Portugal: Lisbon

We love Lisbon!  Emma and I had both been here separately with friends in our late 20s and then had a day together in the city before they had to head back home. My husband, daughter and I stayed on for another few days. It was just as good a place to go with a young family as it was for a girls trip at 27 - really a something for everyone destination. 

Top tip for walking around Lisbon:

Before I dive in I’m going to give away my hot tip up top for traversing Lisbon with children (or just… you know… on your own legs) and I have our awesome walking tour guide Nuno from Sandemans free walking tour to thank for it.  If you’ve been to Lisbon - or even just looked at photos - you’ll know it’s a lot of hills. In particular, if you want to get from the central neighbourhood Baixa with the pedestrian street R. Augusta over to Bairro Alto on the west side you are going to be walking up a very big hill. To illustrate the point, one of the classic Lisbon tourist attractions is the Santa Justa Elevator - a very cool looking elevator built in 1902 that connects two levels of the city.  Someone 100 years ago thought holy moly, this hill is so tiresome we should construct an outdoor elevator to help people avoid it. SO, if you would like to not wait in an insane lineup to use that elevator but you want to save your legs, you can instead cut through the magical Baixa-Chiado subway station! 

If you cut through from the Baixa side you go down some escalators through the station then up a series of escalators on the other side.  The one flaw is after you emerge there’s one short flight of real stairs which isn’t the best with a stroller but carrying it up one flight versus that hill is a win let me tell you. There’s also signs all over the station saying they are working to improve accessibility so maybe soon there will be a complete series of escalators or EVEN an elevator. 

We used this almost every day we were there.  A stellar example of why (wherever possible) I try and do a “free” walking tour the first day I land in any city. The tours, of course, are not free as you tip your guide, but I find the tours marketed as free tend to cover the general city highlights with a mix of history and culture so it’s a perfect primer for your visit.

Where we stayed:

I’m no expert on Lisbon (or really anywhere else) but this is my tried and true travel trick if I’m going into a city blind.  I look up one of the aforementioned free walking tours and see where they’re meeting.  My logic is that if I’m within walking distance of that point then I must be within walking distance of a lot of the key sites. Voila! 

Based on that - we booked to stay in Bairro Alto.  This is also the neighbourhood I stayed in on my first visit to Lisbon, partially because I’ve been operating on this “stay near the walking tour meeting point" logic for well over a decade and partially because it’s a big area for nightlife!  

The obvious flag about staying here with children is the potential for noise overnight.  This was not an issue where we stayed but if this is important to you I would read the reviews carefully before booking accommodation. I can confirm at street level it was rowdy. 

But we loved it! It was central enough to be a good jumping off point for visiting other neighbourhoods, very picturesque, cars can drive there which is nice for arriving and departing with kids and luggage (not necessarily a guarantee in Lisbon) and the close proximity made us feel like we got a little taste of nightlife.  Several nights when we were feeling daring we pushed the limits on bedtime to go out for a drink - it felt relatively low risk knowing we could be back and have her in bed in under 10 minutes. 

Typically speaking, Emma and I are AirBnb girlies - especially now with kids. I want to be able to have some food on hand, the option to eat in and a separate space from where our daughter is sleeping so we don’t have to slink around in low-lighting after 8:00pm. However, I had an expedia discount I wanted to put to good use so we went the hotel route.  Don’t sleep on those random perks you get through your work, insurance, creditcards, etc.!

This place we stayed was INCREDIBLE - definitely above my usual non-discount price per night but fresh bread every morning is truly the way to my heart so I had to mention it. And it was an “apartment” style hotel so we still had the perks of laundry and a separate sleeping space but with some nice hotel amenities including a whatsapp accessible concierge to help with booking things (like kid friendly tuk tuk tours).

What we did with a toddler in Lisbon:

Each neighbourhood in Lisbon feels like its own destination so we didn’t do as many concrete tourist items as I may have done on past trips.  Part of this is travelling with a toddler.  My tolerance for keeping a squirmy, vocal toddler in line for anything that requires a degree of civility is not particularly high so I try to reserve it for things that are high value for me.  Gotta make sure the juice is worth the squeeze. 

Walking Tour

This is one of those high value outings that I felt was worth whatever cajoling would be required to keep my daughter from disrupting the tour for everyone else. I picked one that was over nap time in the hope she would be tired and eventually sleep in the stoller but came armed with snacks.  She did some sleeping, some snacking, some walking away with my husband to calm down-ing but overall I’d call it a success. 

TukTuk Tour

I know, my poor family. I love a tour!!  This was a bit of a tricky one as most TukTuks won’t take children under 7 years old, however, we were able to book one through our hotel that had a booster seat and that seemed to be the only requirement so I’m sure there are tons out there.  However, to pre-book these tours through a service you are definitely paying a higher price point than if you negotiate with one on the street. I have a convenient comparison as my mom was in Lisbon about a week before we were - hers was €60 and ours was €120.  The hidden costs of having kids you just don’t see coming… 

The tour, however, was very fun and we covered way more ground than we were able to on our walking tour - though in less detail. It was nice to have a second perspective on top tips in the city as well.  Our driver also offered to drop us off wherever we’d like at the end so if I had planned ahead I would have had him drop us at the top of Alfama and spent the day (walking downhill) exploring the area.  As it was, I wanted to visit the flea market which was near Alfama but only on Tuesdays and Saturdays so we went back across town closer to our hotel and saved Alfama for the next day. 

Music and a Bevvy 

This seems to be an option all over the city but these are two spots we loved and seemed to be more of a sure thing than some of the places we just stumbled upon.

Praça Luís de Camões - a cute little square conveniently located about 2 minutes from where we were staying and more importantly about one minute from one of the Manteigaria locations (rated by 3 out of 4 adults on this trip as the best pastel de nata).  There was live music in the square every night and one of those quintessentially European kiosks to grab drinks and sit and enjoy.  This had very high tolerance for toddlers getting out beans since it’s an open square with a monument to climb so that was a win for us. 

Quiosque Príncipe Real - another kiosk style cafe set in a park with huge beautiful old trees and live music - extremely magical. Two housekeeping notes - the waiters do come take your orders here. I always find this a stressful confusion especially if it’s busy… are you in the weeds or am I expecting a service you do not provide? Two, this is in the north west corner of the park - if you’re coming from the east you will probably run into another kiosk first that is much less picturesque and also much closer to the road and therefore more work for monitoring toddlers… keep walking, it’s worth it.  This is medium toddler friendly but does have a cute little park just south of it that makes for an easy before or after pit stop. 

Then I wanted to add one honourable mention for a daytime bevvy - but no music (at least when we were there). 

Quiosque Miradouro this little outdoor cafe is at the end of the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara - a large terrace lookout area. Lisbon basically has a big valley running through the centre, hence the hills, and the “newer” buildings are in the lower part that was destroyed in 1755 by the eathquake/tsunami. This lookout is on the west side (Bairro Alto and Chiado side) which is quite old and looking toward the east (Alfama side) which is very old. This lookout is much bigger and felt way less crowded and chaotic than the comparable one near Alfama so it was really nice to sit and have a drink and let our daughter run around the square a bit.

Flea Market 

Every Tuesday and Saturday near Campo de Santa Clara (behind the monastery of São Vicente de Fora - there’s a map here) I think it’s technically not IN Alfama but if not it’s right on the cusp so I would highly recommend planning your Alfama exploration day on a Tuesday or Saturday.  This market had everything from artists selling prints to random baskets of broken tiles and boutique designers to people selling what I genuinely think was stuff from their own house spread out on a blanket.  I would give it 10/10.

Alfama 

After the flea market we walked into Alfama and just roamed around for hours - it was possibly my favourite part of our Lisbon trip.  This is the oldest area of Lisbon and full of narrow winding streets and lots of stairs so wear your walking shoes and be ready to carry the stroller.  While we were there in mid-May they were already putting up decorations for the Saint Anthony festivities which are apparently a month long party in June - I felt very jealous we didn’t come a bit later. There’s very little traffic if any on most of the roads as it’s heavily restricted in most areas (and realistically impassable) so our daughter loved getting free reign to roam around. 

I felt like every single little restaurant we walked by I said “I’m pinning that for next time” so I don’t think you can go wrong at least in terms of ambiance. Two things I would note:

• Ginjinha - this is a famous cherry liquor usually served in a chocolate cup. Our tuk tuk tour guide told us it’s common to see little stands set up selling it in Alfama so we were keeping an eye out and grabbed one when we saw it. Delicious. 

• Craft Beer - not that common in Lisbon so when we saw this place we did stop in.  As our server put it, Sagres and Super Bock have a real “chokehold” on Portugal in general.  I wouldn’t put this on a “must-do” for a general list but if you’re into craft beer (we are) and like to check out the local scene this place was really great!

Next time we got to Lisbon I would absolutely stay in Alfama. With the limited accessibility in the area I don’t think it was the season for us but with a slightly more independent aged child I think it would be awesome! This is also the best place in the city to check out Fado music.  Our tuk tuk guide said it usually starts up around 7:00pm which was a bit too late for us when we were staying on the other side of the city but would be a great perk if you were closer to home base or able to stay out a bit later. 

Baxia

What trip to Lisbon could be complete without a stroll down the famous pedestrian street Rua Augusta. This neighbourhood in the centre of Lisbon was completely destroyed in 1755 and gives a totally different feel for Lisbon. This street connects two of the main squares in the city and is filled with shops, cafes and street performers (keep an eye out for pick pockets if you're stopping to watch). I typically avoid eating in these type of areas - lots of food pictures on menus which is never a good sign- but we did grab a drink and a cheese croquette to people watch and stopped in at that Manteigaria location. The large square along the waterfront at the south end of the street is beautiful and another great car free area to run off some energy before a waterfront stroll - and eat some more pastel de nata (of course).

Belém (ish)

I had done the Belém sites last time I was in Lisbon and didn’t feel a strong desire to spend a full day there when we were on a bit of a tighter timeline.  So we did Belém as a bit of a drive by the morning before we left for The Algarve.  

You could absolutely spend the day out in Belém - there’s tons of green space by the water and lots of little stands along the boardwalk, the monastery, the tower, loads of museums (hello rain day activities) and of course Pastéis de Belém.  

For our abbreviated itinerary we unloaded the kids and two adults in the middle of the big park and let them run wild.  One of us went on a little jog over the Pastéis de Belém to grab a few pastel de nata. This is allegedly where the tarts were invented or at least they alone use the original recipe from the monastery where they were invented.  I heard or read at some point the monks used eggs whites to starch their outfits and the tarts were a result of needing to find a use for the yolks but I can’t actually find that fact from a reputable source as I’m writing this so… take that with a grain of salt. Sounds true!  1 out of 4 adults thought these were the best tarts of the trip (it was me) but you should absolutely conduct your own taste tests.

The other adult went down to the boardwalk stands and grabbed coffee (almost pina coladas instead but caffeine and maturity won out) and we spent an hour snacking, running and checking out the tower.   

Where we ate:

Time out Market - I only even put this on here because I felt like it came up in every toddler related travel thing I read for Lisbon and we actually found it very meh? Again, we were only there in May so I have to believe it only gets worse but we went for dinner and it was PACKED. It was like the hunger games trying to find and hold a table while we waited for food (which took a wildly long time considering when we got it it tasted like it had been cooked earlier in the day then reheated). It was fun in theory to try a bunch of different things but the lines were so long it made it a bit annoying to have to go to three separate places for food and then another one for drinks. Once we were seated it was fine and fairly toddler tolerant but with that much traffic we had to keep them within arms reach so they were pretty over it by the time we finished. I would boldly say this was actually the only meal we had in all of Portugal where we didn’t really like the food whether through luck, preparation or because the food is generally quite good and fresh I don’t know but it made it memorable in a bad way. 

Further to that pretty much everywhere we did eat - even when we were pushing the boundaries of how fancy I would normally risk - the staff and other patrons were very kind and welcoming. So the trade off of bad food for a welcoming atmosphere was extra not there for me where maybe that would have weighed more in its favour in a snootier city. Prime example, we went to The Cevicheria for lunch one day, there was no line and tables available outside so I thought - perfect! Well they don’t serve the ceviche outside and they very quickly and happily offered us a table inside - white linen napkins and a ton of spindly glassware on the tables, not a risk I would usually take but I was too far down the path at that point. The servers were super nice and not even the other patrons gave us the stink eye after the fourth time our daughter dropped her fork loudly on the ground. The food was amazing but I was honestly so on edge I don’t know that I could confidently recommend it with a toddler.  I am who I am - so maybe a recommendation if you are more confident weathering a potentially embarrassing incident than me.

A few  places we would recommend to eat

We did a lot of stopping in based on patio vibes as we wandered throughout the day rather than tracking down my pre-scoped restaurants which is unusual for us but the weather and the options were so nice it just felt right.  

• Café Buenos Aires - a recommendation from our tuk tuk guide. It’s half way up an enormous set of stairs so not the most convenient with a stroller BUT we got a seat right next to them and that meant our daughter spent 30 straight minutes wearing herself out on the stairs before dinner and everyone had a great time. The food was also excellent and the sunset view was incredible. 

• Pão de Canela - I saw @minijetsetter on instagram go here and pinned it immediately. A restaurant with a patio across from a fenced in park? Count me in.  We made a reservation to be safe and secure a spot next to the park. The service was slow even by Portugal standards but we were also in no rush with this set up and the food was good. I would highly recommend a pre-dinner snack, however, or this could go south real quick if anyone is hangry. 

• Trindade - we did not go here but I wish we had. I heard from several real people as well as bloggers that the food was great and that it would be super kid friendly. It’s big and in an old monastery which looked awesome… but when the time came I just couldn’t bring myself to not have another day of patio dinner.  We were fresh out of Canadian April and I was desperate for sunshine.
  

Rain Day Activities

We got lucky and didn’t need to use these but I always like to have them ready: 

• National Tile Museum - I went here on a rain day back in my twenties and I loved it. I’ve since recommended it to several other people I knew going to Lisbon in the intervening years and they also loved it. Possibly not the most thrilling for kids but there is space to roam.

• Belem - as mentioned, there’s a number of museums in close proximity.

• Ride Tram 28 - this is wildly popular with tourists so the lines to get on can be long but I thought if it was raining a) might keep people indoors and b) would make the line worth it if we were planning to really hunker down and stay on it for a full loop. This tram goes past a lot of the major sites and what kid isn’t thrilled by a new mode of transport?

If you are looking at a rain day or days I would absolutely get a Lisboa Card - it covers almost all transit (who wants to walk in the rain) and most museums and tourist sites including everything noted above.  Children under four are free and it would give you a lot of flexibility.

Pro-Tip for Lisbon in general, a LOT of things are closed on Monday. So plan accordingly.

Pro-Tip to avoid embarrassment and potential injury in Lisbon if you have a small child or luggage and you’re going through the metro you should absolutely use the two stage accessibility gate to enter and exit. If you don’t and you push your luggage through ahead of you you might have the gate snap closed on your face knocking off your sunglasses and trapping you inside the metro gate with your luggage on the outside.  But this didn’t happen to me...

Our Parks for Pappas pick for Lisbon happened by chance and was a great example of when trip prep comes in handy. I had saved this park and realized we needed a park before we hit our dinner location. Principe Real Garden is a beautiful park with Quiosque Príncipe Real on the corner. The kids playground was great and gated and made even better with a stop for a cheeky wine before or after. It was filled with local kids and seemed pretty popular in that pre-dinner hour when all hell usually breaks loose. Don't miss it!

Lisbon easily makes the list of top European cities with relatively cheap food and wine, open spaces for the kids to run and some memorable cafes/restaurants.