Fortaleza de São João Baptista do Pico — Attraction in Funchal

Unable to determine online if this castle was open or not, I dropped my wife off at the castle Sunday 15th July approx 09:30am to look round it while I dropped the hired scooter off back down on the edge of Funchal for her to later walk down the hill and meet me at the museums. On meeting up she told me the cafe was open but she was unable to gain entry to the castle. Later, to my horror, she told me she'd walked past the cafe round the path to the front where a youngish bloke was loitering. She passed him and went down some steps to find a complete dead end, a locked gate with dead pigeons behind it. She returned to the flight of steps to find the guy was now half blocking her exit. As she confidently strode past him he slapped her behind and muttered something like nice ar*e, single are you. Flustered she left in a hurry. Felt I should warn anyone else thinking of visiting alone... I'd say give the...

Impressive viewpoint. We struggled to get here after following Google Maps directions to Tv. de Sao João de Deus. The entrance is actually on R. Do Castelo. (Edit submitted to Google). It is a steep haul back up. We were obliged by a friendly doorman to show vaccination and test certificates, all in accordance with current regs. Externally this is a most impressive fortress visible from much of Funchal. The views of Funchal from the battlements are equally stunning. Internally it is less impressive with no guns or other features. The cafe was closed. The information display is good with some lovely old prints. It is free to enter and they are coping well with COVID restrictions but they could make so much more of it, e.g....

Impressive fort with a great history. Fort is pretty much original. Excellent panoramic views. Its a free DIY tourist attraction and once you have managed to find the entrance you need to wander around and explore looking for information boards. But don't expect it to be laid on for you! We had to let ourselves into the exhibit rooms! You would struggle to occupy yourself here for more than 15-20 mins, which is scant reward for the climb up there and time spent looking for entrance (using Google maps). BTW entrance is signposted on 'Rua...