Part of our complete guide: Activities and tours on Madeira
Food and wine tours in Funchal
Food and Wine Walking Tour, from about €95, 3.5 hours. Small group, several stops in the old town, tastings along the way. Taste Funchal, four hours, from about €93, over 820 reviews at 4.8 — culinary plus cultural.
Self-guided tapas tour, from about €55. Vouchers for several restaurants, your own timing, no guide. For people who do not need the commentary but appreciate the shortlist.
Expect €90 to €100 for a guided tour — this is the category with the island’s highest entry prices and the thinnest supply.
Madeira wine
Guided tasting, three wines, from about €35, one hour. The quick, serious introduction. Madeira wine is not the dessert-wine cliché — Sercial is dry, and the difference between five and ten years old is immediately obvious side by side.
Wine lodge tours: Blandy’s Wine Lodge in the middle of Funchal is the best-known address; its own tour is cheaper booked at the door than through a portal.
Wine plus an excursion, from about €45. Combinations like Cabo Girão, wine tasting and Serra d’Água, or wine tour with cable car and a typical lunch (from about €175, eight hours, private).
The September wine festivals — Blandy’s Wine Festival, the Grape and Farmer Festival, the live harvest at Estreito de Câmara de Lobos — are free and listed in our events calendar.
Cooking and baking
Pastel de nata class, from about €40–70, 1.5–2 hours. The island’s most-booked bad-weather activity. There are versions with unlimited wine and versions in working pastelarias.
Honey cake workshop (bolo de mel) — the Madeiran Christmas cake that gets baked all year round.
What you can do yourself
A great deal. The Mercado dos Lavradores costs nothing to enter; poncha is €4–6 in any bar; espetada on a bay skewer, bolo do caco with garlic butter and lapas are on every menu without a guide. And a glass of 10-year-old Malmsey in a wine bar costs less than half a tasting.
Booking earns its keep in two places: the structured tasting, because comparing wines side by side is hard to arrange alone — and the baking class, because you come away able to do something.
Common questions
How much does a food tour in Funchal cost?
A guided food and wine tour runs €90–100 for three and a half to four hours — the category with the island’s highest entry prices and the thinnest supply. A self-guided tapas tour with vouchers for several restaurants starts at about €55.
How much does a Madeira wine tasting cost?
A guided tasting of three wines starts at around €35 and takes an hour. Madeira wine is not the dessert-wine cliché: Sercial is dry, and the difference between five and ten years old is immediately obvious side by side. Wine combined with an excursion starts at about €45.
Is a pastel de nata baking class on Madeira worth it?
Yes — it is the island’s most-booked bad-weather activity, from around €40–70 for one and a half to two hours. There are versions with unlimited wine and versions in working pastelarias. Alongside it runs the honey cake workshop for bolo de mel, the Madeiran cake baked all year round.
What can you eat and drink on Madeira without booking anything?
A great deal. The Mercado dos Lavradores costs nothing to enter, poncha is €4–6 in any bar, and espetada on a bay skewer, bolo do caco with garlic butter and lapas are on every menu without a guide. A glass of 10-year-old Malmsey in a wine bar costs less than half a tasting.
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Next: Funchal walking tours · Mercado dos Lavradores · Events
