Are you planning on visiting Porto with children? Looking for kid-friendly activities in the Capital of the North? Captain Ulysses has drawn up a list the best visits, tours and activities to do with children in Porto! Follow the guide!
💡 The Captain’s tip 💡
Want to know more about the history of Porto? Captain Ulysses highly recommends this free guided tour of the city. It’s up to you to choose how much you wish to tip the tour guide!
Looking for an hotel in Porto? Be sure to check out the Captain’s article: Where to stay in Porto? Advice & recommendations
World of Discoveries
Located on the banks of the Douro, World of Discoveries is an interactive museum which immerses visitors in the lives of 15th and 16th century Portuguese navigators, like Magellan and Vasco da Gama.
The visit to World of Discoveries:
- starts with the visit to the museum: interactive and multisensory, it perfect both for children and adults. The museum retraces the historical context of the great discoveries and details life on board ships.
- before continuing with the theme park: the visitors are invited to board a small boat to venture into the different countries explored by Portuguese navigators, such as Africa, ndia, Macao, Japan and Brazil. The audioguide is available in several languages.
The World of Discoveries Museum is a fun and educational stop for a family trip to Porto that will delight both parents and children alike!
💡 Practical information 💡
The World of Discoveries interactive museum in is located on the banks of the Douro, 600 meters from the Church of Sao Francisco and the Palacio da Bolsa. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and public holidays (exceptionally closed on January 1st and December 25).
Tip: tickets are cheaper online (€13 compared to €15 on site for adults). The Captain therefore recommends booking skip-the-line tickets.
Sea Life Aquarium
To visit the Sea Life Aquarium, head for the district of Foz do Douro, on the oceanfront. 2nd largest aquarium in Portugal, this is the perfect attraction for travelers visiting Porto with children!
The aquarium is home to over 5,800 marine species, including penguins and giant tortoises.
The Ocean tunnel – a transparent aquatic tunnel – is particularly impressive!
If you wish, you can also plan your visit during the animals’ feeding sessions. You’ll find the detailed schedules here.
💡 Practical information 💡
To get to the Porto Sea Life aquarium, the Captain recommends taking the old Porto tram (you can book your tickets online here).
Tip: as for World of Discoveries, tickets for the aquarium are cheaper online than on site (€12.15 compared to €13.95 for adults). The Captain therefore recommends booking your tickets in advance: tickets to the Sea Life Aquarium
Estádio do Dragão
Portugal is undoubtedly a nation of football (it is, after all, the homeland of Cristiano Ronaldo!) and FC Porto is one of the most iconic clubs the country.
If your children are football fans or if they’re simply curious to find out more about FC Porto, the Captain highly recommends visiting the Estadio do Dragao – the “ Dragon Stadium” in English!
Built for the UEFA Euro 2004 held in Portugal, this ultramodern stadium can accommodate over 50,000 spectators! The stadium is also home to an interactive museum retracing the history of the club and to offering visitors a chance to relive the biggest games in FC Porto’s (nicknamed ‘Azuis e brancos‘) history.
Audioguides are available in several languages.
💡 Practical information 💡
The stadium is located north of the city center and is easy to get to bu metro (the Estádio do Dragão station is located on metro lines A, B,C and E). You’ll be asked to choose whether you want to visit the stadium only or the stadium and the museum. The stadium is not open to visits on game days.
You can book your visit in advance: tickets to the FC Porto stadium
Zoo Santo Inacio
Located in Vila Nova de Gaia (the municipality facing Porto on the other side of the Douro, where the vast majority of the Port wine cellars are located), Zoo Santo Inácio is home to over 800 animals belonging to 260 different species, some of which are threatened with extinction. It is the largest wildlife park in northern Portugal. Everything has been thought out to accommodate animals in spaces that are as close to their natural environment as possible.
Located 10 minutes from Porto, the zoo is undoubtedbly one of the city’s top attraction when travelling with children!
The zoo partners with the European Aquarium and Zoo Association and is dedicated to conserving endangered species.
💡 Practical information 💡
The Santo Inácio Zoo, located in Nova de Gaia, is easily accessible from Porto via public transportation. Take line D (yellow) to João de Deus stop and then catch the MGC bus by the Corte Inglés towards Quinta das Oliveiras.
The zoo is open every day except December 25 and January 1st. Hours vary by season: 10am-7pm from April 1st to October 14th, and 10am-5pm from October 15th to March 31st.
FYI, the Porto Card entitles holders to a 25% discount.
Harry-Potter Themed Tours
You may not know that JK Rowling, the famous author of the Harry Potter books, lived in Porto. She actually began to write the wizard’s adventures in the Capital of the North! She drew inspirations from many local attractions and monuments, including the Livraria Lello, the Sao Bento Railway Station and the Cafe Majestic.
For an enlightening and fun family experience in Porto, dive into the origins of the Harry Potter saga with a themed tour of the city!
💡 Practical information 💡
The Captain highly recommend opting for a guided Harry Potter tour, which you can book here.
Otherwise, you can easily craft your own adventure by exploring the Lello Bookstore, Sao Bento Train Station, and finishing with a warm cup of cocoa at the Majestic Café.
Family bike ride in Porto
Biking with the family is a winning combination! So, why not rent bikes for a leisurely tour in Porto? Although the city center may have some steep hills, the Douro River banks offer a relatively flat terrain, making it easy to glide along to the charming coastal district of Foz do Douro (home to the aquarium).
💡 Practical information 💡
To discover Porto on two wheels, you have a couple of options:
• rent bikes
• rent electric bikes
• opt for a bike tour with a local guide
Captain Ulysses hopes that you’ve found this article useful. To plan your getaway to Porto, feel free to check the Captain’s articles:
- A Guide to Porto: the best things to do
- Where to eat in Porto? The Captain’s restaurant recommendations
- Day-tours around Porto
- Where to stay in Porto?
👉 Skip the lines: book your tickets and visits in Porto!
👉 Looking for tips and recommendations? Here are all the Captain’s suggestions in Porto!
🛏️ Accommodation: to book your accommodation in Porto, Captain Ulysses warmly recommends Booking.com. From youth hostels to luxury boutique hotels: there’s plenty to choose from. The Captain particularly recommends:
– youth hostels: The Passenger Hostel and Urban Garden Porto Central Hostel
– budget and mid-range hotels: Decanting Porto House and Porto Charming Hotel
– high-end hotels: NH Porto Jardim and The Yeatman.
🎟️ Activities: museums, monuments, guided tours, boat tours, excursions… there’s plenty to do in Porto! To avoid wasting time in endless queues, especially during high season, the Captain strongly recommends that you opt for skip-the-line tickets and book your activities in advance. You can book all your tickets and tourist activities on GetYourGuide and Civitatis.
⛵ Cruises: Porto is undoubtedly synymous with Douro! It’d be a shame to leave the “Capital of the North” without embarking on a Douro river cruise. If you’re only staying in Porto for a long weekend, the Captain recommends the six bridges cruise. If you have more time, then he highly recommends the Douro Valley cruise with wine tasting & lunch.
🎫 Citypass: valid from 1 to 4 days, the Porto Card includes unlimited access to city transport (including to get to/from the airport), free entry to 6 museums and a selection of discounts in museums, attractions, Port wine cellars and shops.
🚐 Transfers: you can take the metro at the airport to get to the city center (1/2 hour). But if you prefer to avoid public transport, you can also book a transfer at very reasonable prices.
🚌 Local transport: you’ll propably quickly tire of Porto’s steeply sloping streets and might be tempted to take local transport instead of walking. The public transport network is convenient and easy to navigate. You can buy your tickets directly at metro stations and bus stops (be careful, you will need to take 1 Andante card per person).
You should also know that access to public transport is included in the Porto Card. Otherwise, the hop-on hop-off bus tours are great options to explore the city. You can also opt for a pass including access to hop-on hop-off buses, the funicular as well as tramways.
Among other means of transport, you can also try the bicycle, the electric bicycle, the segway, the tuk-tuk, the small train …
✈️ Flights: to book your flights to Porto, Captain Ulysses warmly recommends Skyscanner. You’ll be able to compare countless offers to find the best deal. If your dates are flexible, you can also compare prices over several months to find the cheapest flights possible.
Leave a reply