Funchal Rainy Day: What Stays Open, Indoors

A Rainy Monday

Monday is the tightest day: Museu Quinta das Cruzes is closed, and the IVBAM Embroidery Museum's own weekday hours still apply since it only closes Saturday and Sunday. The Madeira Story Centre, Mercado dos Lavradores, the CR7 Museum, Blandy's Wine Lodge and the Sacred Art Museum all still run their normal Monday hours, which keeps a Monday rain plan workable even with one museum shut. Swap Museu Quinta das Cruzes for the IVBAM Embroidery Museum instead, since its 09:00-12:30 and 14:00-17:30 hours are open on a Monday and sit only a short walk from the wine lodge.

A Rainy Sunday

Sunday closes the most: Mercado dos Lavradores, the CR7 Museum, the Sacred Art Museum, Museu Quinta das Cruzes and the IVBAM Embroidery Museum are all shut. What still runs is the Sé cathedral (shorter split hours, 07:15-12:00 and 16:00-19:00), the Madeira Story Centre and Blandy's Wine Lodge, also on split Sunday hours, 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-18:00. Full detail on Funchal on Sunday.

A wet Sunday is the one day this page's route does not fully work, so lean on the cathedral and the wine lodge's two sittings rather than trying to fit in a museum.

Tuesday to Saturday

This is the full week for the indoor list, since every sight in the table runs its normal weekday hours somewhere in this stretch. Saturday is the one day with a partial closure, since the Sacred Art Museum shuts at 13:30 rather than running a full day. Tuesday to Friday is the safest run of days to build the full route in a rain route through the old town without checking a single closure first.

Start at the Sé cathedral, free and open most mornings, then walk the short distance to the Sacred Art Museum for $11.46 (€10.00), open until 17:30 on weekdays. Continue to Mercado dos Lavradores to browse under its covered roof, and finish with a tasting at Blandy's Wine Lodge from $19.48 (€17.00), which runs the longest hours of anything on this list. If time allows, add Museu Quinta das Cruzes or the CR7 Museum, both a short walk from the wine lodge, depending on which day of the week the weekday table says is open.

The Monte toboggan is closed every Sunday and public holiday regardless of rain, and the operator's own sheet notes no three-person rides in rain or on wet ground even on an open day. Monte Palace Tropical Garden and the Madeira Botanical Garden stay open in the rain since neither publishes a weather closure, but they are gardens, so a wet walk through either is a different day out from the indoor list above. No official source confirms whether the cable car suspends service in heavy weather, so treat that as unconfirmed rather than assume it runs regardless.