How to Spend a Week in Lisbon with Young Kids

If you're looking for a European city break with sunny weather, proximity to beaches and nature, great food and a whole lot to do with kids then Lisbon is a perfect option! Known as the "white city" or the "City of Light", Lisbon has been widely referred to as one of the most beautiful cities in the world - and for good reason!

We spent a week in Lisbon with our 3-year-old in September last year, and although both me and my husband had been before, it was our first time taking our daughter. There's plenty to do both in the city and in the nearby surroundings so let's get into it!

Where to stay in Lisbon with young kids

We stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Lisbon Fontana Park which was perfect for our stay - great location right next to parks with playgrounds, easy connections into the city centre, great food options nearby and a bit out of the hustle bustle of the city centre.

Here are some other areas to consider:

Baixa/Chiado - if you want to stay central within walking distance of a lot of attractions, this is a great option. It is also mainly flat so you'll be able to move around easily even with a stroller.

Hotel recommendation: Lisbon Story Guesthouse

Parque das Nações - quieter area with plenty of green space and activities for young kids, like the aquarium.

Hotel recommendation: MYRIAD by SANA Hotels

Alfama - charming old neighbourhood with lots of restaurants, viewpoints and quaint alleyways. It is hilly though so not super stroller-friendly!

Hotel recommendation: Memmo Alfama Hotel

How to get around Lisbon with a young kids

Lisbon is well connected by buses, trains and trams, which run frequently so it is easy to get around. Some buses would only take cash, so it's worth having some on you. The city centre isn't massive so a lot of places are within walking distance of each other - just bear in mind Lisbon is built on hills and there are a lot of steps! If you are planning a visit with young kids I would recommend bringing a light stroller that's easy to carry, alternatively using a carrier when exploring the centre. We would also use Uber a lot as it was very quick and wouldn't cost that much more than public transport but traffic builds up, especially during peak hours, so make sure to allow plenty of time, especially if you need to be somewhere for a specific time!

Where to eat in Lisbon with young kids

One of the reasons why I love Lisbon so much is because of the food... This trip was one of the most consistent in terms of great food - each meal was better than the last! Below is a list of some of my favourite eats in Lisbon:

Time out market - The market is made up of 26 different restaurants, featuring some of Lisbon's most well-known chefs, and it's a great and affordable way to taste high-quality Portuguese cuisine. It can get busy but it's worth it!

Paloma Negra - Genuinely some of the best Mexican food I have ever had! It's one of those hole-in-the-wall places (they don't take reservations so go early to make sure to get a table!) and the food and drinks were both absolutely delicious! Make sure to try the oyster shot!

Antú Alfama - A great spot tucked away in the Alfama district - away from all the tourist traps. The space is lovely with outdoor seating underneath a pergola and the food was delicious, serving traditional Portuguese dishes like black rice with grilled octopus.

Pasteis de Belem - Of course, no trip to Lisbon is complete without sampling some pastel de natas! This is the iconic place where the custard tart originates from - it is a popular spot but the queues move quickly!

Volta e Meia - This place was such a nice surprise - it's located near the station in Sintra and it was the perfect place to end a great day trip exploring the castles. We sat in the quiet restaurant garden and the food was absolutely incredible - 10/10!

Top things to do in Lisbon with young kids

Explore the city centre

Whenever I go to a new place, I always start by exploring the city. Here are some spots to include on your city tour (we found quite a few playgrounds scattered around the city which meant we could take regular breaks for our daughter to have a play!):

Praça do Comércio - Waterside square right at the heart of Lisbon - a great starting point for exploring the city (they also had giant soap bubbles there which my toddler loved!).

Elevador de Santa Justa - This was closed when we went as we were in Lisbon right after the very tragic funicular accident - but we could still climb the stairs to the top for great views.

The 28 tram - This iconic, old yellow tram passes major sites like Graça, Alfama, and Estrela. Go for a ride or just watch it drive past!

Alfama neighbourhood - Lisbon's oldest neighbourhood with great viewpoints and restaurants.

Parque Eduardo VII - this park offers great views of Lisbon and was a lovely spot for my daughter to run around a bit more freely. There's also a playground in the park and places nearby for food/drinks.

São Jorge Castle and the Miradouros

For some of the best views of Lisbon, I would highly recommend heading up to Sao Jorge Castle in the Alfama neighbourhood. The historic fortress is perched on the highest hill in Lisbon, overlooking the city and the Tagus River. You can wander around at your own pace and climb the walls of the fortress for even better views (we did bring our daughter up, but she thought it was a bit scary after a while!).

Despite it being a popular tourist spot it didn't feel overly crowded and our daughter could mostly walk by herself (there were also some peacocks walking around inside the fortress walls which provided much entertainment!).

There are a few other Miradouros (view points) in the Alfama area which are worth checking out like Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Miradouro das Portas do Sol, and while you're here you will probably also spot the iconic 28 tram! It's a lovely neighbourhood to stroll around in so I would allow some time to explore the streets and grab some lunch/dinner.

Belém and LX Factory

Once you have explored the city centre, it's time to explore other areas in Lisbon! A bit out of the centre along the coast, you'll find Belém and LX Factory. They are near each other and you can easily visit both in half a day or so. These areas are also both flat so perfectly stroller friendly!

My top tip is to start by visiting Pastéis de Belém - the place that invented the pastel de nata! It's the most famous place in Lisbon to buy the custard tarts, so it does get busy - we managed to get here right when they opened and there were hardly a queue, but I've also been told that the queues move fast even during busy periods so don't be discouraged if you see a long queue! They were definitely worth it!

Other things to explore in Belém include UNESCO-listed places like Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower (great for photos down by the water), museums like MAAT and Belém Cultural Centre, as well as strolling along the riverside promenade and the parks/playground.

Once you're done in Belém, head to LX Factory, located right next to the Ponte 25 de Abril, the famous Golden Gate-looking bridge. It's about 15 minutes by bus from Belém, or a 35-40-minute walk. It's a former textile and manufacturing site from the 19th century, converted into a trendy, urban cultural space with design shops, markets and eateries. The street is closed off to cars so kids can walk around more freely, and if you have slightly older kids, there are some quirky shops that are quite fun for a bit of shopping!

The Time Out Market is also on the way back to the city centre from LX Factory, so if you haven't already eaten in Belém or LX Factory, you can stop for a bite on your way back! Maybe try a pastel de nata from Manteigaria -and see if you prefer them to the Belém pastries!

Guincho Beach

Lisbon is one of the sunniest capitals in Europe with approximately 300 days of sunshine per year! And as it is located right next to the sea, you're not far away from some gorgeous beaches. If you have more time, I would highly recommend spending a couple of days in the Algarve, the southern coast of Portugal, only a couple of hours south of Lisbon (you can read my full Algarve guide here).

However, if you are looking for a great day trip option, then Guincho Beach is the perfect spot to escape the hustle and bustle of the city for a few hours! You can get here by public transport, but it is a bit of a mission - I would recommend getting an Uber as it only cost us around £15 and and took 30 minutes.

Guincho Beach is a long, sandy beach backed by shifting dunes and cliffs from the Sintra hills. It has a wild and dramatic feel to it, and when me and my daughter went in September, we had the beach pretty much all to ourselves!

It's worth noting the beach is known for strong winds and rough waves (it's a popular spot for surfers). However, while the waves were too big for us to swim in the sea, there were big "pools" in the sand which were perfect for my toddler to splash around in and she loved making sandcastles on the beach. You can also find caves and rock pools around the edges of the beach, which makes it really fun to explore with kids.

There are toilets and showers on the beach, and ramps going all the way down, so we could bring the pram (though as the beach is quite big you might have to drag it/carry it across the sand for a bit). There is also a restaurant on the beach, but as the beach is also only a 10-minute drive from the seaside town Cascais we decided to head there for lunch instead.

If you wanted to spend some more time here, there are also some trails taking you along the sand dunes starring right next to the beach - mostly boardwalk from what I could see!

Cascais

Located just outside Lisbon, the charming seaside town Cascais is another perfect day trip option from Lisbon. It's easy to get to by train, bus and car and has enough to keep you busy. The beaches here are much more sheltered than beaches like Guincho beach, and as they are right in the town centre they're very easy to access (though they do tend to fill up!).

As well as the beaches, there are plenty of restaurant shops and museums, like the Casa de Santa Maria, Municipal Museum and Paula Rego House of Stories. The town is also seeped in history with forts and a preserved historic centre. If you're a seafood lover make sure to try out some fresh local specialities at one of the many tasty looking seafood restaurants!

In Cascais you will also find a smaller version of the iconic Time Out market in Lisbon - it doesn't have as many options as its Lisbon counterpart, but we had a lovely lunch here and the market is great if you want to buy any fresh produce.

Day trip to Sintra

If you have the time, I would highly recommend a day trip to the magical town of Sintra. It's about a 40-minute train ride from Lisbon up in the mountains and it is like something straight out of a fairytale! It's filled with palaces, castles, secret gardens, and misty mountains and contains centuries of royal history, perfect for my princess loving daughter!

There are 5 main castles/palaces in Sintra, all connected via bus (most of them are too far apart to walk between). There is A LOT to see in each place so I would limit your visit to only two if you're going with young kids, or three if you're going with older kids (even if you're going without kids three is probably the maximum I would recommend).

If I could only pick two I would recommend starting off with Quinta da Regaleira (my daughter's favourite), a romantic palace with extensive gardens full of underground tunnels, lakes, and the famous Initiation Well, a spiral staircase descending deep into the earth.

For the second palace, Pena Palace is arguably the most iconic with bold colours and whimsical architecture and great views of the hills and even the sea in the distance. If you wanted to do a third, I have previously visited the Moorish Castle right next to Pena Palace - just remember there is so much to see and although we only visited two palaces I felt like there was lots I had missed!

It's also good to note that there are lots of steps both in the palaces and in the town centre, so I would ditch the pram and just do carrier/let them walk. I used the Izmi Breeze Adventure Toddler Carrier for this trip which I can't rave enough about! You can get 10% by using code TTD10.

As it is in the mountains, it can get a bit chilly so you might want to bring an extra layer (though when we went in September the sun was scorching, so be prepared for that too!).

Horse ride on Comporta beach

For something a little different, have a go at horse riding on the beach, just an hour outside of Lisbon! I will admit that I was slightly apprehensive about bringing my daughter to this because she had only been on a horse once before this so I had called ahead to make sure the experience was suitable for young kids. It was suitable for kids from the age of 2 yrs but I still didn't know how she would react on the day.

Luckily, I was very pleasantly surprised and she absolutely loved this experience! The organisers of the tour were so lovely and made us feel at ease, even bringing a car seat for the car when they picked us up in central Lisbon, near our hotel.

When we got to the stables, we were introduced to the horses, all very gentle and well-mannered. Me and my daughter got to sit on the same horse as we rode to through the pine woods to Comporta Beach - the longest beach in Europe! Reaching the beach was a real "wow"moment being greeted with kilometres of golden sand and blue water, whilst completely alone on the beach!

If you have a toddler that likes horses and you want to get out and do something a bit more adventurous whilst visiting Lisbon I would highly recommend booking this experience!

Find the tour we did here: Horseback Riding on Comporta Beach

If you're booking a tour use code TODDLERTRAVELDIARIES5 for 5% off when using the GetYourGuide app. Click here to install the app.

Costa Caparica

It was hotter than we expected when we went to Lisbon in September, and so after a morning of discovering Lisbon in the heat, we decided to ditch our afternoon plans of city sightseeing and instead head to the beach.

As it was already early afternoon, we didn't want to go far (and also didn't want to waste time going back to the hotel to pick up our swim stuff - H&M to the rescue!), so we did a quick search and found Costa Caparica.

The beach is located just across the bridge and only took a 30-minute Uber ride from where we were in central Lisbon, but once we got to the beach, the city felt very far away! It definitely hit the spot and we had a great afternoon swimming and playing in the sand.

There are some beach bars and restaurants on the beach if you wanted to stay for longer, but we were happy to head back into Lisbon after a few hours of cooling down on the beach.