Tourist Attractions | Santa Cruz
Santo da Serra Environmental Education Camp - Eva and Américo Durão
Formerly owned by doctor Américo Durão and his wife Eva Durão, this Villa – Quinta was donated by the owners to the Association of Friends of the Funchal Ecological Park. Between a plateau and a forest valley, this farm has an extension of about 9 thousand hectares, and here is also a typical Madeiran house, where you can learn about the work that has been developed by this Association.
As registered with the Association of Friends of the Funchal Ecological Park, it is possible to visit the Quinta and also contribute to the cleaning and planting of trees in this space.
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Address | Rua Bela de São José - Santa Cruz
House of Culture of Santa Cruz | Quinta do Revoredo
This building, formerly built by John Blandy in 1840, was sold to the Santa Cruz City Council in 1988 on condition that it served the local population and was thus transformed into the House of Culture of Santa Cruz.
As a cultural space, the main purpose of this building is to promote a diverse and contemporary cultural and historical offer, valued by the artistic and cultural panorama, through exhibitions and events worthy of such a mission, giving to know the different aspects of the vernacular and erudite culture of the county and of region.
The House of Culture of Santa Cruz also has partnerships with other cultural institutions of the island, in order to disseminate and bring the public closer to different forms of artistic expression and cultural assets, supporting initiatives aimed at safeguarding, valuing and defending the cultural heritage.
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[ The House of Culture of Santa Cruz | Quinta do Revoredo is closed to the public for rehabilitation works between October 2019 and May 2020 ]
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Address | Rua Bela de São José - Santa Cruz
Santo da Serra Golf Club
Built in 1937, this was the first golf course in Madeira. It was redesigned in 1991 by Robert Trent Jones Sr., creating a new course with about 27 holes. Here you can select the level of difficulty with which you want to play in each hole. Composed of several routes, we can find several types of plants, lakes and panoramic views of the entire east coast of the island.
In addition to the course, rated as the 12th best golf course of the 75 in Portugal, Santo da Serra Golf Club has extensive facilities such as a panoramic restaurant and Clubhouse.
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Address | Ponta do Garajau - Caniço
Christ The King | Cristo Rei
The statue of Christ the King, located in Garajau, was inaugurated on October 30, 1927, being the first monument "Cristo Rei" to be built in the world, surpassing the well-known Christ King of Brazil, which was only built in 1931. Over the years, the mastery of Garajau was passed down from generation to generation, until it became the property of the Counselor Aires de Ornelas, the last son Morgado from Caniço and minister of the Navy and Colonies. In a worst phase of his life, when the family went through a tremendous crisis that seemed never to end, Aires de Ornelas, desperate, asked God to help him out of this situation, promising to raise Christ the King, if that happened.
As time passed his family successfully crossed that stage and, as promised, the Christ King was erected in that area, as a way of thanking for the conquered grace. The statue, about 14 meters high, was executed in concrete by the French sculptors Pierre Charles Lenoir and Georges Serraz, both living in Paris, the latter being a specialist in monumental religious sculpture.
The Cristo Rei is with open arms, on top of a hill, where on the right it is possible to glimpse a view on Funchal and, on the left on the Caniço de Baixo.
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Address | Ponta do Garajau - Caniço
Achada Square – Largo da Achada
The square Conselheiro Aires de Ornelas, commonly known as Largo da Achada, is located in Camacha, in the heart of the parish. The history tells us that it was the first place where the ball was played in Portugal in 1875. Both Camacha and the neighboring parish, Santo António da Serra, were the favorite places of the English to live and it is believed that this happened because the climate of these parishes is very similar to the climate of their native land. As a result of the influence of the English, one day a group of individuals joined in Largo da Achada and the first soccer match was held in Portugal.
This same location houses the bust of Conselheiro Aires de Ornelas, the work of the sculptor Anjos Teixeira, dated 1969, and the modernist sculpture, authored by the Madeira sculptor Amândio de Sousa, referring to the historic first time the ball was played in Portugal, also of the same year.
The mythical wicker factory, located inside Café Relógio, is located south of Largo da Achada and is the place to produce authentic works made from wicker. This industry, very characteristic of Camacha, is expressed through the most varied objects, namely suitcases and baskets, being a craftsmanship from Santa Cruz that requires a very detailed treatment by the craftsmen. To the north of the Square is Casa do Povo da Camacha and the taxi rank, and to the west is the new Market Mercadinho da Camacha.
This Largo has landscaped garden, featuring rhododendrons, camellias, magnolias and endemic plants, such as geraniums from Madeira or the massarocos da Serra/ Echium candicans and is also partially covered by the traditional rolled rock.
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Address | Largo Conselheiro Aires de Ornelas - Camacha
Camacha Market | Mercadinho da Camacha
Located in Largo da Achada, Mercadinho da Camacha was inaugurated on June 2, 2018. Comprising a contemporary organic structure in apparent reinforced concrete, the market houses 13 spaces for the sale and promotion of traditional and regional products. In addition to agricultural products Mercadinho da Camacha offers a wide range of handmade products, not only in its traditional style, but also contemporary.
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Address | Largo da Achada - Camacha
Viewpoint of Contenda
This viewpoint, as the name implies, is located in an area belonging to Gaula called by Contenda. Gaula is a parish that belongs to the Municipality of Santa Cruz, with very special characteristics, since it assumes a dimension that makes the parish extends from the sea to the mountains.
In the old days, when visitants descended Gaula from the hillside, there was a place with a landscape, so unique that it was impossible not to stop and glimpse such a view. Because it was such a sought-after place, it eventually led to the Miradouro da Contenda being born. From this zone you can get an overview of the sea, the Desert Islands, Santa Cruz, Machico and Ponta de São Lourenço, located at the east end of the island. When the luminosity allows this, it is possible to observe on the east sidethe Island of Porto Santo. The viewpoint is in a privileged place of the parish, since it is the one that offers a better panoramic view on the parish of Gaula.
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Address | Estrada Padre Alfredo Vieira de Freitas - Gaula
Ribeira Primeira Park
Set in the Laurel Forest, a World Heritage, the Ribeira Primeira Park is located in the parish of Santo António da Serra and provides a close contact with nature.
The origin of its name is based on the fact that Ribeira Primeira is the first source of Ribeira de Santa Cruz. Trout fishing is the main activity, so it is possible to fish and sample them in the outdoor dining area where everything is cooked by wood. In addition to fishing and the possibility of knowing the biological cycle of this species, understanding how they live and reproduce, the space also offers a unique experience with its journey through nature and remarkable landscapes.
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Address | Praça João Abel de Freitas - Santa Cruz
Manueline Square
Praça Manuelina, also known as Praça João Abel de Freitas, is located in the center of Santa Cruz. To the south of the Square is the Town Hall and, to the north the Church of the Savior and the Holy House of Mercy. This space has such denomination, since all these buildings located around the square are Manueline. To the East, the square is surrounded by a set of terraces belonging to the restaurants located there. In this same square you can see the cruise, composed by a Renaissance column in marble, which comes from Italy. In the 19th century Madeira produced and exported large quantities of sugar, also known as "white gold", to several countries, being one of the main destinations in Italy. As such, boats were loaded with boxes of sugar for this country. However, when the ships returned to Madeira Island there was a need to put weight on the vessels, so that they would not turn into the high seas, then Italian marble was placed, so as to make weight and make the boats more stable.
When it arrived the marble was used in the decoration of the churches and in the construction of works, such as the Santa Cruz cruise in the Manueline Square, which rests directly on a base consisting of three octagonal steps. The crucifix represents the cross made by the discoverers, when they arrived and baptized the county with the name of Holy Cross / Santa Cruz. In the chapiter are the arms of the family Freitas, allusive to João de Freitas, founder of the Municipality in 1515.
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Address | Praça João Abel de Freitas - Santa Cruz
Small Square Father Gabriel Olavo Garcês | Parceta Padre Gabriel Olavo Garcês
Inaugurated in 1962, Praceta Padre Gabriel Olavo Garcés is located in the center of Santa Cruz. First, there was a small block in the city that belonged to the city of Santa Cruz, which disappeared after being destroyed by the alluvium in 1956. Today it is considered one of the most dynamic areas of the city center, shaded by coralline veins and arbors.There are some restaurants involved in a quiet and friendly environment, in a square located near the sea and the monumental buildings of the city, such as the Town Hall building and the Mother Church. Sporadically, the small square hosts some cultural events, which occur throughout the year. The first photographic house founded in Santa Cruz, called "Foto Imagem", is located precisely in this space and was created in 1955 by one of the most emblematic photographers of Santa Cruz, José de Sousa Monteiro.
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Address | Praceta Padre Gabriel Olavo Garcês - Santa Cruz
Quinta do Santo da Serra
Quinta do Santo da Serra, better known as Quinta da Junta, belonged to the Blandy family. Subsequently, it passed through the hands of the former General Board of the Autonomous District of Funchal in 1974 before the establishment of autonomy and, consequently, the Regional Government.
The property is currently the summer residence of the Regional Government Presidency, but is free public access to its gardens for leisure and recreation. Formerly, it was the summer home of the Blandy family, who had it erected in the middle of the XIX century, built to the English colonial taste, presenting therefore, curved polished windows with moldings in cement relief and the characteristic sun-cover windows. At the entrance there is a porch with lamberquin. The old house is painted in the traditional rosy color of the Madeiran plots and with the punch in garnet color.
The property features a magnificent, wide tree-lined parkland with boxwood gardens. In this Quinta stands out the mark of the English parks, with their wide lawns, delimited by large forest species and species that are characteristic of our flora, due to the climatic and geological characteristics of Madeira.
There, plants of the four corners of the world inhabit a combination of exotic and endemic species, such as gray palms, firs, camellias, tree ferns, rhododendrons, oak trees, tulip trees, cichlids, beeches and indigenous species such as such as tilde, pinaster or vinhático or Persea indica or vinhatico tree, and still animals such as horses, deer and peacocks.
At the entrance to the garden there is an alley of azaleas with the path cobbled in basaltic stone. At the eastern end of the park there is a belvedere overlooking the open valley of Machico.
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Address | Estrada Regional 207 - Santo António da Serra
Reis Magos
The place Reis Magos, located in Caniço, is an area which is very characteristic for its pebble beach and its clear and clean waters, and its quality is proven by the blue flag acquired by this beach. Next to the sea, there are some business establishments related to the restoration and the practice of sport. There is a small cluster of popular houses built in a basalt stone apparatus, formerly owned by fishermen. After the beach there is a promenade, all of it with its path located by the sea.
The area of Reis Magos also houses two large tourist establishments, the Hotel Riu and the Four Views Hotel Oasis, both four star accommodations.
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Address | Reis Magos - Caniço
Garajau Nature Reserve
Located between Ponta da Oliveira (municipality of Santa Cruz) and Ponta do Lazareto (municipality of Funchal), the Garajau Nature Reserve has been called as such since 1986, when a group of divers joined in. Located on the south coast of Madeira Island, it is the first Marine Reserve in the country and has an extension of approximately 376 hectares.
Due to the marine abundance that exists in the area, in harmony with the transparent and clear waters, the Garajau Nature Reserve welcomes a group of factors that in harmony make of the place one of the most sought after points of the Island, even at international level, for the practice of diving. With a rocky depth that does not exceed 22 meters, there live the most varied marine species, among which stands out the grouper (Epinephelus marginatus).
In 1996 a small support center was opened in Garajau, which functions not only as an information booth, but also as a place to replenish the oxygen bottles of the divers who operate there.
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Address | Complexo Balneário do Garajau - Caniço