UPDATED: 16-03-2020 ◊ ZMIEŃ JĘZYK: POLSKI
Ronaldo is proud of his island, just like his island is proud of him.
Are you a fan of CR7? Are you visiting Ronaldo’s birthplace island and would you like to visit places associated with him? This post is for you.
- Places associated with Ronaldo in Funchal
- 3 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Museum (CR7 Museum)
- 4 – Ronaldo’s Monument
- 5 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Hotel (Pestana CR7 Funchal)
- 6 – Official Cristiano Ronaldo (‘s sister) store in Funchal
- 7 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s mural in Santo Antoni
- 8 – Small mural of Cristiano in the centre of Funchal
- 9 – Pico dos Barcelos Viewpoint
- 10 – Ronaldo’s first football clubs in Madeira
- 11 – Ronaldo’s house(s) in Funchal
- Places associated with Ronaldo – outside of Funchal
- Bonus: Elvis and Ronaldo Sanctuary
- Ronaldo – the icon of Madeira?
The birthplace of Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro…
Ronaldo was born on Madeira Island, a small, but beautiful Portuguese island on the Atlantic. During my regular visits on the island, I came across multiple places on the island which are more or less associated with him. I thought it would be great to share my list and map with you. Have you discovered other “Ronaldo places” on Madeira which worth mentioning? Let us know in the comments!1 – Cristiano Ronaldo Airport Madeira (FNC)
We notice that Madeira is proud of Ronaldo since the moment we land on… yes – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Airport. Regular visitors are no longer surprised when they see Ronaldo’s face in the logo of the airport, but occasionally you can still hear disbelief while the pilot announces the airport name.
2 – Ronaldo’s bust
Ronaldo’s bust can also be found at the airport, next to the Arrivals Hall exit. This is the second bust placed there. The previous bust wasn’t a big success and looked more like a caricature. The present bust still doesn’t resemble Ronaldo perfectly, but it is much better.
Places associated with Ronaldo in Funchal
In Funchal you will find:
3 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Museum (CR7 Museum)
In the area next to Funchal Marina you will find the Hotel, Museum, Monument and Cafe/Restaurant of CR7. Even the square where the building is located was named after the footballer – Praça CR7.
I visited the restaurant/bar multiple times, but I did not visit the museum until the fifth visit. I am not crazy about football, but I must admit that the museum did not disappoint me – just the opposite.
If you are not a fan of football or Cristiano, I would rather recommend taking a picture with his monument and a lunch or a coffee at Cristiano Cafe – CR7 Corner Pizza Burger Beer and Wine – in which you can find decorations referring to Ronaldo, ie his autographed t-shirts, and even Ronaldo’s face instead of the mirror in the bathroom:
However, if you are into football, you should definitely enter the CR7 Museum.
Tickets cost 5 euro each. You will find there Ronaldo’s medals, prizes and trophies, his interactive career history, letters from his fans, gold and silver shoes and t-shirts.
The most interesting is the opportunity to take a virtual photo with the star on the interactive screen “CR7 AUGMENTED REALITY”. This pleasure costs an additional 5 euro, but if you do not feel like paying extra, you will be able to take a picture with two of the other statues of Ronaldo inside the museum.
It was very interesting to see letters from Ronaldo’s fans from all over the world…
The museum, which is surprisingly large, is located on level -1. On the ground floor by the entrance, you can buy official Ronaldo souvenirs, for example, a bottle of Madeira wine for 15 euro. A T-shirt costs 80 euro.
4 – Ronaldo’s Monument
5 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Hotel (Pestana CR7 Funchal)
Located in the same building as the museum and the restaurant. It is a modern, contemporary design, 4-star hotel located in the very centre of Funchal, on a walking distance from the port, marina, city centre and the Old Town (Zona Velha).
GO TO POST: THE STREET ART OF ZONA VELHA, FUNCHAL
6 – Official Cristiano Ronaldo (‘s sister) store in Funchal
The current address is:
9000-116 Funchal, Madeira
Phone 291 766 332
This is how it looked before the move:
You could (and probably still can) buy there clothes for men, women, kids, backpacks, mugs, footballs and other CR7 accessories.
7 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s mural in Santo Antoni
In the neighbourhood where Ronaldo grew up, you can find a large and well-done mural of the footballer. It is painted on the wall of St. Antonio Civic Center and it presents Ronaldo wearing the shirt of the Portuguese national team.
Picture credits: richardwilsonartwork.com @richardwilsonartwork
In my opinion, the author of the mural – Richard Wilson – did a great job. Of all Ronaldo’s portraits available in Madeira, this one is by far the best and resembles Ronaldo the most.
8 – Small mural of Cristiano in the centre of Funchal
If you are not able to visit Santo Antonio… Just next to the famous fruit market Mercado dos Lavradores, on a wall of Auto Silo do Campo da Barca you will find another, smaller mural/graffiti of Ronaldo.
GO TO POST: MERCADO DOS LAVRADORES IN FUNCHAL – GREAT ATTRACTION OF A TOURIST TRAP?
On another wall of this same building, you will also find the famous whale mural La Baleia made by Marcos Milewski.
9 – Pico dos Barcelos Viewpoint
The picture was published worldwide and you can see it [HERE]. It was even parodied by a [LOCAL COMEDIAN].
Would you like to visit the same viewpoint and take your own version of this photo?
Here is the exact location in question – the railing on the eastern side terrace:
Even if you do not intend to copy Ronaldo’s picture, the Pico dos Barcelos Viewpoint is still a place worth visiting. It is on the way to the beautiful Curral das Freiras (Valley of the Nuns) and offers magnificent views of the entire Funchal Bay.
10 – Ronaldo’s first football clubs in Madeira
11 – Ronaldo’s house(s) in Funchal
The house where Ronaldo grew up (Quinta do Falcao 27 A) has unfortunately been demolished. You won’t be able to see his childhood house – you will only be able to walk through the streets where he used to play football as a child.
Some time ago, the love of Ronaldo, Georgina Rodríguez, posted on her Instagram an interesting picture [SEE PHOTO] of them walking through the streets of Santo Antonio. Seeing Ronaldo’s childhood neighbourhood was a very touching moment for her.
The hospital where Ronaldo was born is Dr. Nélio Mendonça Hospital (Av. Luís de Camões 6180, 9000-177 Funchal).
What about his current house? Does Ronaldo currently have a house on Madeira and does he ever visit the island?
Well, yes. His house is located at Rampa do Carvão (Rua Princesa D. Amélia & Rua Carvalho Araújo), next to the Funchal Port roundabout.
12 – Ronaldo’s signed T-shirt in Madeira Story Centre
Ronaldo is so important in the history of Funchal that his footprint – an autographed t-shirt – can also be found at the Madeira Story Center Museum in the Old Town of Funchal.
RELATED POSTS:
Places associated with Ronaldo – outside of Funchal
13 – Ronaldo collection in Câmara de Lobos
While getting a Poncha at the famous colourful fishing village Câmara de Lobos, we did not expect such a large collection of CR7 souvenirs.
GO TO POST: CAMARA DE LOBOS
You will find it in the bar: Filhos D’Mar on Largo do Poço.
One of the pictures presented Ronaldo with the owner of the bar, who at the same time was busy preparing our drinks.
The owner, however, didn’t seem to be in a mood for a chat about the history of these souvenirs- I was only able to find out that Ronaldo is a good friend of the bar owner.
Bonus: Elvis and Ronaldo Sanctuary
If you love quirky and random places, pin this spot on your Madeira bucket list map. When driving from Ponta dos Sol towards Paul de Serra (ER209), you will notice a small exhibition – a tribute to Elvis Presley and Cristiano Ronaldo.
More about this place: HERE
Ronaldo – the icon of Madeira?
Despite this fairly long list of places, I do not think the island is “full of Ronaldo”. You won’t find his face looking down on you on every corner, as you might have expected. We found some Ronaldo gadgets in a souvenir store, saw some posters in the mall and a couple of cheap shirts at Mercado dos Lavradores, but.. that was basically it.
Yes, Madeira is proud of Ronaldo, but being the birthplace of Ronaldo is just one of the many, many things which Madeira can be proud of…
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The sister shop of cr7, is no longer there!
We just checked it!
Greetings
Thanks for the update! I will check next week and revise the post.
We stayed at the Quinta da Penha de Franca last week. It has a sister hotel/annexe called Penha de Franca Mar on the sea front, separated from the Quinta by a small bridge, Ronaldo’s new house is sandwiched right between the two of them. Incredible that he got permission (well maybe not: it’s Ronaldo, after all!) as it blocks much of the view of the sea from the gardens and rooms of the Quinta. It’s really quite ugly. I’ve nothing against its modernity but its architecture seems remarkably bland – and very opaque, with only a limited attempt to make… Read more »
what about this place – the best museum to Ronaldo on the island (not my blog by the way)
https://atlanticiscalling.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/elvis-and-ronaldo-sanctuary-unexpected-trip/
Great tip, thank you so much! I guess the blog post will need an update pretty soon.