The height of summer in one of Europe’s busiest tourist destinations may not seem like the logical choice for a family with young children but, after a week with family in Spain, we wanted to make the most of being in mainland Europe. Lisbon was high on our list after our planned 2020 lockdown trip was cancelled and Portugal was also a new country for all of us!

Small was 4.5 and Tiny 1.5 and they’re pretty good travellers now. Peak summer Lisbon in terms of heat and crowds may not be for everyone but it definitely can work. In fact, we managed to see and do far more than we thought we would and teaming it with a few days on the coast worked out well too.

This was our itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon and get your bearings 

Day 2: Take the tram to Belem

Day 3: Ride the train to Sintra

Day 4: Explore more of Lisbon and take a taxi to Sesimbra in the evening

Day 5: Unwind on the beach

Day 6: Visit the castle

Day 7: Relax on the beach again

Day 8: Fly home

LISBON

Wandering the Old Town is pure pleasure with trams rattling past, little shops, interesting eateries and grand fountains, plus funiculars, street elevators and escalators to get you up and down the hills! We loved that street musicians are everywhere and we spent a lot of time watching as the girls danced. But if you want to do more than just wander, here are four tried and tested places to visit which our kids were totally on board with. (Though without the kids, we’d probably have opted for a guided tour to learn a bit more about everything!)

CONVENTO DO CARMO

This impressive ruin was once the Church of the Convent of Santa Maria do Carmo and was founded back in 1389. It looked amazing against the blue sky and was a really peaceful place to be. There was a stage set up in the centre though I’m not sure if it’s always there: it would be an incredible setting for a live performance!

The 1755 earthquake caused serious damage and destroyed almost all the church’s religious possessions. Restoration did begin the year after but, when religious orders were abolished in 1834, work ceased. Progress must have been slow during all those years given there’s still no roof!

The museum dates back to 1863 and now contains a well-curated range of artefacts from the original church as well as the surrounding area. It’s in some rooms at the far end of the complex. There’s also a great little film running though I had to spend my time chasing Tiny so I didn’t get to watch it! 

Key information: Adult tickets are €7. Children under 14 go free. There are toilets but no other amenities. You need to get a key to access the baby changing facility!

IGREJA DE SAO DOMINGOS

Surely few churches have as colourful a history as this one. Over the last 800 years, Igreja de São Domingos has seen royal weddings, a massacre, two earthquakes, the largest congregation in the city, an execution for treason and a fire!  

I find it incredible to walk the same aisle and touch the same walls that have not only witnessed all these momentous events but also all the other millions of tiny moments, conversations and prayers of those who’ve been there before me.  

Small’s responses to places like this church were pretty special throughout the trip. We never had to tell her to behave with quietness and respect: she just knew. She would show a level of stillness and pensiveness she rarely displays at any other time of life. She would just look and be. None of the photos are posed at all!

Key information: Free entry. No amenities.

MIRADOURO DA GRACA

All week, we’d been looking out of our Airbnb’s windows, up to a church on top of a hill where other tourists gathered to take photos (we hoped their lenses weren’t trained on our full-length bathroom window next to the shower! 😂). So, on our last day, we took the brand-new funicular up to the 13th century Igreja Da Graça to enjoy that view too.

It was a glorious viewpoint over the whole city, including back to our apartment of course. There was a lovely buzz on the square outside with a busker who Small and Tiny bonded with! 

The girls got the sillies in the convent museum, running around in circles in the vast space. It was sparse, but the interesting thing was all the walls were covered in 18th century blue painted tiles depicting historical events and religious scenes. Curiously, there are lots of blanked out faces and random tiles used for repairs. Even with Google’s help, I can’t work out why!

Then you go through into the grand church which is beautifully ornate. Thankfully the girls were much more sedate in this part – somehow seeming to sense the need for quiet in religious buildings. 

You can also pay to go up to a viewpoint in the bell tower.

Key information: there’s a popular, shady kiosk/café on the square outside the church.

CASTELO DE SAO JORGE

Variously home to kings, lions, governors, a theatre and the military, this castle has had a fascinating history, presiding over Lisbon since the 2nd century!

Castelo de Sao Jorge was a brilliant one to explore. It began with stunning views over the city with canons to sit on and peacocks galore! Then we roamed up and down the steps, amongst the evergreens, before entering a shady inner courtyard. We loved imagining the soldiers lounging, snoozing and refreshing themselves under the same trees all those years ago.

Then it was up more steps to admire more views before visiting the 360 degree Camara Obscura. I didn’t totally understand how it worked but there was a dark room with a large, concave screen in the centre. The man doing the presentation held a couple of cords which rotated and zoomed the lens that was fixed to the top of the castle’s tower. This showed us a live view of the city, even down to the cars on the road and the boats on the river! Mesmerising!

There’s also a museum and guided tours are on offer.

Key information: adults €15, children under 14 free; buy tickets online to skip the queue; the Camara Obscura guided tours run every 20 minutes alternating between Spanish, English and Portuguese – expect to queue; there are refreshment kiosks on arrival but they are pricey and fairly limited in variety.

BELEM

There’s lots to do in Belem but it was incredibly crowded and hot, so we chose to visit two places. It’s also home to the famous original Pastel de Nata shop if you can face the wait!

JERONIMOS MONASTERY, BELEM 

A 40-minute tram ride out west from Lisbon’s old town (genuinely a holiday highlight for Tiny despite us sitting on the floor all the way!) gets you to Belém, home to UNESCO listed Jerónimos Monastery. 

It was built in the early 1500s. The monks who lived there (for four centuries until religious orders were dissolved) had two main jobs: pray for the king’s eternal soul and provide spiritual assistance to sailors. 

It’s an enormous place, in the Portuguese Gothic Manueline style, and is a very popular tourist destination. When we arrived, the queue was insane – about 90 minutes long in 30+ degree heat. We nearly gave up and left but then remembered reading on @thosejohnsonboys blog that you can skip the queue if you have little kids and have bought tickest online. We tried. It worked! 

We strolled right in, parked up the pram and headed up the stairs to start exploring. It sounds an exaggeration but the moment you emerge from the building and catch sight of the cloisters is quite breathtaking. They were so ornate, intricate and lit golden by the sunshine. 

Sure, there were a lot of people. It was hard to get a photo with no one else in it. But the corridors were broad so it didn’t actually feel crowded. The kids enjoyed running round although we may have lost sight of them a couple of times! It was also wonderfully cool on such a hot day. 

We’d definitely recommend a visit and, without the kids, we’d even have queued! You can also combine it with the nearby Belém Tower.

Key information: adults €12, children free; buy tickets online to skip the queue; no eating, drinking or large bags allowed; moderate dress code; toilets inside but expect to queue.

BOTANICAL GARDENS, BELEM

If you’re almost melted after exploring Jerónimos Monastery or Belém Tower, then exploring the Botanical Gardens is a good shout. 

It’s a beautiful spot to explore with plenty of shade and a ridiculous number of peacocks! 🦚 Definitely the most peacocks we’ve ever seen anywhere and Lisbon is big on peacocks! They were grazing on the lawns, pecking about in the flower borders and hanging out in the trees. And there were babies too. Small loved following them all around with her camera. 

It was still insanely hot but a pleasant way to spend an hour or so. 

Key information: adults €4, children over 10 €2; no amenities.

SINTRA 

Exploring Sintra is basically like stepping back in time to a mystical fairytale land of castles, palaces and ancient forests. We had to be realistic about how much we could achieve with little legs in the heat so, for our day in the UNESCO site of Sintra, we picked two places: Quinta Da Regaleira and Pena Palace. It was tricky to pick just two but, in the end, we felt we’d chosen well.

QUINTA DA REGALEIRA, SINTRA

Quinta da Regaleira is SUCH a magical place! Created by an eccentric Free Mason named Carvalho Monteiro, it’s a vast, green wonderland full of theatrical towers that you could imagine a princess at the top of; meandering pathways to get lost in; mystical fountains and follies, grottoes and tunnels; and an ornate Gothic palace presiding over it all (although we didn’t have chance to go inside).

The star attraction, though, is the Initiation Well which was apparently used for ceremonial purposes rather than water. It’s 27m tall and the 9 flights of steps are variously thought to represent the 9 founders of the Knights Templar or the 9 levels of hell in Dante’s Inferno! 

A very long but swiftly moving queue got us to the top of the well in about half an hour and about two minutes later we were out at the bottom into a labyrinth of tunnels and waterfalls. It was pretty cool!

The rest of the morning was spent exploring, letting the girls pick the routes and see what they wanted to see! Between here and Pena Palace, we adults did 21500 steps so I can’t imagine how many they must have done!

Key information: adults €15, children (6-17 years) €10, children (0-5 years) free; buy tickets online to skip the queue; all the usual amenities but it’s a vast place so you might not always be near them; plenty of pramable paths but it’s steep in many places.

PENA PALACE, SINTRA

Up in the Sintra mountains stands the iconic Pena Palace with its walls of mustard yellow and rust red, its domes and its turrets. The perfect place for two little princesses to explore!

It’s a major UNESCO tourist attraction so was, inevitably, very busy. Entries were timed and, after a very expensive, steep and brief taxi ride from Quinta da Regaleira, we just about made it on time. 

We were herded into the first part of the palace in a dense, slow moving queue but this was actually perfect for us because it slowed the kids right down and meant we were able to spend more time admiring the beautiful courtyard and the historical rooms set up just as they were when they were inhabited by the royals during their summers.

Half way through, the route takes you outside on a kind of terrace whet you can admire the views of the surrounding parkland and other parts of the palace.

Then it’s back inside to see the ‘new’ part of the interior. Each room has a short, easily digestible information board which you’ve plenty of time to read as you shuffle through with the rest of the crowd.

And finally you’re outside again in the cobbled courtyard with stunning views and access to the tiny chapel. It was INSANELY windy when were there which, combined with the freedom of no longer being stuck in a slow-moving queue, sent the girls wild! 🤪 

We LOVED Pena Palace and the imagining how its inhabitants lived. So glad we picked it!

Key information: adults €27, children (6-18 years) €25, children (0-5 years) free; buy tickets online in advance for a particular strict timeslot; visit later in the day if possible; toilets are available but I’m not sure about refreshments; take a taxi up from Sintra then a shuttle bus for the final stretch.

SESIMBRA

If you do want to tag Sesimbra on to your Lisbon stay, it’s very simple. We just took an Uber from one Airbnb to the other which took no more than an hour. Public transport is possible but a bit more convoluted so, with luggage, a car seemed the easiest option. 

Sesimbra is a super popular seaside holiday destination for Portuguese families. It was PACKED! But somehow, because most people seemed to be Portuguese, we didn’t mind!

As with everywhere we went in Portugal, it’s super hilly. Our Airbnb apartment was half way up a hill which gave us plenty of exercise pushing, carrying or pulling the kids up each day! There are plenty of accommodation options down in the town though if you want to avoid this.

After a very busy few days in Lisbon, we needed to chill out so Sesimbra offered us lazier days with slow starts, beach time and evening wanders. We really enjoyed golden hour meandering through the cobbled streets and seeing the murals and old, tiled buildings. 

Some family-friendly food recommendations we tried:
🥐 the amazing croissants @omelhorcroissantdaminharua
🍕 delicious pizza @lavillapizzeria
🌮 @picantesesimbra for Mexican fast food even the pickiest kids with enjo
🥑 @alohacafe_store for a vegan brunch with a sea view

We also discovered too late that, towards the marina end of the beach front, there’s a lovely little play area alongside a shady hut where they run activities for children to do at various times each day.

CASTELO DE SESIMBRA

After Lisbon, ascending another steep hill was not necessarily a desirable task in the heat BUT we treated ourselves to an Uber for about €5 and headed up to the Castelo de Sesimbra. 

We were so glad we did. It was a really fun, free, low-key attraction which was very peaceful and not full of other visitors. There were walls to walk, views to enjoy and a beautiful little chapel. (The girls also had a brilliant time playing with the drinking fountain but I’m guessing that’s not high on most people’s tourism hit lists!)

We also paid not one but two visits to the lovely little cafe which sells a small menu of hot food plus drinks, fresh cakes and ice creams. We could have spent all day on the lovely shaded terrace…

…but instead we had to make our way back down to the town and decided to walk. It was very steep and tricky underfoot but Small made a good job of it. Tiny – somehow – fell asleep in Dean’s arms! 

Key information: free entry; café and toilets on site; not pram-friendly.

Tips for Lisbon with kids:

• Nappies, formula and cows’ milk are widely available.
• The streets are incredibly hilly and often cobbled. If you’re just wandering, exploring, a pram/stroller is a challenge. If you’ve planned a route carefully and are making use of the street elevators, it’s possible to get to train/tram/bus stations without too much trouble. A friend’s pram broke on their first day but they were able to hire one for the rest of their stay. Various websites such as letsgobaby .
• There are lots of ways to tour the city (tram, tuktuk, bike, rickshaw, segway, taxi) but some of them aren’t available for families with children for safety reasons and some vehicles can’t access some areas of the old town.
• Even if you book a taxi/Uber which says it has a car seat, it is highly unlikely to be suitable for babies and sometimes is actually non-existent! 
• If your kids enjoy noodles, try Buga Ramen where a robot delivers your food!

Accommodation recommendation for Lisbon: child- and baby-friendly, we had a lovely stay here. Points to note are that the bathroom gives incredible views over the city (and the city views of you should anyone care to look!); there’s a lift most but not all the way up; the host let us leave our luggage during our final day; there aren’t really any doors except to the bathroom so it’s very open plan; and we managed to cook simple meals for the kids but mainly ordered in for ourselves.

Next up… when I get to it… autumn in North Wales!