One of the island's top tourist attractions, Madeira's famous botanical gardens are a must for most visitors. Extending over 80,000 sq metres, the gardens are packed with exotic flora, some endemic to the archipelago. Huge cacti, flowers bursting in showers of colour and weird-and-wonderful shrubs and trees vie for your attention. The only competition to the plant life comes in the shape of the aviary in the southern section, which you can visit on the same ticket.