A few days with kids goes a long way here if you pick well. These are the sights we'd put first, the ones that hold a kid's attention and not only an adult's. Lisbon is steep and many streets are cobbled, so bring a light stroller or a carrier instead of a big one. Here's what we checked, from the Oceanarium to Pena Palace.
Built around one central tank holding five million liters of saltwater, where sharks and rays glide past, with four marine habitats around it that read as part of the same aquarium.
The route runs on two levels, so kids see each habitat from the surface and then from underwater. Around 8,000 marine creatures live here, from coral reef fish to sea otters.
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.
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.
Pavilion of Knowledge is the Ciência Viva science center on the old Expo 98 site, and every exhibit is made to be touched. TCHARAN! is a science circus with a mirror maze, a musical floor and the Unfinished House, where kids in hard hats work cranes and pulleys. In Fishanário, a child's drawing of a sea creature is scanned and swims into a projected ocean.
A gondola line built for Expo '98, running 1,230 meters over the edge of the Tagus about 30 meters up. The 40 enclosed cabins seat eight, with automatic doors. Kids get a view of the Oceanarium, the Vasco da Gama Bridge and the river, and the ride lasts 8 to 12 minutes.
The south station is beside the Oceanarium, the north one beside the Vasco da Gama Tower.
Belém Tower is a 16th-century fortress built at the mouth of the Tagus to guard Lisbon's harbor, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A walkway leads out to the bastion, where artillery once faced the river and the old storerooms later served as prison cells.
Inside, a spiral staircase climbs past vaulted rooms to terraces with river views. Kids like spotting the stone rhinoceros carved under a turret.
Built from the early 1500s in pale lioz limestone, Jerónimos is the showpiece of Portugal's Manueline style, with knotted ropes, armillary spheres and sea motifs carved into the stone. Look closely and the stone itself is full of fossils.
The two-story cloister is the main visit, with arches kids can walk around on both levels. The church holds the tombs of explorer Vasco da Gama and poet Luís de Camões.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos is a monument on the Tagus shaped like a caravel setting out to sea, with Henry the Navigator at the prow and 32 explorers, mapmakers and missionaries carved up its two ramps. An elevator and 42 narrow steps lead to the rooftop viewpoint.
In the plaza, kids can walk across a 50-meter compass rose with a world map marking Portuguese sea routes, ships and Neptune.
Lisboa Story Centre tells Lisbon's history through sets, films and multimedia rooms in the east wing of Praça do Comércio. An audio guide (with a Portuguese version for kids) leads from early myths and a 16th-century trading warehouse to a full-room re-creation of the 1755 earthquake. Upstairs, kids explore an interactive scale model of the Baixa and use a digital table to plan the city's future.
Lisbon Zoo is laid out by world region: Sumatran tigers in the rainforest, lions, giraffes and elephants on the African savanna, gorillas, chimpanzees, okapis and lemurs. Dolphin Bay hosts the dolphin presentation, and pelican feedings run between the Africa and Asia areas.
A cable car passes over the enclosures, a small train loops the grounds, and the Children's Farm introduces domestic animals.
King Ferdinand II built this castle-like palace on a summit of the Sintra hills: red and yellow walls, towers, terraces and a stone Triton over one archway. Kids walk the terraces and a circuit of rooms inside.
The surrounding Park of Pena is Portugal's largest arboretum, with woodland paths, the Valley of Lakes, a fern valley, the Chalet of the Countess of Edla and the High Cross lookout.
A few days with kids goes a long way here if you pick well. These are the sights we'd put first, the ones that hold a kid's attention and not only an adult's. Lisbon is steep and many streets are cobbled, so bring a light stroller or a carrier instead of a big one. Here's what we checked, from the Oceanarium to Pena Palace.
Built around one central tank holding five million liters of saltwater, where sharks and rays glide past, with four marine habitats around it that read as part of the same aquarium.
The route runs on two levels, so kids see each habitat from the surface and then from underwater. Around 8,000 marine creatures live here, from coral reef fish to sea otters.
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.
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.
Pavilion of Knowledge is the Ciência Viva science center on the old Expo 98 site, and every exhibit is made to be touched. TCHARAN! is a science circus with a mirror maze, a musical floor and the Unfinished House, where kids in hard hats work cranes and pulleys. In Fishanário, a child's drawing of a sea creature is scanned and swims into a projected ocean.
A gondola line built for Expo '98, running 1,230 meters over the edge of the Tagus about 30 meters up. The 40 enclosed cabins seat eight, with automatic doors. Kids get a view of the Oceanarium, the Vasco da Gama Bridge and the river, and the ride lasts 8 to 12 minutes.
The south station is beside the Oceanarium, the north one beside the Vasco da Gama Tower.
Belém Tower is a 16th-century fortress built at the mouth of the Tagus to guard Lisbon's harbor, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A walkway leads out to the bastion, where artillery once faced the river and the old storerooms later served as prison cells.
Inside, a spiral staircase climbs past vaulted rooms to terraces with river views. Kids like spotting the stone rhinoceros carved under a turret.
Built from the early 1500s in pale lioz limestone, Jerónimos is the showpiece of Portugal's Manueline style, with knotted ropes, armillary spheres and sea motifs carved into the stone. Look closely and the stone itself is full of fossils.
The two-story cloister is the main visit, with arches kids can walk around on both levels. The church holds the tombs of explorer Vasco da Gama and poet Luís de Camões.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos is a monument on the Tagus shaped like a caravel setting out to sea, with Henry the Navigator at the prow and 32 explorers, mapmakers and missionaries carved up its two ramps. An elevator and 42 narrow steps lead to the rooftop viewpoint.
In the plaza, kids can walk across a 50-meter compass rose with a world map marking Portuguese sea routes, ships and Neptune.
Lisboa Story Centre tells Lisbon's history through sets, films and multimedia rooms in the east wing of Praça do Comércio. An audio guide (with a Portuguese version for kids) leads from early myths and a 16th-century trading warehouse to a full-room re-creation of the 1755 earthquake. Upstairs, kids explore an interactive scale model of the Baixa and use a digital table to plan the city's future.
Lisbon Zoo is laid out by world region: Sumatran tigers in the rainforest, lions, giraffes and elephants on the African savanna, gorillas, chimpanzees, okapis and lemurs. Dolphin Bay hosts the dolphin presentation, and pelican feedings run between the Africa and Asia areas.
A cable car passes over the enclosures, a small train loops the grounds, and the Children's Farm introduces domestic animals.
King Ferdinand II built this castle-like palace on a summit of the Sintra hills: red and yellow walls, towers, terraces and a stone Triton over one archway. Kids walk the terraces and a circuit of rooms inside.
The surrounding Park of Pena is Portugal's largest arboretum, with woodland paths, the Valley of Lakes, a fern valley, the Chalet of the Countess of Edla and the High Cross lookout.
