Steep hills and a wide river make getting around half the fun for kids who love vehicles. Yellow trams squeeze up lanes too narrow for buses, ferries cross the Tagus all day, and gondolas float over the water. Here's what we checked, from Tram 28 to a boat trip out to Setúbal's dolphins. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift remain closed since the 2025 accident.
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.
The Carris Museum tells the story of Lisbon's trams and buses inside the old Santo Amaro depot. A 1901 tram drives visitors between its three spaces. The first covers the company's history, with a model of the Santa Justa Lift built in 1892. The second fills 2,000 m² of former workshop halls with horse-drawn cars, yellow trams, buses and a ticket printing shop. The third holds vehicles waiting for restoration.
A short, modern funicular that climbs the steep hill between Mouraria and Graça, from Rua dos Lagares up to the Miradouro stop. The yellow cabin carries 14 passengers and looks out over the rooftops toward the castle.
The line opened in 2024 and won the Prémio Valmor architecture prize that year. It turns a hard uphill walk with a stroller or tired kids into a short ride.
The cacilheiro is the commuter ferry that crosses the Tagus between Cais do Sodré and Cacilhas, on the Almada side of the river. From the windows, kids can watch the 25 de Abril bridge, the Cristo Rei statue and the Lisbon waterfront go by.
Cacilhas has a riverside promenade lined with fish restaurants, and a short bus ride runs up to Cristo Rei.
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.
HIPPOtrip is an amphibious bus that tours the city by road, then plunges into the Tagus River for about 25 minutes on the water. Live entertainers run the show in Portuguese and English, with myths, legends and trivia, and get passengers shouting along.
The route takes in Cais do Sodré, Bairro Alto and Belém. It suits kids who want a loud, silly ride, not a quiet guided tour.
The Linha de Cascais is the CP suburban train from Cais do Sodré to Cascais. For most of the ride the track runs right beside the Tagus and then the Atlantic, so kids watch the 25 de Abril Bridge, Belém Tower and the waves slide past the window.
It doubles as a beach shuttle: Carcavelos, the Estoril beaches and Cascais bay are a short walk from their stations.
The Sintra Tram is a heritage electric line that opened in 1904 to carry beachgoers from Sintra to the sea. Its vintage cars run from Vila Alda, at the edge of Sintra town, through Galamares and Colares to the beach at Praia das Maçãs, a ride of about 45 minutes.
Most families ride down, spend a few hours on the sand, and ride back up.
Two-hour guided boat trips from Setúbal head out into Setúbal Bay, where the Sado estuary meets the sea, to find a resident community of about 30 wild bottlenose dolphins that live there year-round. Each dolphin is known by name from the shape of its dorsal fin.
On the way, the boat passes the Arrábida coast, the Tróia peninsula, the Outão fortress and small white-sand islands.
Steep hills and a wide river make getting around half the fun for kids who love vehicles. Yellow trams squeeze up lanes too narrow for buses, ferries cross the Tagus all day, and gondolas float over the water. Here's what we checked, from Tram 28 to a boat trip out to Setúbal's dolphins. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift remain closed since the 2025 accident.
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.
The Carris Museum tells the story of Lisbon's trams and buses inside the old Santo Amaro depot. A 1901 tram drives visitors between its three spaces. The first covers the company's history, with a model of the Santa Justa Lift built in 1892. The second fills 2,000 m² of former workshop halls with horse-drawn cars, yellow trams, buses and a ticket printing shop. The third holds vehicles waiting for restoration.
A short, modern funicular that climbs the steep hill between Mouraria and Graça, from Rua dos Lagares up to the Miradouro stop. The yellow cabin carries 14 passengers and looks out over the rooftops toward the castle.
The line opened in 2024 and won the Prémio Valmor architecture prize that year. It turns a hard uphill walk with a stroller or tired kids into a short ride.
The cacilheiro is the commuter ferry that crosses the Tagus between Cais do Sodré and Cacilhas, on the Almada side of the river. From the windows, kids can watch the 25 de Abril bridge, the Cristo Rei statue and the Lisbon waterfront go by.
Cacilhas has a riverside promenade lined with fish restaurants, and a short bus ride runs up to Cristo Rei.
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.
HIPPOtrip is an amphibious bus that tours the city by road, then plunges into the Tagus River for about 25 minutes on the water. Live entertainers run the show in Portuguese and English, with myths, legends and trivia, and get passengers shouting along.
The route takes in Cais do Sodré, Bairro Alto and Belém. It suits kids who want a loud, silly ride, not a quiet guided tour.
The Linha de Cascais is the CP suburban train from Cais do Sodré to Cascais. For most of the ride the track runs right beside the Tagus and then the Atlantic, so kids watch the 25 de Abril Bridge, Belém Tower and the waves slide past the window.
It doubles as a beach shuttle: Carcavelos, the Estoril beaches and Cascais bay are a short walk from their stations.
The Sintra Tram is a heritage electric line that opened in 1904 to carry beachgoers from Sintra to the sea. Its vintage cars run from Vila Alda, at the edge of Sintra town, through Galamares and Colares to the beach at Praia das Maçãs, a ride of about 45 minutes.
Most families ride down, spend a few hours on the sand, and ride back up.
Two-hour guided boat trips from Setúbal head out into Setúbal Bay, where the Sado estuary meets the sea, to find a resident community of about 30 wild bottlenose dolphins that live there year-round. Each dolphin is known by name from the shape of its dorsal fin.
On the way, the boat passes the Arrábida coast, the Tróia peninsula, the Outão fortress and small white-sand islands.
