Mercado dos Lavradores (farmers' market)

Nice market with great fruits, but the prices are crazy. Not really worth buying anything, though it’s fun to walk around for the experience. The fish was fresh, and we did pick some up for the evening. Definitely a tourist trap — be careful before buying fruits.

Really cute market building! Lots of stalls selling everything, from fruit and vegetables, seeds, plants, leather, and other food products. There are a couple of cafes but I didn’t try anything. The market is set up over 2 floors, and I could see an elevator (although I didn’t check whether it works). The market was closed all weekend but opened at 7am on the Monday. By 9am it was fairly busy already. Highly recommend as a 10-30 min stop whilst exploring the centre of Funchal. It’s also right next to my favourite restaurant so far on my trip!

We had a great day going through the market. The second floor though is targeted towards tourists. Very expensive. We bought couple of dragon fruits and some baby mangos and 200 grams of nuts and I was charged 54€. However, I managed to return what I bought with the help of the tourist and the administration office. They were super kind and helpful. The first floor, more specifically the middle part, is dedicated to the farmers. They have more reasonable prices.

Fantastic market place building! This complex with two stories and a yard within offers all kind of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and fish directly from the farmers and fishermen. Additionally there a plenty of shops with everything tourists like. There are also public restrooms available which are not easy to find in Funchal. It’s a great place to stroll around for daily needs or just for fun.

Nice place to walk around and have a look, but not recommended for shopping. The market itself is interesting and colorful, and worth visiting for the atmosphere and photos. However, the prices are very high and clearly aimed at tourists.

The Mercado dos Lavradores is undoubtedly a beautiful and vibrant market, full of colorful displays of many different fruits. It's definitely worth visiting just to see the aesthetic and variety. ​However, it seems heavily geared towards tourists, as the prices are quite high. For example, I was charged €10.27 for just a small banana and half a dragon fruit. While the produce looks amazing, be prepared for steep prices compared to local alternatives. Come for the sights, but shop carefully!

📍 Visited the Farmers Market on a Friday 🛍️ I didn’t read the reviews beforehand just excited like most tourists to experience a local farmers market! 💸 I only realized I'd overpaid when I later visited a regular supermarket. I bought a dragon fruit for €7 each, something I’ve always wanted to try... only to find the same fruit at the supermarket for €3.50. Ouch. 🏛️ The building itself is beautiful and definitely worth checking out. It’s a nice stop if you're sightseeing. ⚠️ Buyer beware: not everything is fairly priced, and prices can vary widely between stalls. Don’t accept the first offer shop around a bit. 🌟 Not all bad though it’s still a good tourist experience. Just go with your eyes open, take your time, and enjoy the atmosphere.

Traditional market that has had to turn to tourism in order to survive. Today, almost all the stalls are focused on tourists — you’ll rarely see a local shopping here. A clear example is the fish market square, where tourists don’t buy and only a few stalls are still open, with hardly any customers. Meanwhile, fruit stalls selling at €50/kg and souvenir stands are packed. These kinds of places deserve more protection. That said, I came to buy fruit for breakfast and was happy to find a wide variety available

I was obsessed with this market during my time in Madeira. My mom told me that tourist days here are during the week and local days are Friday and Saturday (and that they have better prices on local days). This market had everything you could possibly dream of, from fresh produce to flowers to bread to desserts and more. My favorite section was the spice store upstairs where I bought some spices for mulled wine and got some pomegranate flower tea. We also came when there was a special dessert market and got some delicious Peruvian goodies like alfajores and empanadas. All of the vendors were very kind and helpful. There was a strange moment where one kept telling me to take me with him? But I think he was trying to be friendly and funny. A lot of the vendors have fruit you can sample. The fruit here (and in Madeira in general) is amazing and absolutely delicious. We were here around Thanksgiving time so it was fun to see the market transition from normal to filled with holiday lights. As one of the top tourist destinations to visit, I think it's highly worth checking out. I loved it here.

This place is tourist trap & rip off. Dont buy anything here, its all much more than even a few blocks away. Dont touch any fruit because you will get swatted! Even if they are nice is just the way to get you to pay more, be friendly and then screw you. The only good place is he gelato stand! Dont get fooled!

I've seen many bad reviews for this place but i honestly has a great time walking around and looking at what the market had to offer! We did not purchase anything as nothing really stuck out to us... but nevertheless it was a good time to walk around and see what they had to offer! If you are in the area you should check it out, it's definitely something to do.

Must visit? Si Must buy something? No Temptations to purchase? Si Easily lured by selling tactics? Si ...especially for their annona fruit; which is a relative of the pineapple. This fruit was the most expensive fruit I'd ever spent for. They're sold by weight. One softball sized fruit can be at least 5 lbs. heavy!!! The cost... 6€... convert that to dollars and drop your jaw. However, should you listen to the serpent, get your spoon! This fruit is rich in fiber, antioxidants, vitamin C, minerals, good carbohydrates; and is a low calorie power fruit. As a native fruit to Madeira, I recommend to try this fruit at least once! It looks like an artichoke, feels as heavy as a child's bowling ball, has fruit texture like a pineapple, and tastes similar to a sweet and juicy apple pear. The seeds are big enough to spit out. I have no idea whether these grow on a tree or bush. I'm not a gardener. If there's anything else that can be done to this fruit, that would be to create fresh fruit cocktail recipes for martinis, margaritas, and coladas :P Get. One!

Having read over some of the negative reviews of the Mercado dos Lavradores, it seems like I had a totally different experience! I went with a local guide as part of a shopping trip for a cooking class. While at the market, we perused the stalls and our chef, with our input, purchased foods we would later cook. Regardless, I liked the market so much, after the shopping trip, I went back with my family to show them the place. The somewhat historic building sets the ambiance for the central market. I enjoy the cobblestone paving both within and without. Inside the market, I encountered perhaps the most expansive offering of tropical fruits I've ever seen in one place. At least a half-dozen varieties of passion fruit! During my first trip, the lower level was full of fresh fish (namely the black scabbard fish, which I would recommend avoiding as it's texture is as lacking as its flavor), though, by my second trip that day, the fish mongers had cleared out. In addition to buying fruit, which I'll admit was pricey, I also managed to get a glass of Madeira wine and a beer for less 3 euros as well as some of the best malasadas (the local donut-style pastry) I've ever tried.

This was our first time to visit the market. What an exciting place this is as there is so much activity going on.There are restaurants outside and inside there are fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables stand, meat shops, and locally made products both on the lower floor and the upper floor. The vendors will offer you a sample of their fruits to try. It's a great way to taste fruits you have never tried before. There is a wonderful fresh fish market in the rear where they offer various kinds of locally caught fish. Well worth a visit.

What is on offer is of rather inferior quality (either harvested to early or old produce) at exceptionally high prices - a very bad rip-off.

There is fresh fruit, meat and flowers at this market. There's also a few liquor shops where you can buy some local cherry liqueur and some souvenir shops for buying gifts. Then most of the upper section has several vendors offering a variety of dried fruits and salted nuts. It was a little samey. I'd have liked to have seen something a little different. We all agreed that the most exciting part was seeing the men at work in the fish market. It was amazing to see the huge fish for sale and it felt like a real taste of Madeira life. When I go to a market on holiday, I either want to enjoy my purchase there or take it home. However, with most of the produce, this wasn't possible. - Although, I did love the selection of flowers and I'm sure the local produce is great, it would have been nice to see some street food vendors, perhaps from local restaurants. We found the staff at the dried fruit and nut stalls to be overly pushy. - 'Try dried mango!' 'Try salted cashews!' They push a sample your way and it is near impossible to say no. By this point we were in a hurry to get out. A pleasant wander but, sadly, nothing caught my eye.