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.
Is in this avenue, that it previously was called Avenida Manuel de Arriaga, honouring the first elected president of the Portuguese Republic, it is situated the famous central square, a place where the festivities and fairs happen throughout the year as well as gathers thousands of people for varied cultural events. It is where the book fair, organized by the Funchal City Hall.
In the junction with Avenue Zarco is possible to find the statue for João Gonçalves Zarco, built in 1927 by the sculptor Francisco Franco.
In the part that meets at East with João Tavira Street as well as at north with the street, António José de Almeida at the front of the Delegação do Banco de Portugal can be seen o Largo da Restauração, constructed to offer to the centre of the city, a hard stone fountain, in traditional stone from Madeira. In the northern part, the acclaimed Caves da Madeira Wine Company is a must-visit, there can be found the history of one of our ambassadors, the famous Madeiran Wine
Right after it can be seen the Jardim Municipal (Municipal Garden) that has an auditorium in the central area, inaugurated in 1992 and a labyrinth of 8.3000 m² with trees and flowers that began the construction in 1880. It offers to their visitors flora from different parts of the world.
In the front of the Municipal Garden, it can be seen the mythical Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias (Municipal Theatre Baltazar Dias) that was once called Teatro Manuel Arriaga.
Still in the first section, where it intersects with Zarco Avenue, the famous “Esquina do Mundo”, which 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 in that place that it was the first stop of the cruise 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.
