This is where Madeira began
Before Funchal was Funchal, Machico was the capital. It was in this bay that Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira landed in 1419, and legend reaches back further still, to the English sweethearts Machim and Anne d'Arfet, said to have been carried to this shore before anyone else. Six centuries on, the city still carries the quiet pride of having arrived first.
The old town tells the story by itself: the Amparo Fort at the water's edge, the sixteenth-century parish church, the Chapel of Miracles, and narrow streets where daily life unfolds unhurried.
Machico Bay
Machico's bay is generous: golden sand, a mostly gentle sea, the promenade full of families at the end of the day and salt drying on your skin. Across the water sit the marina and the walkway towards Ribeira Seca. In August the Gastronomy Week takes over the city, music, food stalls, and the smell of espetada and fried maize drifting over the bay into the small hours.
Things to do
- Climb Pico do Facho at dusk, the whole bay at your feet and planes landing right in front of you.
- The bay beach early in the morning, before the crowds, when the sea is a mirror.
- The old town: Amparo Fort, the parish church and the Chapel of Miracles.
- Caniçal and Ponta de São Lourenço ten minutes away, our Caniçal guide tells the rest.
- Machico Gastronomy Week in August: the biggest party in the east.
Living and buying in Machico
On the property side, Machico holds a card nobody else has: it's a city with a sandy beach five minutes from the airport, yet with prices per m² far more accessible than Funchal, 20 minutes away by expressway. Apartments in the centre and downtown, hillside houses in Caramanchão and Graça with bay views, and growing demand from people who split their lives between the island and the mainland.
A local's tip
The best spot in town costs nothing: the low promenade wall at sunset, warm bolo do caco with garlic butter in hand from one of the stalls by the beach. Sit there watching the light change over the bay, you'll understand Machico better than on any guided tour.
Thinking of buying or selling in Machico?
We know this corner of the island street by street. Request a complimentary, no-obligation market appraisal.