Thursday, February 24, 2011

10 Things to do in Lisbon with your Kids

The family-oriented Portuguese welcome children everywhere and there are plenty of opportunities in and around Lisbon, Portugal to keeps kids entertained. Here are 10 of our favorite family friendly activities.

1. The Oceanarium: Lisbon's Oceanarium is one of the world's largest aquariums. It is a deep-sea diving experience without any of the risks, with about 25,000 fish, seabirds, and mammals in an enormous central tank that is the size of four Olympic-sized swimming pools. Visitors can look into it from different levels for close-ups of the various creatures, including different species of sharks.


2. Tropical Garden: Lisbon's beautiful tropical garden is a charming, yet often overlooked spot that has maintained all the ponds, towering palm trees, and over 4000 species of tropical plants that it had when it was created in 1906.

3. Coaches Museum: One of Lisbon's most visited sights, the Coaches Museum has the largest and most valuable collection of fairytale coaches in the world.

4. Interactive Science Museum: The Interactive Science Museum has highly educational exhibits with cutting-edge technology and multimedia. There are fun interactive displays and simulations, explaining the use of technology in everyday life. Many of the world's major scientific institutes contribute to thematic exhibitions, making this a rewarding experience for both adults and children.

5. Marionette Museum: The former 18th century Bernardas Convent houses a lovely collection of over 1,000 puppets, including some dating from the 17th and 18th centuries -- knights, princesses, devils, among other characters.

6. The Toy Museum at Sintra: Another museum that will delight the entire family.

7. Colombo Shopping Center: A children's play area can be found uptown on the top floor of Colombo Shopping Center, including a fun fair that claims to be the largest indoor amusement park in Europe with a roller coaster and other rides, video games, bowling, and a go cart track to entertain the kids as you shop.

8. Pena Palace: This fairytale palace is the most complete and notable example of Portuguese architecture in the Romantic period. It stands on one of the rocky peaks of the Serra de Sintra, and blends in a surprisingly fortunate manner with its natural background of greenery and crags, testifying to the aesthetic potentialities of the project.

9. Jeronimos Monastery: Enjoy some medieval storytelling in the cloisters of Jeronimos Monastery.

10. Parque das Nações: Parque das Nações is the district with the most family entertainment, offering several attractions suitable for people of all ages. Mostly traffic-free and with riverside walkways, it is a good place for a day out, with cable car rides, bikes for hire, water gardens, bowling, international restaurants, and a playground known as "Parque do Gil."

Enjoy Portugal with your friends and family on Celtic Tours Experience Portugal Small Group Tour.

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