Monte Palace Tropical Garden in Madeira
Monte Palace Tropical Garden in Madeira In the 18th century the English Consul Charles Murray, bought a property on "Monte", a prime hilltop location, with panoramic views over Funchal's Bay and transformed it into a beautiful estate, then called "Quinta do Prazer" (The Pleasure Estate). Towards the end of the 19th century, some of the wealthiest families of Madeira used to live in fine estates situated on the outskirts of Funchal. Around 100 years later, the estate was bought by Alfredo Rodrigues, who built a mansion that was later transformed into a hotel called Monte Palace Hotel. When he passed away, the hotel was closed and the estate was taken over in 1987 by a financial institution businessman and art collector José Berardo, who completely transformed it into this magnificent work of art that we now call Quinta do Monte Palace or simply Monte Palace Tropical Garden . Presently it is owned by the José Berardo Foundation and boasts over 100,000 plant spe