All visitors to the island's capital go to the local market. Even if they do not intend to go there, they still get to Mercado led by crowds of noisy tourists. The name "Mercado dos Lavradores" means "the farmers' market". It doesn't work on Sundays and holidays and has a short day on Saturday. But it is enough to plunge into colors, tastes, smells, and voices.

You first experience a shock right at the entrance. It's rather hard to recognize at least some plants on the flower rows. Perhaps, the only familiar flower is Strelitzia. It looks like a fairy tale red bird and is considered one of the symbols of Madeira. Flower women are dressed in national costumes: white blouse, red skirt, striped apron, soft leather ankle boots. You can buy seeds and seedlings, but you need to check the rules of phytosanitary control, perhaps you can't take such goods to your country.

Next are fruit rows. The only usual goods here are strawberries, bananas, and mangos. Everything else is like a dream of a crazy geneticist who crossbred everything. Persistent sellers will offer you to taste tomato, pineapple or banana flavored passion fruit, Swiss cheese plant, Cayenne cherry (a hybrid of tomato and cherry), araza, guava, and cherimoya. You can buy a kilogram or one fruit. Be careful! Tasting fruits can be moistened with sugar syrup for flavor. And the seller can "accidentally" change the price of one fruit to the price of one kilogram.

Fishing quotas in Madeira are quite limited, a significant part of the production immediately goes to cafes and restaurants. Therefore, it is better to come to see the variety of fish in the morning. The market even has an observation deck, perfect for watching sellers skillfully cutting 1-2-meter-long tuna. Another local attraction is beltfish. The inhabitant of the depths has a rather frightening appearance: sharp teeth, huge bulging eyes, and a long narrow body. On Saturday mornings, a spontaneous "flea market" is set up around the building. Here, the catch depends only on the luck of the buyer!