Carnival

The ‘Festa dos Compadres’ marks the opening of the Carnival season in Madeira, a tradition going back to more than 50 years, which is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Santana, an event to be held on February, 1st, 3rd ,4th...

On Friday morning, prior to Carnival, about a thousand young revellers from various schools and kindergartens of Funchal, all in disguise, parade through the city centre (Avenida Arriaga), in an atmosphere of Carnival liveliness.

Funchal downtown is once again the stage of another highly original and creative entertainment initiative: With contagious energy, hundreds of revellers from “Associação de Desenvolvimento Comunitário do Funchal” parade along Avenida Arriaga towards the Municipal Garden, where a show takes...

The Saturday night exuberant allegorical parade is the highlight of Carnival festivities. Over a thousand revellers participate dressed in eye-catching costumes in addition to a dozen exquisitely decorated floats. The carnival allegoric parade exudes brightness, color, rhythm and a lot...

The “Trapalhão” Parade (slapstick parade), held on Shrove Tuesday can be classified as a satirical parade, inspired by the local cultural heritage. This parade is inspired by the spontaneous parade that originally took place at Rua da Carreira, around the...

Carnival is the frst big event in Madeira’s event calendar.In all counties of the archipelago there are small parades and themed parties where everyone wears a carnival costume.This event starts on Wednesday, before the “Entrudo” (Shrove or Fat Tuesday as...