Lisbon and environs for August
 

Hello,

Well we scrapped Paris and Provence for a 10 day trip to Portugal this August and I feel confident that it was a good swap.

We have reserved rooms in Sintra and have a good rate at the Ritz Penha Longa Hotel and Golf Resort. I have some good ideas what to do with two 13 year olds and a two year old. The area just looks fantastic. I am very excited!

For those have been to Lisbon, Estoril and Sintra what were your favorite experiences? Have any of you travelled with children to the area.

Hello!
I´ve been there lots of times but never with children. No children yet... :(
Altough i can recomend you toursforyou.pt I´ve used them.
Have a nice trip and make sure you try the local pastry in Sintra and Lisbon! :))))

thanks tourer! any other takers?

Don't miss Apple's beach tramway

http://www.cm-sintra.pt/default.aspx

click the English flag and then Tourism and Custure and then Sintra's Tram

I am envious! We went to Portugal a few years ago with our children, and it was truly amazing.

I do not know anything about your hotel though as we stayed in Lisbon and Cascais. We did take a day trip to Sintra though and wished we had more time.

Some of our favorite things were to wander the Castle San Jorge, take the Santa Justa elevator, and wander the various parts of Lisbon. In Sintra we visited the castle and Pena Palace. Both were very interesting, even to the children who were only 4 and 7 at the time. The castle has many tall steps, so keep that in mind with your little one. The views are worth it though!

Take some time in Cascais as well. The Boca de Inferno was interesting, and there was an outdoor market to wander there as well. We walked from the main part of town to out there and then did a loop through a residential area to get back. Very nice path along the water. One thing our kids really liked was visiting the grocery store. Yes, really, lol! It was very interesting to see how different things were. They even took a few pictures and they still talk about it.

BTW, we were there in late August/early September and the weather was warm, but never uncomfortable. I hope some of this helps. I will try to remember more, but if you have any questions just ask.

mms,

Thanks for all of the info. I am so glad to hear from someone who has been there with children. we are very excited about this trip. I don't even know how I came across it. How long were you there for? We are hoping to go for 7-10 days.

lobo mau, going to that website righ now ;-)

We were there for just over a week...about the same time as you have. We could have done more during our trip, but my DH was there with the military for work, so there were a couple days that the kids and I just hung out.

Just in case you are interested, in Cascais we stayed at the Cidadela which is a Best Western. It was a great place for us. We had a 3 bedroom suite and the hotel had a pool. It was nice to go back to the pool in the afternoons and let the kids unwind a bit. The hotel was within walking distance of everything and the staff were incredibly helpful and friendly.

mms,

The hotel you stayed at looks very nice and a better value than what we were expecting to pay. Can you give me anymore details about it? I would much rather have a 3 bedroom suite than two separate rooms as we are currently planning. Did you have car as well? How was the food at the hotel (the 13 year olds are a bit picky). Thanks!

When I was in Lisbon two years ago, I spent several enjoyable hours at the Parque das Nacoes site (built/refurbished for Expo 98).

www.parquedasnacoes.pt
www.oceanario.pt

I visited the great oceanarium and took a ride up the elevator of the Vasco da Gama tower. There are some truly stunning views of the river/harbor from the top. There is also an overhead tram that runs through a length of the park, and a handful of shops and restaurants. I also watched a number of people using the area for bike riding.

You can take the metro directly out to the Oriente Station, which is a hub for buses and trains as well.

Coimbra: I don't know if the 13-year olds are too grown up for it but there's something called Portugal dos Pequeninhos there. Many of Portugal's national monuments reconstructed in miniature for the kids. I think my daughter was 11 when we visited there.

The Oceanarium at the Expo'98 site is still open for business as is the Teleferico: a cable car ride.

Lobo_mau: I hope my info is accurate. If not, please comment.

Sintra is a wonderful place to be in summer; I stayed in the old part in July a few years ago and had a wonderful time.

Right in (and above) Sintra there are many attractions: Pena Palace, the Castle of the Moors (but you'd need to be careful with the two year old at that one!) and the Capuchin Monastery, for starters.

Cabo da Roca is a great cliffside walk, and the open-air bus ride to Cascais is quite nice.

Have a great trip!

You all have been a tremendous help. I have been trying to book our flights for the last two hours on various websites, but no one can confirm the flights (even TAP). Very frustrating. The fares keep rising... I was originally booking for just under £500 for 5 tickets and now I am at just over £600 and still can't get the seats confirmed. UGH!

Did everyone suddenly decide to Lisbon from the UK? ;-(

You are improving. I am very proud of you :-)

Another question for you gurus? Are there any waterparks near Lisbon? We accidently found one outside Venice last August and that was the highlight of my stepdaughters trip. Thanks!

Our suite had three bedrooms and two full bathrooms, plus a huge living room, a separate dining room, and a full kitchen. We had a balcony that overlooked the pool. We only had breakfast at the hotel, which was basic continental style. We went to the grocery store ("Jumbo" I think was the name) and kept snacks in the room.

I do not remember the names of the restaurants we went to, but they were all in the general main area of town. Our children, even at that age, were very adventurous regarding food so we always just went where we wanted. Our 4 yr old found out he loved grilled calamari on that trip, lol!

I do remember the name of one restaurant in Lisbon though...Bonjardim. Their specialty is roasted chicken. Great place for kids! We sat outside and our waiter was very nice and was very entertaining with the kids.

We did not have a rental car. When we were in Lisbon we took the metro a couple times, but mostly walked. We did take a tram once, just for fun. In Cascais we walked everywhere. One evening we took a carriage ride, and the driver let our daughter sit up with him and "steer". It was a very pretty way to see the town at sunset.

When we moved from Lisbon out to Cascais we took a taxi and went the scenic route along the river. My DH was working that day, so it was just the kids and I and he met us later. That is why I took the taxi...much easier for us. The drive was very nice though and I would probably do that again.

BTW, there is a fantastic jewelry store near the Santa Justa Elevator in Lisbon, if you are interested. Oh, and a very nice store in Cascais where I bought some hand woven linens.