Avenida Arriaga
One of the main avenues of the capital that connects the frontal area of the Cathedral to the roundabout Infante D. Henrique, in the western limit of the flat area of the city.
At times it was there that ended what the locals called “Funchal” and it was common to say, “I am going to Funchal” when in Quinta Vigia, for example, which is situated a little above the Infante roundabout.
In truth, until the first big shopping mall in Madeira was built in the 80s, that area of the city had little to offer, in contrast to nowadays where there are hotels, shopping centres and the busy Loja do Cidadão in the north of the avenue.
The avenue, which was previously called Avenida Manuel de Arriaga, honouring the first elected president of the Portuguese Republic, is a famous central square, a place where the festivities and fairs happen throughout the year, that gather thousands of people for varied cultural events. It is where the book fair is set every year, as it is organized by Funchal City Hall.
In the junction with Avenue Zarco it is possible to find the statue for João Gonçalves Zarco, built in 1927 by the sculptor Francisco Franco.
On the junction between the avenue, João Tavira Street (east), and street António José de Almeida (north), as well as at the front of the Delegação do Banco de Portugal one finds the Largo da Restauração, constructed to offer the centre of the city a stonework fountain, in traditional Madeiran stone. North of it, the acclaimed Caves da Madeira Wine Company is a must-visit, there, one can find the history of one of our ambassadors, the famous Madeiran Wine.
Right after it, we have the Jardim Municipal (Municipal Garden) that has an auditorium in the central area and a labyrinth of 8.3000 m² with trees and flowers that began the construction in 1880, later inaugurated in 1992. It offers to their visitors flora from different parts of the world.
In front of the Municipal Garden, we find the mythical Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias (Municipal Theatre Baltazar Dias) that was once called Teatro Manuel Arriaga.
Still in the first section, where Arriaga Avenue intersects with Zarco Avenue, the famous “Esquina do Mundo”, as it was called by the writer Ferreira de Castro in his novel “Eternidade” from the ’30s of the 20th century, the epochal Golden Gate café. It was there that all the worlds collided over the decades. When Funchal woke up and fell asleep, that place was the first stop of the cruise ship tourists.
The avenue is almost fully closed to traffic on the south lane, which allows a pleasant walk and invites you to sit in one of the many esplanades, at any time of the year.
