Lisbon with kids: 5 of the best museums to visit on your family trip to Lisbon

4 Comments


Lisbon is our city and we are big fans of what it has to offer and we believe it is a fabulous destination for traveling with children.

Generally when you come to Lisbon, the time of stay in the city is usually between 3 to 5 days and, if this time is very good to get to know the city, we can also guarantee that it will not be possible to know everything Lisbon has to offer because, believe me, the offer is huge and increases with each passing day.

We really enjoy planning our holidays before we go because we know that since we are parents, a good organization allows us to make the most of our family trip and make the whole experience even more enjoyable for the whole family.

Something we try to give as a parent is a good combination of fun and learning, and one of the best places to do this is visiting museums, so when we visit a new destination we always look for information about which museums to visit and, of course, those which most captivate children.

So, what we would like to share with you in this post is our opinion on the best museums to visit with children when making your family trip to Lisbon. Of course this is not a definitive list of the best museums for children in Lisbon, it is our opinion, adults and children, about the museums that we consider best combine the leisure and learning.

MUSEUM OF THE NAVY

When conducting a survey of the best museums in the city of Lisbon, it is not very likely that you will find the Navy Museum in the main choices. However, he is one of our son's favorites, and so is ours. For those who like history and who like to discover the history of the places they visit, this is a museum par excellence to get to know much of the history of Portugal, closely linked to the sea and the sea voyages of the Portuguese around the world. For this museum takes you to explore and know this route of the history of Portugal, from the first adventures to the present.


Although not a very modern and interactive museum, the miniatures of the boats (some of them enormous) will leave any child in a trance and, adding to it historical relics scattered throughout the museum, are sure to leave the whole family happy in the hours passed in this space.

Located in one of the most beautiful areas of Lisbon, in Belém right next to the Jerónimos Monastery, its privileged location by the river makes this whole experience more pleasant.

You can access more information through the official website of the museum by clicking here but, we already leave a valuable tip, the entrance to the Museum of the Navy is free on the first Sunday of each month, as well as on the following dates:

- Navy Day - May 20
- Children's Day - June 1st (Free for childs until 12 years old)
- Day of the Sea - 16 November
- Day of Monuments and Sites - April 18
- International Museum Day - May 18

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND SCIENCE (MUHNAC)


This has always been one of the museums that most captivated our son, who descends very early and, like many of the boys, developed an enormous fascination for dinosaurs. Let us warn you that for those who visited other natural history museums around the world, with wonderful collections and reproductions of dinosaur fossils, you might be a bit disappointed with this one.


This was a museum with a very rich collection, much as a result of the trips that the Portuguese have made throughout the world throughout its history. However, a fire in 1978 destroyed a good part of its estate and, when making a visit, it is still possible to identify some vestiges of that fire.

However, much has already been done, although there is much to be done yet, and this is undoubtedly a very pleasant museum to visit with family, especially when coupled with the visit to the Botanical Garden, right next door and perfect for a day out of sun, so characteristic of the city of Lisbon.

You can access more information through the official website of the museum by clicking here but, we also leave the tip that you can visit both the Museum and the Botanical Garden free of charge every Sunday morning.


NATIONAL COACH MUSEUM

So far we have been referring to "old" museums in Lisbon, which probably lack that modern air that many of us like. Well, this modern air can be found in the Museum of Cars, mixed in perfection with history.


This is probably the most well-known Portuguese museum and owner of a wealth of immense history, which will take the whole family to feel like it would be a car ride a few centuries ago and to explore not only the history of Portugal but also of Europe.

Having recently relocated the museum, the change was very small and it is still located in the beautiful area of ​​Belém with a magnificent view of the river, and it is still possible to visit the old building, where part of the estate is still there and we guarantee , just admire the building itself is well worth it.

In the Museum you will find a unique collection of coachs, that go from the century. XVI until the XIX and, this is surely a visit that will have to be obligatory on your family trip to Lisbon.

You can access more information through the official website of the museum by clicking here.

PAVILION OF KNOWLEDGE - SCIENCE ALIVE CENTER

This is one of the museums we like the most, and I say we like it because it's not a museum just for kids, it's for the whole family. Despite the wonder of children, adults too easily fall in love with everything the museum has to offer.

This museum of science was born in 1999 in the space that was destined to the Pavilion of Knowledge of the Seas of EXPO 98, held in Portugal and, it seems a giant laboratory and full of interactive activities that will entertain the whole family for sure. In addition to its spectacular permanent exhibition, it also has several temporary exhibitions, which always seek to perfectly ally the ludic and pedagogical side.


This is one of the newest museums in Lisbon, in a modern space and also next to the Tagus River, but in the "new zone" of Lisbon, the old Expo, so besides the tour, we recommend a walk through this area and, for a a perfect day for the whole family, we recommend to join the visit to the Lisbon Oceanarium (see our itinerary for a family trip in Lisbon).

You can access more information about the Pavilion of Knowledge, namely on prices, times, location and temporary exhibitions through the official website of the museum clicking here.

We also leave a tip that may be important. There are 3 days in the year in which you can make your visit to the Pavilion of Knowledge for free:

Day 16 of May: National Day of the Scientists
July 25th: Pavilion of Knowledge Anniversary
November 24: National Day of Scientific Culture

You can consult the prices through this link

 MUSEUM OF MONEY

Finally, we booked one of the last museums to appear in Lisbon, but for which we fell in love immediately. The Money Museum, located in Lisbon's History Zone, between Praça do Comércio and Cais do Sodré, is a museum that seeks to explain the history of money from antiquity to the present day and, if this may seem annoying, we can ensure it is not, as the whole visit is spectacular.


Let's start with the facilities of the Museum, which is located in an old church, the Church of St. Julian, which was renovated in a fantastic way and, to make everything even more interesting, during the restoration work was discovered an old wall (Wall of Don Diniz) , which you can visit through a guided tour.

Winner of the "Museum of the Year" award in 2017, during your visit you can have contact with a permanent exhibition of more than 1200 objects, among them a gold bar with more than 12 Kg that we can touch (never any of we had ever touched a gold bar). But, we will also find all kinds of coins, notes and a fabulous collection, which is enriched by the use of new technologies, which make the whole experience more attractive for everyone.

At the outset, we may think that seeing coins and notes is not at all the best experience to hold in the family but, we can guarantee, a visit to this museum will be worth it, guaranteed.

To make the visit even more interesting, we inform you that the visit to the museum is free, but be aware that the museum is only open from Wednesday to Saturday. The Museum also has countless activities for children, for which you can register online. To consult schedules, location and activities, we suggest you check the official link by clicking here.

Who said going to a museum is not fun? Well we can ensure that this is wrong and a visit to a museum can really be a great time spent as a family.

As we mentioned at the beginning of our article, Lisbon is a city that has a lot to offer to those who visit us and, as far as museums are concerned, this offer is really vast and we are sure that our choices are not universal, different opinions. Specifically the choices we have listed first, the Navy Museum and the National Museum of Natural History and Science may not appear at the top of the choices for many people. From our personal experience, we have always loved these two museums, and for our son whenever we go there (and we have been many times), it is always a party and often he asks to repeat these experiences.

Regarding the National Coach Museum, it does not appear so much in the first choices of our son, but this is probably the most important museum in Portugal and, for those who visit us, we strongly recommend that he be part of his itinerary, probably the one that can not miss.

Lastly, for the most recent museums on our list, if you have very little time in the city of Lisbon, we believe that these two museums may be more difficult to fit into your itinerary. However, we can guarantee that they will delight your children.

 The Pavilion of Knowledge will be the one that will bring the most fun to the whole family, it is great, but it takes at least 3 to 4 hours to really get to know it, and tickets are not cheap, so this is always a factor to take into account when making your choice. As for the Money Museum, as it is free, it is in the historic part of Lisbon and your visit takes less time (2 hours may be enough), it may be easier to fit into your family trip to Lisbon.

Regardless of your choices, we hope you will have a great time in Lisbon, and do not forget to ask your questions, we would love to be able to help, we are also waiting for your comments and if you have visited Lisbon, do not hesitate to tell us about your experience. If you have not yet visited the city, here is our 3 day itinerary for a family trip in Lisbon.

Pin It for Later

Tags:

Share:

4 comentários

  1. Unknown6 de janeiro de 2019 às 22:28

    Keep sharing such nice museum post and travelers would be happy to visit this museum. compare airport parking deals

    ResponderEliminar
  2. Genuine Stories17 de janeiro de 2019 às 02:56


    Thanks for sharing such a great post.lisbon accommodation
    day trips from lisbon

    ResponderEliminar
  3. Betty's Journey2 de agosto de 2019 às 17:21

    Lisbon has many Musuem to be visited. I attracted with Musuem money.

    ResponderEliminar
    Respostas
    1. Non Stop Family5 de agosto de 2019 às 09:08

      We also love the Money Museum, it's really great and a great place to be with the kids :) It's fun and you can learn so much.

      Eliminar