Festas de Lisboa and Santos Populares with Kids

Lisbon's old neighborhoods turn their squares and stairways into arraiais: street parties under paper garlands, with grills smoking sardines and music for dancing late. Kids take in the bunting and the crowds, and many families bring home a manjerico, a pot of basil with a paper flower and a short verse.

It suits kids who handle noise, crowds and late nights, less so toddlers who need an early bedtime.

Each of Lisbon's old neighborhoods (Alfama, Mouraria, Bica, Madragoa and more) sends a marcha down Avenida da Liberdade: a troupe of couples in matching costumes, carrying decorated arches and singing its own song to a live band. It is a judged contest and the opening night of the city's biggest street party.

Children's marchas lead the line, so kids get to watch other kids perform first.

Lisbon's big open-air book fair fills the slopes of Parque Eduardo VII with hundreds of publisher and bookshop stalls, many selling below cover price. Kids head for the children's area, with storytimes, author events and visits from favorite book characters.

Nearly everything is in Portuguese, so it suits young readers of the language most, though the park, the crowds and the evening buzz work for any family.

Castelo de São Jorge is a Moorish-era fortress on the city's highest hill, with walls and towers to walk and views over the rooftops to the Tagus. Around 40 peacocks roam the gardens and nest in the stone pines.

The ticket includes a guided tour of the archaeological site, with the remains of 11th-century Moorish houses, and a camera obscura in Ulysses Tower that projects live views of the city.

A terrace garden beside the Santa Luzia church, with a pergola, a small pond and tiled walls. Two azulejo panels by António Quaresma show Praça do Comércio before the 1755 earthquake and the taking of the castle from the Moors.

From the wall, kids can spot the dome of Santa Engrácia, the church of Santo Estevão and the two towers of São Miguel above Alfama's rooftops, with the Tagus behind.

Jardim da Cerca da Graça fills the old grounds of the Graça convent, the largest public green space in the historic center. Wide sloping lawns leave room for ball games and picnics, and there is a playground, picnic tables, an orchard and a kiosk café with a terrace. Three viewpoints look across to São Jorge Castle and down over Mouraria.

Tram 28 is a regular Carris city line run with the small yellow historic trams. It climbs streets too narrow for buses, from Martim Moniz up through Graça, past the Portas do Sol and Santa Luzia viewpoints, down by the Sé cathedral, then through Chiado and Estrela to Campo de Ourique (Prazeres).

For kids the draw is the ride itself: steep hills, tight corners and house fronts passing inches from the windows.