Funchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 111,892, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal, and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries. Because of its high cultural and historical value, Funchal is one of Portugal's main tourist attractions. It is also popular as a destination for New Year's Eve, and it is the leading Portuguese port on cruise liner dockings.

The first settlers named their settlement Funchal after the abundant wild fennel that grew there. The name is formed from the Portuguese word for fennell, funcho, and the suffix-al, to denote "a plantation of fennel".

Today Funchal is a major tourist town, with hotels, port, and an international airport Funchal Airport (FNC), located in the nearby municipality of Santa Cruz.

Besides the city of Funchal, tourist destinations include: Ribeira Brava, Curral das Freiras, Porto Moniz, Santana, the Laurisilva forest, a UNESCO Natural Site, in the center of Madeira Island and the beaches in Porto Santo island. There is also a passenger gondola lift (Funchal Cable Car), that transports people from the lower section of the city to the suburb of Monte and another that runs between Monte and the Botanical Gardens.

Funchal has many Museums:

• Casa-Museu Frederico de Freitas
• Nucleo Museológico da Cidade do Açucar
• Museu Barbeito
• Museu CR7
• Museu de Electricidade (Museum of Electricity)
• Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Funchal
• Sacred Art Museum of Funchal
• Museu de Fotografia - Vicentes
• Museu do Forte de S Tiago
• Museu do Vinho da Madeira
• Museu Henrique e Francisco Franco
• Museu de História Natural do Funchal
• Museu Quinta das Cruzes
• Museu Sala de Troféus do Clube Sport Marítimo
• Nucleo Museológico do IVBAM
• Nucleo Museológico do Museu Militar Palácio Sâo Lourenço
• Nucleo Museológico Mary Jane Wilson