Câmara de Lobos
Câmara de Lobos, a working harbour rather than a set piece
The short answer
Câmara de Lobos is a working fishing town west of Funchal and the first place settled on Madeira, where João Gonçalves Zarco was based in the early fifteenth century. Its bay is full of painted xavelhas fishing boats. The municipality also contains Cabo Girão and Curral das Freiras.
The facts
| Where | Câmara de Lobos |
|---|---|
| Type | Villages worth a day |
| How long | Two to three hours |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Cost | Free |
| Best season | Year round |
| Permit | No permit recorded |
The town
Câmara de Lobos was the first place settled on Madeira, and João Gonçalves Zarco was based here between 1420 and 1424. The bay is still full of xavelhas, the painted wooden fishing boats the town is known for.
It is a working harbour. Nets, ice and diesel are part of the scene, and not every corner of it is picturesque.
What is worth stopping for
The municipality holds the fifteenth-century Nossa Senhora da Conceição chapel, the old São Bernardino convent of 1425 and the sixteenth-century São Sebastião church.
It also contains Cabo Girão and Curral das Freiras, which is why a day built around Câmara de Lobos usually turns out to be a day built around the municipality rather than the town.
What is not perfect about it
It is still a real fishing harbour rather than a preserved set piece, which means parts of it are workaday and slightly scruffy. That is the appeal for some visitors and a disappointment for others expecting the version in the paintings.
Questions people actually ask
Is Câmara de Lobos worth visiting?
It is a working fishing town rather than a preserved one. Anyone expecting a tidy harbour set piece will find parts of it workaday; anyone wanting a town that still does its original job will not.
What else is in the municipality?
Cabo Girão and Curral das Freiras are both in Câmara de Lobos municipality, which makes a single day out of all three straightforward.
What are the painted boats?
Xavelhas, the traditional wooden fishing boats of the bay. They are working craft, not decoration.
Where this came from
- Visit Madeira: Câmara de Lobos. visitmadeira.com/en/where-to-go/madeira/south-coast/camara Read August 26, 2026.
- OpenStreetMap Nominatim: Coordinates for Câmara de Lobos (ODbL). nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search Read August 26, 2026.