Lisbon with Kids: The Best Activities and Practical Tips

Lisbon with Kids: Is It Worth It?

Honestly, we were a little skeptical about whether Lisbon was the right destination for a family trip, especially with toddlers. After all, there are a lot of steep hills, it can get seriously hot in summer, and streetcars rattle through the narrow alleys everywhere you turn.

After more than a week in Lisbon with the whole family, we can say: Lisbon with kids is absolutely amazing!

The people are incredibly welcoming to families, and there are plenty of highlights that kids love — whether they’re toddlers or teenagers.

We’ll share our best tips and favorite activities right here.

General Tips for a Family Vacation in Lisbon

Let’s start with some practical advice that’ll make your trip to Lisbon with kids a whole lot easier.

Public Transportation in Lisbon with Kids

Lisbon has a really excellent public transit system. With the metro, trams, and buses, you can get anywhere quickly and affordably — including to Lisbon Airport.

Public transit is free for children under 3. So you can simply hop on with your toddler without needing to buy an extra ticket. From age 4, however, children need their own ticket and must pay the full price.

Discounts are only available on Comboios de Portugal (CP) trains. Children between 4 and 12 years old pay half price there. CP operates regional trains, which you may use on a day trip to the beach or to Sintra.

Our day trip tips for Lisbon
Our tip: We recommend getting a Navegante card (formerly Viva Viagem) for yourself and your kids.

It’s a transit card for Lisbon’s public transportation system that you can load with credit and tap against the card reader every time you ride a bus or train — super convenient and affordable.

We’ve written up all the details about the Navegante card and its alternatives in this article:

A great alternative to public transit is the hop-on/hop-off bus in Lisbon. You can find more information in a separate article.

Food and Drink

Restaurants in Lisbon are generally very family-friendly. High chairs are available pretty much everywhere.

A great place to eat with kids is the Time Out Market. The huge food hall has countless stalls, so there’s something for every taste. If your kids are all about pizza and burgers while you’d rather have traditional Portuguese cuisine, the Time Out Market has you covered.

That said, it’s almost always extremely busy there, which not all kids enjoy.

What your kids will definitely love are the delicious Pastéis de Nata. These little custard-filled pastries are available on every corner. We had at least one every day — after all, vacation is the perfect time to indulge a little.

Lisbon with a Baby

Lisbon is also very easy to visit with a baby. However, because of the city’s many steep hills, a stroller is not necessarily recommended.

You can certainly manage with one, but it’s not particularly comfortable. We’d suggest a baby carrier instead.

Breastfeeding in public is absolutely no problem in Lisbon and is considered completely normal everywhere.

Diapers, baby food, and everything else you might need are readily available at supermarkets. The Pingo Doce supermarkets are particularly well-stocked. However, there are relatively few supermarkets in the city center.

In the streets around Jardim da Parada in Campo de Ourique (where there’s also a playground), you’ll find many children’s stores selling kids’ clothing, toys, and everything else you need for little ones.

Playgrounds in Lisbon

Playgrounds in central Lisbon are unfortunately hard to come by. The city is so densely built up that open space is genuinely scarce.

Where playgrounds do exist, they’re usually very small and often consist of just one or two pieces of equipment. One such playground is located right next to the Time Out Market, for example.

You’ll find a truly large and lovely playground in the Jardim Da Estrela, which we’ll cover in more detail when we get to our favorite activities.

Family Hotels in Lisbon

Lisbon has plenty of family-friendly accommodations. Most hotels are generally well set up for young guests, but there are a few we especially want to highlight for your city trip with kids.

Martinhal Lisbon Chiado

This property right in the center is fully geared toward children. There are spacious family rooms, and best of all: a Kids Club. Children can play there and are even supervised by experienced staff, so parents can explore Lisbon on their own for a while.

With the extra Baby Concierge service, you can also direct any special requests to the hotel. Need a specific baby food, a new pack of diapers, or a potty? No problem — this hotel has everything.

Check out Martinhal Lisbon Chiado

Moxy Lisbon City

The Moxy is a pretty affordable hotel in central Lisbon with nice family rooms. The rooftop terrace has a pool — a solid choice for families with older kids.

Check out Moxy Lisbon City

The Homeboat Company Parque das Nações

Want to stay somewhere truly unique with your kids? How about a houseboat? On the former Expo grounds, that’s entirely possible — with room for up to six people.

The only downside: you’re not right in the center of Lisbon and will need to budget about 30 minutes of travel time to get there.

Check out The Homeboat Company Parque das Nações

The Felix 10

The Felix 10 isn’t a classic family hotel, but it’s still our top pick. There are family rooms with two large beds across two separate rooms, and the staff is incredibly welcoming to families. Parents can unwind in the evening on the rooftop terrace with a glass of wine.

The neighborhood is quiet and close to the center. Tram 25E stops right around the corner, so you can start every day with a ride on one of the old streetcars.

Check out The Felix 10

The Best Activities and Sights in Lisbon with Kids

So what can you actually do with kids in Lisbon? Quite a lot! In addition to the classic sights in Lisbon, there are also many activities in Lisbon that kids especially enjoy.

Our tip: Some of the highlights featured here are also popular with local families. We’d recommend visiting these attractions on weekdays and avoiding weekends — it’ll be much less crowded.

Science Museum: Pavilhão do Conhecimento

First up is the Pavilhão do Conhecimento, Lisbon’s science museum. It might sound a little dry at first glance, but for us it was the ultimate must-see for kids.

The museum is made exclusively for children and is so fantastic that what we’d planned as a half-day visit turned into a full day. So plan plenty of time for your visit — your kids will absolutely love this place.

The science museum is completely interactive. Instead of just exhibits to look at, everything here is about hands-on participation. Kids can try things out, press buttons, and run little experiments everywhere they turn.

The museum is just as exciting for toddlers from age three as it is for older kids and even teenagers.

Older kids can play with robots or build circuits, while toddlers have a wonderful room full of interactive games. Our personal highlight was the construction site area, which is only open to children ages 3–6, where they can operate a crane or load a train.

When we asked our 3-year-old son after a week in Lisbon with kids what he’d liked most about the city, his answer was: “The construction site!”

Getting there:

The science museum is located outside the city center on the former Expo grounds. You should budget a good half hour for the trip. Take the metro to the Oriente station, from which it’s about a 10-minute walk.

Alternatively, you can take bus line 728, which runs from Cais do Sodré station, among others, and takes 30 minutes to arrive directly at the science museum’s entrance.

Oceanarium

Right next to the science museum, the next highlight for kids in Lisbon awaits: the Oceanarium.

The Oceanário de Lisboa is the largest aquarium in Europe and an absolute must-see for kids. At the center of the building is the enormous main tank, home to sharks, rays, and colorful schools of fish.

There are also various smaller tanks where kids can marvel at reptiles, jellyfish, and seahorses. Plus there are penguins and sea lions.

Plan on spending two to three hours at the aquarium. There’s also a large restaurant inside that serves genuinely delicious food at fair prices — with plenty of options for kids.

When you enter the aquarium, you’ll probably immediately see a huge crowd gathered in front of the main central tank. Just walk past it. There’s a walking path that circles the entire aquarium, and there are countless spots where you can watch the fish in peace. The crowding only happens right at the entrance.

Our tip: Be sure to buy your tickets online in advance. When we arrived, there was a fairly long line at the ticket counters. With our online tickets, we were able to skip right past it and head straight in. The price is the same as at the door.

Get tickets for the Oceanarium

Cable Car in Parque das Nações

Our third kid-friendly attraction in Lisbon is also on the former Expo grounds.

Right behind the aquarium, there’s a cable car that lets you and your kids glide over the modern architecture of the Expo site. From up here, you get fantastic views over Lisbon.

The Teleférico do Parque das Nações stretches 1,230 meters and the ride takes about five minutes. It pairs perfectly with a visit to the Oceanarium.

You can choose between a one-way ticket or a return ticket to ride back.

Tickets can also be purchased online, though there wasn’t a long line at the ticket counter when we visited.

Get tickets for the cable car

Jardim do Estrela: The Most Beautiful Playground in Lisbon

The Jardim do Estrela is a green oasis in the heart of the city and one of our favorite under-the-radar picks in Lisbon. The park isn’t just beautiful — it’s also really great for kids.

There’s a pond where you can watch ducks and turtles, along with what is probably the largest and most beautiful playground near the city center.

Restrooms and two bistros are also on-site, making it everything you need for a relaxed afternoon with the family.

Tram 28E stops right at the main entrance — which brings us straight to the next kid-friendly attraction.

Exploring the City on the Old Streetcar

Riding the streetcar was genuinely one of the absolute highlights for our kids. The old, rattling trams in particular held a huge fascination for them.

The most well-known route is Tram Line 28E, which clatters through the narrow alleyways of Alfama. However, the 28E is always very crowded, which isn’t ideal when you’re traveling with kids in Lisbon.

That’s why we recommend boarding at the terminus Campo Ourique (Prazeres) — that way you’re guaranteed a seat. At the other terminus, Martim Moniz, tourists often line up, so getting on there is considerably harder.

Alternatively, you can take Lines 12E and 25E. These also run the old trams but are usually much less crowded — and the kids probably don’t mind which route they’re on anyway.

Zipping Through the Streets in an E-Tuk Tuk

If your kids prefer a bit more excitement, we recommend a ride in an e-tuk tuk. These electric three-wheelers have become an iconic part of Lisbon’s streetscape, and a tuk tuk ride is one of the most popular tours through Lisbon.

You can flag one down and take a short ride, or book a tour that covers Lisbon’s main sights over two to three hours.

For kids, a tour in these quirky little vehicles is guaranteed to be a great time.

Book a tuk tuk tour here

Crossing the Tagus by Boat

A boat ride is always a win with kids and an adventure at any age.

An affordable option is the trip by ferry to Cacilhas. You can simply check in with your Navegante card and the crossing only takes about ten minutes. This is a particularly good option for very young children, since you sit inside on the ferries and the kids are well sheltered from the sun.

With older kids, a trip across the Tagus on one of the sailboats is a wonderful experience. The boat tours last between one and three hours and offer stunning views of the city and the impressive suspension bridge Ponte 25 de Abril.

And when else do kids get the chance to ride on a real sailboat?

Book a sailboat ride here

Up and Down in the Elevator

Lisbon is the city of elevators and funiculars. To handle the steep climbs within the historic center, the city has several of these lifts.

For older kids, this probably isn’t all that exciting, but toddlers can be totally captivated by a funicular ride.

A ride on the Elevador da Bica or the Elevador da Glória is worth it. You can also use your Navegante card for the ride.

Floating Above the Lisbon Zoo

A zoo visit isn’t an attraction unique to Lisbon, but it’s always a hit with kids.

So if you’ve already worked through everything else on your list and the little ones still need one more highlight, a trip to the zoo is a great option.

The standout feature is the cable car that glides over the entire zoo, giving you a completely different perspective on the animals over the course of a more than 20-minute ride.

Buy zoo tickets online

Day Trip to the Beach

Your kids have had enough of the city? Then head to the beach.

Lisbon is just a stone’s throw from the ocean. In just about 20 minutes by train, you can reach some wonderful Atlantic beaches where you and your kids can spend a fantastic day.