Trip with parents and kids to Lisbon-area over New Year's - ideas?

November 9, 2021 3:22 AM

Would love ideas for activities/hotels/restaurants/New Year's plans, etc. that suit a wide range of requirements!

Over New Year's we will be in Lisbon-area for a week for a vacation. I have two elderly-ish parents -- one can not walk long distances but is OK for short walks. We will use Uber a lot, I suspect, especially as Lisbon is so hilly.

I also have two children under 10. They are easygoing about walking, but will need stuff to do.

I know the standard answer is AirBnB but for me this reads Work. For a holiday, I like to not have to load a dishwasher or clean and I love breakfast buffets :).

Can anyone think of a good itinerary for us, or things to do we all might like? One idea is to stay at a family-friendly hotel in Lisbon (the Martinhal?) and then go to Sintra for a few days and stay someplace more resort-y. It will be cold so any suggestions of a place with an indoor pool most welcome!

Also any New Year's related ideas, restaurant ideas, etc. would be great! Some of us (including the kids) like cultural stuff (museums, etc.), some of us . . . do not.

(I know Covid is the backdrop but adults are all vaccinated and Portugal is one of the highest vaccinated countries on earth. We will be careful, but want to do everything we can as perhaps last family trip we can all take together given parents' increasing mobility issues.)

Thank you!

posted by heavenknows to Travel & Transportation around Lisbon, Portugal (10 answers total)

Golly, it would be a shame to use Uber when you can clatter round the city in 19thC trams. And pootle across the river on the Cacilhas ferry whether or not you do the views from Santuário de Cristo RioRei on the other side. Three days in Sintra is two days too long, imo. Not everyone's cup of tea but the Peninsula War era Lines of Torres Vedras are 40km due North.
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:22 AM on November 9, 2021

Lisbon is awesome. It sounds touristy but try to visit a Fado club if you can, at least for the adults. A few years ago I had a fantastic time at the Clube de Fado, the music was amazing. Also in Lisbon is the Museu Nacional do Azulejo. You'll see the painted tiles everywhere in the city, this is the museum dedicated to them. It's in a slightly out of the way area, I suggest taking Uber.

You can do Sintra as a day trip. Getting there on public transit is a hassle, we had a terrific and not too expensive time hiring a private car with a guy who wasn't exactly a tour guide but was very informative.

If you have time I'd recommend going up to Porto for a couple of nights, it's also beautiful. Very hilly and a bit hard to get around if you have limited mobility.
posted by Nelson at 8:41 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

In Lisbon, if you have kids I'd highly recommend the Oceanario - the Lisbon aquarium. It really is an amazing place. It is out at Expo by the waterfront and accessible by subway or car.

I could spend days at Sintra. It is such a beautiful place. For kids, I'd recommend the Quinta da Regaleira, an old palace and gardens where the owner was really into labyrinths and templars myths and stuff. When I was there they hand you a map and flashlight at the entrance so you can go through the secret tunnels.

If you want a great place for lunch or dinner, have a driver take you to Azenhas do Mar, a seafood restaurant with dramatic views on the Sintra coast.
posted by vacapinta at 9:28 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

You will want to take the train to Cascais
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:22 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks all! The trams sound fantastic, and I do hope to use them, but honestly I'm not sure my parents could manage walking TO the tram, esp. if it's up a hill. Hence the reliance on Uber/cabs.

So maybe just a day trip to Sintra? Hadn't thought of Porto! Cascais also sounds good . . .
posted by heavenknows at 12:23 PM on November 9, 2021

The Lisbon trams are streetcars, and great ways to get around the city. Sintra is great, and beautiful. Spend some time planning the transport around Sintra, though, it can be tough to get up and back from the castle area.
posted by benbenson at 2:27 PM on November 9, 2021

I spent a week in Lisbon in August 2018, which included a day trip to Sintra. We took the train to Sintra and then used a bus to get from attraction to attraction. We did the Castelo dos Mouros, the Palácio da Pena, and the Quinta da Regaleira. They were all SPECTACULAR (I echo vacapinta that the Quinta would be a BLAST for kids), but I recall all of them involving a massive amount of walking. I'm not sure how the older folks in your group would do with that; everyone in my group was under 50 with no mobility issues, and we were still exhausted and sore at the end of the (very, very long) day. We didn't need to spend 3 days in Sintra, but perhaps that would be a good fit for your family -- you could pick a different attraction each day to spread out all the walking.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 7:19 PM on November 9, 2021

Lisbon is fantastic, though I agree that it's hard to get around with mobility issues. Consider an overnight (or two!) in Evora, which you can get to by bus (as I recall, it's 1.5-2 hours). The inner town (inside the walls) is small and not very hilly at all, and it's spectacular. There is a Roman temple in the middle of town, and a Roman aqueduct with homes built into the arches. The town is incredibly charming and has the best food we ate in Portugal.
If you love a good hotel buffet breakfast, you must stay at Albergaria do Cavalario. It's wonderfully charming and comfortable (much prettier than the photos even suggest), and the breakfast is the most epic I've ever seen.
Finally, if you go, don't miss a tour with Ebora Megalithica. They will pick you up at the hotel and drive you to several sites with neolithic megaliths, with an archaeologist as your tour guide. If the kids are at all interested in adventure, this is a great fit for them as well as those who like museums.

Portugal is great! I can't wait to go back. Enjoy your trip.
posted by CiaoMela at 9:41 AM on November 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

I’d almost recommend staying in Cascais and doing a day trip to Sintra to visit the Quinta da Regeleira, and the small old town of Sintra, but not much else. Don’t get me wrong, I spent 4 days in Sintra in October 2019 and loved it, but as others have said most of the sights there involve a lot of walking and it can get quite steep at times. Cascais is a seaside town, and is flatter, and there there is probably more to do for people who are less museum-focused.

The Cabo da Roca, on the coast between Cascais and Sintra, is the most westerly point in mainland Europe, and may be worth a visit too. (I was there at sunset, and the colours were gorgeous.)
posted by scorbet at 11:38 AM on November 10, 2021

Train trip to Cascais (lovely beaches, cute town), and train trip to the incredible Pena Palace at Sintra. (And lots of other beautiful sites in Sintra if you have time.) I can point you to our holiday pics on Flickr if you like. (2 adults and 2 kids of 9 and 6 years old.) We also liked the botanical gardens and maritime museum in Belém.

Re-reading your post, Sintra and Pena Palace might be a problem for mobility issues, as it's quite hilly.
posted by snarfois at 6:30 AM on November 12, 2021