Coffee for you, slides for them, and nobody has to cut the afternoon short. Many Lisbon gardens have a quiosque, a small kiosk café with outdoor tables serving a bica, snacks and cold drinks. We picked gardens where the kiosk sits close to the playground, so you can sit down and still keep the kids in sight. Here's what we checked, from Jardim da Estrela to Quinta das Conchas.
Jardim da Estrela is a mid-19th-century public garden with playgrounds, an iron bandstand, and ponds full of ducks, swans, geese and carp. Peacocks walk the paths, and parakeets flit through the jacarandas, dragon trees and araucarias.
Families picnic on the lawns, kids learn to ride bikes on the paths, and older ones play ball. One entrance faces the Estrela Basilica.
Jardim do Príncipe Real (officially Jardim França Borges) is a leafy garden square at the top of the Príncipe Real area. Its centerpiece is a huge old cypress whose branches are trained over an iron frame into a wide, shady canopy.
Around it are a children's playground, a pond with a fountain, and café kiosks with outdoor tables. A 19th-century water reservoir lies under the garden.
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.
Jardim da Parada, officially Jardim Teófilo Braga, is a tree-covered garden laid out on a former barracks parade ground. Around the playground sit two ponds with ducks, fish and turtles, a bandstand and the Maria da Fonte statue.
A kiosk café has terrace tables next to the playground, so parents can sit with a coffee and still see the slides.
The old Campo de Alvalade, laid out in the 19th century as a romantic promenade, is a long strip of lawns, small woods and ponds between the two Campo Grande avenues.
Kids can row a boat on the main lake at certain times of year, climb in the play areas, ride the cycle paths and spot sculptures along the way. Kiosks, a dog park and chess tables fill in the rest.
Quinta das Conchas joins the neighboring Quinta dos Lilases and a stretch of woodland to make 26 hectares, the city's biggest green space after Monsanto. The middle is one huge open lawn, with room to spread a blanket even on busy sunny weekends.
Stone tables and benches sit in the shade of the eucalyptus trees, and the playground has swings and slides. Two café terraces serve drinks.
Eduardo VII Park covers 26 hectares on a slope above Marquês de Pombal, with a long central lawn framed by clipped hedges and a straight view down Avenida da Liberdade to the Tagus. Tree-lined paths run along both sides, past lakes, a kiosk and a children's playground.
At the top is a viewpoint where a giant Portuguese flag usually flies. The Estufa Fria greenhouse fills the northwest corner.
Coffee for you, slides for them, and nobody has to cut the afternoon short. Many Lisbon gardens have a quiosque, a small kiosk café with outdoor tables serving a bica, snacks and cold drinks. We picked gardens where the kiosk sits close to the playground, so you can sit down and still keep the kids in sight. Here's what we checked, from Jardim da Estrela to Quinta das Conchas.
Jardim da Estrela is a mid-19th-century public garden with playgrounds, an iron bandstand, and ponds full of ducks, swans, geese and carp. Peacocks walk the paths, and parakeets flit through the jacarandas, dragon trees and araucarias.
Families picnic on the lawns, kids learn to ride bikes on the paths, and older ones play ball. One entrance faces the Estrela Basilica.
Jardim do Príncipe Real (officially Jardim França Borges) is a leafy garden square at the top of the Príncipe Real area. Its centerpiece is a huge old cypress whose branches are trained over an iron frame into a wide, shady canopy.
Around it are a children's playground, a pond with a fountain, and café kiosks with outdoor tables. A 19th-century water reservoir lies under the garden.
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.
Jardim da Parada, officially Jardim Teófilo Braga, is a tree-covered garden laid out on a former barracks parade ground. Around the playground sit two ponds with ducks, fish and turtles, a bandstand and the Maria da Fonte statue.
A kiosk café has terrace tables next to the playground, so parents can sit with a coffee and still see the slides.
The old Campo de Alvalade, laid out in the 19th century as a romantic promenade, is a long strip of lawns, small woods and ponds between the two Campo Grande avenues.
Kids can row a boat on the main lake at certain times of year, climb in the play areas, ride the cycle paths and spot sculptures along the way. Kiosks, a dog park and chess tables fill in the rest.
Quinta das Conchas joins the neighboring Quinta dos Lilases and a stretch of woodland to make 26 hectares, the city's biggest green space after Monsanto. The middle is one huge open lawn, with room to spread a blanket even on busy sunny weekends.
Stone tables and benches sit in the shade of the eucalyptus trees, and the playground has swings and slides. Two café terraces serve drinks.
Eduardo VII Park covers 26 hectares on a slope above Marquês de Pombal, with a long central lawn framed by clipped hedges and a straight view down Avenida da Liberdade to the Tagus. Tree-lined paths run along both sides, past lakes, a kiosk and a children's playground.
At the top is a viewpoint where a giant Portuguese flag usually flies. The Estufa Fria greenhouse fills the northwest corner.
