questions
How much does the Madeira Story Centre cost?
$5.73 (€5) for adults, $3.44 (€3) for children.
Is the Madeira Story Centre open on Sunday?
Yes. The museum's own site lists the same 09:00-19:00 hours every day of the week, with no Sunday exception.
How long does a visit to the Madeira Story Centre take?
About 45 minutes, per the museum's own description of the exhibit route.
Where is the Madeira Story Centre in Funchal?
Rua D. Carlos I, no 27-29, on the edge of Funchal old town, a short walk from the market.
What does the Madeira Story Centre cover?
The island's geological formation, its fifteenth-century discovery, the sugar and wine trades, and the emigration waves that followed, through interactive rooms rather than static display cases.
Madeira Story Centre on Film: Inside the Exhibit
Three looks at the museum's interactive rooms and the story they tell.
The Madeira Story, Sea Front Museum in Funchal
A walk through the museum's interactive rooms on the edge of the old town.
Video: Cruise Doris VisitsMadeira Story Centre: Let's Have a Look Around
A visitor's tour of the exhibit route, room by room.
Video: Pete and ChelleFunchal (Market, Old Town and Madeira Story Centre)
The museum in context with the market and old town streets around it.
Video: VillaDragoeiroPrices, hours and terms are set by the venue or operator and confirmed at checkout.
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