Lisbon still does its weekly shop at the market, and kids get a lot out of it. Fishmongers lay the morning catch on ice, food halls let everyone pick a different counter for lunch, and on set days a flea market and a farmers' market fill squares and gardens. Several sit a short walk from a playground. Here's what we checked, from Feira da Ladra to Time Out Market.
Time Out Market fills the old Mercado da Ribeira hall at Cais do Sodré with 26 restaurant counters, 8 bars and a handful of shops set around long communal tables. Each person orders from a different stall and the family eats together, so a picky kid can have pasta while the adults try seafood.
Tables can't be booked, and the hall gets loud and crowded at peak meal times.
A covered neighborhood market, open since 1934, where fish, fruit and vegetable stalls still serve the Campo de Ourique district. Since 2013 the middle of the hall has been a food court: shared tables surrounded by counters serving everything from traditional Portuguese dishes to Japanese food.
Kids can look over the fish and produce stalls, then each person in the family picks a different counter for lunch.
Feira da Ladra is a flea market that dates back to 1272 and now fills Campo de Santa Clara, behind the São Vicente de Fora monastery. Stalls sell secondhand and vintage goods, from azulejo tiles and tram souvenirs to plain bric-a-brac.
Kids can hunt for a small treasure with their pocket money. The National Pantheon and São Vicente church are a short walk away, so it pairs easily with a monument visit.
LX Factory fills a 19th-century textile mill complex beneath the 25 de Abril Bridge. Its cobbled lanes and old warehouses now hold independent shops, cafés, restaurants, studios and big street-art murals.
The Ler Devagar bookshop takes up a tall factory hall stacked floor to ceiling with books. Kids can hunt for murals, browse the shelves and snack their way along the lanes.
A covered neighborhood market where Alvalade locals do their weekly shop. Stalls sell fresh fish and seafood, meat, cheese and cured sausages from across Portugal, bread, fruit and vegetables, plus a spice stand with Indian snacks and curry mixes.
Kids can watch the fishmongers at work and help pick the fruit. A restaurant counter inside makes it a lunch stop too.
A weekly organic farmers' market under the trees of Jardim do Príncipe Real, where producers from across Portugal sell fresh fruit, vegetables and other produce from their own farms.
Kids can choose fruit at the stalls and taste what's in season, then head to the garden's playground a few steps away. It suits a slow morning outing; there are no rides or kids' activities.
Mercado de Arroios is a municipal food market built in 1942, with stalls set in a ring around a central courtyard under wide concrete arches. Fishmongers lay out the morning catch on ice, and fruit and vegetable stands stack whatever is in season.
Renovated in 2017, it also has cafés and places to eat, so a shopping run can end with a snack.
Lisbon still does its weekly shop at the market, and kids get a lot out of it. Fishmongers lay the morning catch on ice, food halls let everyone pick a different counter for lunch, and on set days a flea market and a farmers' market fill squares and gardens. Several sit a short walk from a playground. Here's what we checked, from Feira da Ladra to Time Out Market.
Time Out Market fills the old Mercado da Ribeira hall at Cais do Sodré with 26 restaurant counters, 8 bars and a handful of shops set around long communal tables. Each person orders from a different stall and the family eats together, so a picky kid can have pasta while the adults try seafood.
Tables can't be booked, and the hall gets loud and crowded at peak meal times.
A covered neighborhood market, open since 1934, where fish, fruit and vegetable stalls still serve the Campo de Ourique district. Since 2013 the middle of the hall has been a food court: shared tables surrounded by counters serving everything from traditional Portuguese dishes to Japanese food.
Kids can look over the fish and produce stalls, then each person in the family picks a different counter for lunch.
Feira da Ladra is a flea market that dates back to 1272 and now fills Campo de Santa Clara, behind the São Vicente de Fora monastery. Stalls sell secondhand and vintage goods, from azulejo tiles and tram souvenirs to plain bric-a-brac.
Kids can hunt for a small treasure with their pocket money. The National Pantheon and São Vicente church are a short walk away, so it pairs easily with a monument visit.
LX Factory fills a 19th-century textile mill complex beneath the 25 de Abril Bridge. Its cobbled lanes and old warehouses now hold independent shops, cafés, restaurants, studios and big street-art murals.
The Ler Devagar bookshop takes up a tall factory hall stacked floor to ceiling with books. Kids can hunt for murals, browse the shelves and snack their way along the lanes.
A covered neighborhood market where Alvalade locals do their weekly shop. Stalls sell fresh fish and seafood, meat, cheese and cured sausages from across Portugal, bread, fruit and vegetables, plus a spice stand with Indian snacks and curry mixes.
Kids can watch the fishmongers at work and help pick the fruit. A restaurant counter inside makes it a lunch stop too.
A weekly organic farmers' market under the trees of Jardim do Príncipe Real, where producers from across Portugal sell fresh fruit, vegetables and other produce from their own farms.
Kids can choose fruit at the stalls and taste what's in season, then head to the garden's playground a few steps away. It suits a slow morning outing; there are no rides or kids' activities.
Mercado de Arroios is a municipal food market built in 1942, with stalls set in a ring around a central courtyard under wide concrete arches. Fishmongers lay out the morning catch on ice, and fruit and vegetable stands stack whatever is in season.
Renovated in 2017, it also has cafés and places to eat, so a shopping run can end with a snack.
