Visiting Lisbon with your family

Visiting Lisbon alone, as a couple or with your family with children means planning completely different itineraries. Children need to be occupied and in this article you will find the attractions or things to see in Lisbon that are more suitable for children. How to visit Lisbon with children? What attractions to see so that they too can enjoy the city? Below you will find some answers: Lisbon has a lot of attractions for children, but you have to be aware of them!

Travelling with a child should not be a problem and will certainly not be a problem in Lisbon, they won’t be bored. Lisbon, like Portugal, offers a variety of entertainment and animations for children: the beaches, tasting ice cream like they have never eaten before, the Lisbon Aquarium, the Zoo, children’s parks…The choice is great but I have selected only a few below, children will already be delighted if you have the time to take them everywhere!

Visiting Lisbon as a Family: the Lisboa Card

If you want to visit Lisbon with your family and children, the Lisboa Card seems to me to be indispensable. The cost of transport or visits is multiplied by the number of people and can be quickly quantified. My advice is therefore to get this card (All about the Lisboa Card) valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours and which will offer you free transport in all Lisbon as well as discounts for many visits or free entry to places not to be missed in the capital.

Click on the Lisboa Card to order it online

The Lisbon Aquarium

The Lisbon Aquarium has a large pool the size of four Olympic-sized pools with a capacity of 5 million litres of water and the entire Lisbon Oceanarium complex consists of four areas around the central aquarium. Each zone has two floors and allows the observation of flora and fauna both above and below the water level. Children will be particularly interested in the possibility of seeing different types of sharks up close, including hammerheads, rays or fish that you are used to eating, such as tuna.

In these four areas you can admire the flora and fauna of different regions of the world. The Pacific Ocean section, for example, presents a Californian-style landscape with forests of underwater algae, anemones and otters that delight all visitors. In another area representing Antarctica, the temperature does not exceed 12°C and the main inhabitants are penguins.

The Aquarium also organizes nights where children can sleep in the aquarium, right next to the main tank and its sharks! To find out more about this place to visit as a family in Lisbon, visit the dedicated page on the Lisbon Aquarium.

Practical information about the Lisbon Oceanarium

• Ocenário de Lisboa, Parque das Nações, Lisbon
• Telephone: +351 218917002 or 06
• Email: reservas@oceanario.pt
• Ticket prices (permanent exhibition): Family ticket (2 adults and 2 children up to 12 years old) 39 €, children under 3 years old free, children 4-12 years old 10 €, from 13 to 65 years old. 15 €, seniors over 65 pay 10 €.
• Ticket prices (permanent exhibition and temporary exhibition): 47 € (2 adults and 2 children), 12 € (4 to 12 years old), 18 € (13 to 65 years old) and 12 € (Seniors)
• Opening hours: 10.00 – 20.00, last entrance at 19.00 (summer) / 10.00 – 19.00, last entrance at 18.00 (winter)

The Knowledge and Science Pavilion in Lisbon

Put on your costume and drive a space rocket or a square-wheeled car, investigate the clues of a crime or discover all the secrets of the current. A whole host of fun possibilities and activities offered by the Lisbon Knowledge and Science Pavilion (In Portuguese: Pavilhão do Conhecimento – Ciência Viva).

It is an interactive science museum where fun is combined with knowledge, suitable for a family visit with or without children. The Centre has prepared exhibits and facilities for children of all ages so that no one gets bored. Children can create, learn, play, learn, discover, build and above all learn while having fun.

Practical information about the Knowledge and Science Pavilion in Lisbon

• Pavilhão do Conhecimento – Ciência Viva, Parque das Nações, Alameda dos Oceanos, Lot 2.10.01,1990-223 Lisboa
• Telephone: +351 21 891 71 04 or 00
• Email: info@pavconhecimento.pt
• Tickets: Family ticket (2 adults + 2 children up to 17 years old) at the price of 24 €, free entrance for children under 2 years old, 3-11 years old 6 €, 12-17 years old 7 €, 17 years old and over, up to 65 years old 9 €. Persons over 65 years old € 6.
• Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10.00 – 18.00 / Weekends and holidays: 11.00 – 19.00 / Closed on Mondays

Click on the following link to discover the best museums in Lisbon.

Lisbon Zoo

Attractions at Lisbon Zoo include dolphin shows, sea lion feeding and a combined show with pelican feeding. In total, there are more than 2000 animals in the zoo, representing about 350 species. It is a real live biology lesson for children and adults alike.

The biggest attractions at Lisbon Zoo are the white tigers and white rhinos, one of which was born in 2011. Access to Lisbon Zoo is also easy as the Zoo is located 10 minutes by metro from the city centre, on the blue metro line.

You will also be able to take your children to visit the Zoo from the air thanks to gondolas in which you stand and which travel all over the Lisbon Zoo from the sky.

Practical information on Lisbon Zoo

• Praça General Humberto Delgado, Sete Rios, Lisbon
• Phone: +351 217 232 920
• Email: info@zoolisboa.pt
• Tickets: Children under 3 years free, 3-11 years 14.5 €, 12-64 years 20.5 €, seniors over 65 € 16 €.
• Opening hours: 10.00 – 20.00 (summer) / 10.00 – 18.00 (winter)

The small town of KidZania

It’s a place where only children have access. Here they can let their imagination run wild and become the person they want to be: a teacher, a doctor, a painter and even a writer or a fireman. They will be able to choose from among the 60 professions available to them.

The work must be taken seriously because children are paid for it. The children also manage their own money, which is called KidZos. They will be able to deposit it in a bank account, go to the supermarket, go to the hairdresser, rent a car, withdraw from an ATM, etc…

On 6500 m2 there is an airport, a bank, cafes, a power station, a dentist, a discotheque, various schools and a playground. In the sports section there is a stadium and a basketball court, where small players can spend their energy.

A rather surprising immersion in real life in Lisbon, in which children will be able to think they are parents!

Practical information about KidZania in Lisbon

• KidZania Dolce Vita Tejo – Lodge 1054, Avenida Cruzeiro Seixas 7,2650-504 Amador.
• Telephone: +351 21 154 55 30
• Email: info@kidzania.pt
• Tickets: Free for children under 2 years old, 3-4 years old 12 €, 5-15 years old 19,50 €, adults 10 €, seniors +65 years old 8 €.
• Opening hours: 11.00 – 20.00 / Times may vary, it is best to consult them before your family visit on www.kidzania.pt.

Parks and recreation areas in Lisbon – Monsanto Park

For those looking to relax and get the kids running in nature, Monsanto Park is an excellent solution. It is a park of more than 900 hectares located near the centre of Lisbon. It was created in the middle of the forest and has plenty of nooks and crannies, ideal for letting children have fun and expend their energy.

There are many children’s parks in Lisbon and you will find playgrounds in the parks da Pedra, da Serafina and do Alvito for example. Among their attractions, you will find the well-known ones such as swings, slides, ladders and sandboxes, but also others a little less common such as tented tepees, climbing walls, wooden obstacle courses, rope parks… There are also many cafes and kiosks where you can sit and have a coffee or ice cream.

Those who want to relax with children in the center of Lisbon can go to Jardim da Estrela (Estrela Garden), which is located in front of the Estrela Basilica, where there is a tram 28 stop and a children’s playground in Edward VII Park near Marques de Pombal Square.

Visiting Lisbon with a child

Before entering the places to visit, I advise you to take a look at the new trampoline park that has just opened in Lisbon. It’s called Bounce and will allow teenagers to have a great time. All the info on the official BOUNCE website.

The Belém district is certainly one of the Lisbon neighbourhoods to visit with families with children. For example, you will find the Tower of Belém, which may be of interest to the youngest ones. Even if they are not interested in the historical side, they will see this monument as a labyrinth to explore and in which they can run and let off steam.

This district of Lisbon is interesting because it borders the Tagus river, has parks and large esplanades and children will enjoy a little picnic by the water and the large spaces to let off steam. You will also find in this area :

• The Monastery of Jerónimos
• The Maritime Museum with a special section for the youngest, which presents different ships from different periods.
• The discovery monument
• A tropical garden in Belém, which will offer a moment of freshness and relaxation for children and parents.

If the children don’t have enough of them, you can take the older ones along to the Coach Museum in Belem, which presents the history of carriages through the ages with very old models.

Visiting Lisbon with your family and children can also be done in the Parc des Nations district (Oriente district), which was built over the Expo in 1998. This is where the Pavilion of Knowledge and Science is located, as well as the famous Lisbon Oceanarium. There are also many walking areas, fountains, a cable car and the possibility of renting bicycles. It is the most visited place by families in Lisbon.

If the weather does not allow you to enjoy the movement and fresh air, you might consider visiting the Puppet Museum in Lisbon, which presents puppets from the Middle Ages to the most modern.

Museums for children in Lisbon

Every year in Lisbon there are more and more museums and galleries that focus on multimedia and interactive presentation of their installations. New technologies that allow children to have much more fun when visiting these museums.

When visiting the Baixa district in Lisbon (tourist centre of the capital of Portugal), it is interesting to note two museums :

• The Money Museum in Lisbon, which using various methods of money transfers shows us the history of money in the world. The youngest visitors to this museum will be able to mint a coin, print a banknote with their own image or touch a real gold bar and enter the bank vault.
• The Lisboa Story Center: a 60-minute journey through the history of the city, using various media, brings you back to the 1755 earthquake and takes you to the old port depot. The museum’s facilities allow children to have much more fun while visiting these museums.

Let’s not forget that visiting Lisbon with your family means going to the beach, it will surely please the children and there are many of them around Lisbon. The best beaches in Lisbon and good for children are :

• The beaches of Costa da Caparica
• The beaches of Setubal
• The beach of Carcavelos
• Estoril Beach

You will find the main beaches around Lisbon on the Lisbon guide page !