Best Places for Families to Visit in Portugal

You need to consider where to visit when it comes to the perfect vacation or a well-needed family holiday. If you would like to discover a country with mountains, beaches, culture, and history, you will find it in many cities in Portugal. You can choose to visit alone or with your kids or teenagers.

There’s a lot to do! We will try to show you the best part of the country where you can go with your family and enjoy the best vacations of your life. When it comes to getting time away, families are looking for safety, nature, beautiful landscapes, and safe beaches, and they can find all of these in Portugal.

Which Part of Portugal Is Best for Families?

With so much to see in Portugal, where you visit with your family depends on your preference. If you like big cities, you should go to Lisbon or Porto, but if you prefer places with less population and nature, you should choose the Alentejo region or the islands (Azores & Madeira). You can go Glamping or stay in a sea/river view Resort. It’s up to you, but the options are great!

Top 5 Places in Portugal for Families to Go

Lisbon – The Capital

Lisbon, the land of the poet’s inspiration, is the country’s heart and the economy’s centre. Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and the country’s biggest city; it is continental Europe’s westernmost capital. Local and international companies in the capital have a cosmopolitan spirit of life. You can visit museums like Mosteiro dos Jerónimos or Torre de Belém, take a boat on the Tejo River, or enjoy the view. You can also climb to the São Jorge Castle, but prepare good shoes as Lisbon is known as the city of the “seven hills”: São Jorge, São Vicente, São Roque, Santo André, Santa Catarina, Chagas e Sant’Ana. After visiting the seven hills, you must pick a great restaurant.

Best restaurants for kids in Lisbon:

• Pop Cereal
• In Bocca al Lupo
• Monte Mar Lisboa
• A Sala
• Ground Burger
• Pois Café

Those are excellent kids’ restaurants in a fantastic city, Lisbon.

But the dress code is not always casual. Prepare your best suit or dress, as Lisbon has the best concerts and shows in the country. In places like Teatro D. Maria, history comes alive, and the mix of the modern with the classical allows one to explore how people lived before.

If you visit Lisbon in the Summer of June or July, you can also go to one of the best festivals in the world. NOS Alive is located in Algés, a stage for artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Lumineers, Alt-J, Nothing But Thieves and many more. Although it is not every year, you can also go to Rock in Rio Lisboa, a festival in Brazil that features a mix of Brazilian and international music.

Porto – Douro region

Welcome to the north of Portugal. The Douro River is the third largest river in the Iberian Peninsula. Taking a vacation in Porto is cheaper than in Lisbon but if you want to explore the Douro region (you should) don’t look at it from the money side of things. Discover one of the most beautiful places in the world and sail through the Douro Valley. Known for the vineyards along the region, Douro is a magical place to stay. Many of the hotels were built with a vineyard view of the mountains, so it’s fantastic to relax with your family and is not expensive. Porto is number 18 on a list of about 50 Affordable Vacations. Also, if you like football, you can visit Estádio dos Dragões, where José Mourinho coached the Futebol Clube do Porto team.

Where to stay in Douro

• Quinta do Pessegueiro
• Vila Galé Douro
• Quinta de São Bernardo – Winery & Farmhouse
• Six Senses

Évora – Alentejo region 

Known as the hidden gem of Portugal, with a low percentage of the population in Évora, you will find plenty of historical buildings and museums to show your kids. You can run and enjoy good food in typical restaurants.

Algarve  – The beaches

Probably the best-known region in Portugal and one of the best in the world, the Algarve has beaches with gold and soft sand. Vilamoura, Portimão, Faro, Alvor, Tavira and Lagos are just a few beaches in the Algarve and feel safe for families. In Praia dos 2 irmãos (Alvor), you will find a relaxing place to go to the beach and have dinner. Eat a fish in an Ababuja restaurant and walk on the riverside. There’s a lot to say about Algarve, but you just need to look at it for yourself.

Parks for the Kids

Most of the AquaParks are in Algarve, but you can also find them in northern Portugal. Here is a list of a few in the Algarve:

• Slide & Splash
• Aqualand Big One
• Zoomarine
• AquaShow Family Park

Taking your kids to a park is always the best part of the holidays (for them, of course). But choose parks where you can also enjoy giant slides and pools. In Zoomarine, for example, you can also find animals like dolphins or seals and many bird species and feel the ambience with the animals.

Pico, Açores – The Island

Pico Island is one of the 9 islands in the Archipelago and the second-largest island of the Azores. On Pico Island, you have a lot of attractions like Gruta das Torres, Museu dos Baleeiros, and Casa da Montanha. Then you have many nautical activities like watching dolphins, diving,
mountain climbing…. The island is known for its natural pools, made up of black rock

Who to get to Pico Azores

Visit the Azores, which should be on your bucket list. It’s straightforward to get to the island. Most airlines fly to Ponta Delgada, the more oversized island and the capital, but from this island, you can go to Pico by air or by boat.

Here are some travel tips:

If you live in UK – Ryanair ( Stansted – Ponta delgada)
If you live in Ireland – You should go to Lisbon and take a flight to Pico Island
If you live in USA – Azores Airlines (Boston – Ponta Delgada | Boston – Terceira or Oakland – Terceira)

Is It Safe to Travel to Portugal?

Yes, Portugal is a safe country and has adopted safe measures to welcome tourists with open arms. For example, the National Tourist Authority—Turismo de Portugal—recently created Portugal Travel Insurance for all tourists wishing to visit the country during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. They made a Safe & Clean stamp to ensure everything was safe. 

Places with the stamp are certified as suitable measures, and almost 17.000 places in the country have the stamp, including restaurants, hotels, airports, museums, golf camps, etc. The Safe & Clean Stamp is valid until 30 April 2021. Portugal was also one of the first countries to receive #SafeTravels recognition, which means that it’s a safe country to travel to.

Portugal is one of the top 20 Best Family Travel Destinations Worldwide, so bring your family and go hiking in the Douro Valley or relax on the fantastic beaches.

Poem about Lisbon:

Lisboa

Alguém diz com lentidão:
“Lisboa, sabes…”
Eu sei. É uma rapariga
descalça e leve,
um vento súbito e claro
nos cabelos,
algumas rugas finas
a espreitar-lhe os olhos,
a solidão aberta
nos lábios e nos dedos,
descendo degraus
e degraus e degraus até ao rio.Eu sei. E tu, sabias?

Eugénio de Andrade, in Até Amanhã, 1956