Museu de Electricidade Casa da Luz

If you ever find yourself in Madeira and are looking for a quirky little adventure, you simply have to check out the electricity museum! Yes, I said electricity. Trust me, it sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is. This place takes you on a journey through time, showing just how the island transitioned from grumbling old diesel and oil generators to fancy modern hydro, wind, and solar systems. I mean, who knew energy could have such a glow-up? It’s like watching your awkward high school friend transform into a stylish adult. The exhibits are laid out nicely, and there’s something oddly fascinating about seeing the evolution of power. It's like a history lesson but without the snooze-fest—more like a fun trip through an electricity theme park (minus the roller coaster, sadly). The docents are also pretty enthusiastic, which helps a lot. They clearly love what they do. One of the highlights for me was spotting a man repairing a vintage radio from the 1930s. It was like stepping into a time machine, watching him conjure life back into that old equipment. I kept thinking, if only that radio could tell stories! Honestly, it’s an unexpected gem worth your time. You’ll leave with a smidge more knowledge and maybe even an appreciation for how we power our modern lives. Plus, it gives you a cool conversation starter for dinner parties: “Did you know how Madeira once powered itself?!” Just don’t expect wild applause after that—unless your friends are nerds about energy systems, too!

A small but really interesting and interactive museum - you can touch and try almost everything

A place where you can see how the Madeira electricity system and production have developed over time—from old diesel and oil-powered generators to hydroelectric, wind, and solar systems. It is interesting but could have been presented in a more engaging way. Still, it is worth visiting. However, the most powerful and emotional exhibition in this museum is the collection of photos from the devastating floods that affected Madeira in February 2010. Very moving.

A beautifully presented museum. Early learning electrical science for the youngsters and the history of Madeira's electricity supply for the older ones. There was also a display of photographs of Funchal's last flooding disaster with a video of some of the events during those days. Well worth a visit.

Very interesting museum to learn about how the islands were electrified and see some of the original infrastructure

Visit takes around 1.5 hours. It offers a blend of knowledge about Madeira’s history and energy/electricity. The price is very affordable, making it perfect for for example rainy days.

Really interesting history of electricity in Funchal. Surprising in many ways. We were the only people there so it was very quiet. Quite a bit of the exhibition is in Portuguese only but it was still interesting to see, especially with the photography exhibition alongside it.

This is a really good technology museum, telling the history of the electrification of Madeira and Porto Santo, with very effective hands-on displays teaching the essentials of how energy and electromagnetism works. Does that sound possibly a bit tedious? It really isn't. This is all accompanied by examples of preserved equipment from the various stages of the islands' electrification. Main labels are Portuguese with enough English summary to get the gist.