Family Travel Guide to Lisbon, Portugal with Marriott Lisbon

There are so many reasons why travel to Lisbon is so appealing to Americans: the moderate weather, unique city vibe, rich history, affordable prices, safe atmosphere, instagram worthy photo ops; whichever your reason may be, Lisbon is a must-visit on your European travel list.  

This is our second time visiting Lisbon, the first was when our two oldest were only 2 years old and 9 months old.  I’m so excited to list all of our favorite historic & scenic stops around Lisbon’s vibrant city, however first I want to share our PERFECT accommodations for family travel at the Marriott Lisbon.  

Hotel Highlight: Marriott Lisbon 

We LOVE the Marriott brand and if you are looking for a specific hotel brand to use while traveling internationally, you can always count on Marriott Hotels. We have had some AMAZING experiences at Marriott properties in Egypt, Peru, Japan & Canada as well.  We always recommend Marriott for safety and reliability during your international family travels. 

We arrived at the hotel by rental car working on very little sleep from a full night on the airplane and a 3 hour drive from the Porto airport.  Unfortunately, flights into Lisbon were too expensive, but if we had flown into Lisbon it would have only been a 10 minute drive from the airport.  Our car was taken by valet and the doormen helped us unload our luggage and brought everything to our rooms. 

We were welcomed to our two adjoining rooms with the most amazing treats!! In the master bedroom there was cake, wine & a personalized welcome letter with our photo on it. The kids’ room had a kids’ teepee, treats, and the hotel’s own switch & games for the kids to use during our stay. The kids were ecstatic!  Each room provided bathrobes & slippers, coffee, tea & water, fridges, flat screen tvs, you name it! 

The hotel has a large buffet breakfast with absolutely everything you could possibly need… and more!  We personally loved the made to order omelette station, fresh made pancakes with Nutella, fresh fruit, pastries, smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers, mimosas and, of course, coffee!! 

Even though the hotel is located in the city the outdoor pool felt so peaceful with a ton of greenery and flowering trees. The kids enjoyed racing on the spacious green space and it was so relaxing to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee. 

We always recommend upgrading your stay to access the executive lounge on your stay.  You can pop in the lounge at any time during the day for light snacks and drinks, and in the evening they provide a happy hour with a bunch of yummy appetizers and desserts, as well as all kinds of wine and beer options.  

It was an honor to partner with Marriott Lisbon while in Lisbon.  Everything was done to perfection. 10/10 for cleanliness, service, accommodations & high quality food. 

Explore Lisbon 

 

It is only a short drive (we opted to walk) from the Marriott Lisbon Hotel to Lisbon’s city center.  In this section I’m going to share with you some of our favorite sites from our most recent trip AND our trip to Lisbon 6 years ago. 

Belém Tower: 

This 16th-century fortification is probably the most popular structure you would see to represent Lisbon. It originally served Portuguese explorers as a point of embarkation and disembarkation.

Praça do Comércio: 

This large square on the riverfront is a popular tourist area!  It’s beautiful with 18th century arcades and in the center a statue of Don Jose I, a king in the 1750s. This square is the perfect place to stop and take a photo while letting your toddlers chase after the birds. 

Padrão dos Descobriment: 

This monument along Tagus river was made to celebrate the Age of Discovery and could be seen by ships who departed to explore or trade during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Show Me Lisbon Local Guided Walking Tour:

This was our first walking tour with kids and it was AMAZING.  The kids hung on every word spoken by our Show Me Lisbon tour guide, Rita!! I highly recommend booking a private tour over group tours when traveling with kids. It’s nice to have the flexibility to stop and grab a cookie or use the restrooms, which definitely happened during our 1.5 hr tour. 😉 We were able to go at our own pace and the kids could ask as many questions as they wanted… or we could move on from things they didn’t take an interest in. It was so wonderful to have flexibly like that. The kids (and adults) learned so much more than we ever would have by ourselves! 

We learned sooo many facts about Lisbon on our Show Me Lisbon tour, but this story stood out as the kids favorite:

In 1755 an earthquake shook all of Lisbon during their “Feast of all Saints” celebration, which caused millions of lit candles to fall and start a huge fire. The people ran toward the water to get away from the falling buildings and fires that had started; little did they know 3 enormous tidal waves were coming their way and would wipe out a 1/5 of the population. The entire city was rebuilt after that, but we were able to see some of the remaining structures from that time. 

When you visit Lisbon, we highly recommend going on on a tour with Show Me Lisbon. 

Lisbon is a great destination for any family looking to immerse themself in rich culture and European charm. We want to encourage everyone traveling to Portugal to consider using Marriott Lisbon for accommodations to make your stay as seamless as possible; hotels can make or break a trip, and staying at the Marriott Lisbon only enhanced our overall experience.