Activities
Ride a loop of the city on the classic old 28 tram to get your bearings, or take a hop on – hop off sightseeing bus, it takes you around Lisbon’s main attractions and is a great way to see the spectacular architecture and do a bit of people watching too.
You can buy a ticket for 24 hours unlimited travel and use this to discover and explore the city’s key sights, museums, gardens and attractions at your own leisure. A great way to spend the afternoon is exploring Lisbon Zoo and Children’s Museum. Visit Dolphin Bay, watch the sea lions being fed or head to the enchanted forest.
For a sweet treat visit the legendary café, Antiga Confeitaria de Belém where you can indulge in a traditional Pasteis De Nata.
Don’t miss: Kids will delight in riding the bright yellow funiculars around the city and the Santa Justa Lift up into the picturesque hilltop Bairro Alto district, with its cobbled streets, brightly coloured buildings and breathtaking vistas. These historical streets come alive at night with jazz music, djs and live bands creating a cool youthful atmosphere that should impress your teens.
Top tip: The majority of people in Lisbon tend to eat dinner late, so if you want to eat out, it’s a good idea to take advantage of great value lunchtime set menus.
Why go?
Lisbon is friendly, very walkable and offers enough cultural interest for a short escape that is fun yet educational for your little ones. It represents comparatively good value to other European cities and Portugal is, overall, pretty child friendly. Many of the attractions offer half-price tickets for kids and little ones go free on public transport.
The lowdown
How to get there: Fly direct from London to Lisbon from £96.42 with easyJet or £142 with British Airways.
Travel time: Flights take 2 hours and 35 minutes.