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We enjoyed the Lisbon Portugal Family Vacation during Spring Break 2024. Lisbon is a charming historical city with plenty of things to explore while enjoying yummy food. The affordability, coupled with the easy access from the US east seaboard, a 6.5-hour direct flight from Boston, makes it an excellent family vacation destination.
Lisbon Portugal Family Vacation Travel Guide
Buy a 24-hour Lisbon Card, which costs around $22 for adults and $16 for 15 and younger just for one day. Plan the day to experience the iconic tram 28 and board all famous lifts – Santa Justa Lift, Ascensor da Gloria, Ascensor Da Bica, and Ascensor Do Lavra.
Lisbon Card also gives you access to museums such as Belem Tower, Jeronimo’s Monastery, Discovery Monument, Tile Museum, etc. For popular sightseeing places such as Belem Tower and Jernimo’s Monastery, the Lisbon Card offers a “skip the line” feature.
It is worth mentioning that rideshare company Bolt offers extremely competitive rates in Lisbon. For 4 people, it actually cheaper to use a Bolt ride than riding public transportation, and faster.
Santa Justa Lift in Lisbon
The Santa Justa Lift is one of the top tourist attractions. It was designed by Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard, a student of architect Gustave Eiffel in 1902 who is well-known for his work for the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It is a very popular tourist destination, thus usually has a long queue.
To avoid the crowd waiting in line, we used the stairs next to the “Foot Locker” store to climb up to the overlook area and then experience the lift by riding down.
About Bounce Storage Service
For this Spring Break travel, for the first time, we need to find day luggage places. I came across Bounce Luggage Storage. We ended up using it in Boston, Lisbon Portugal, and Barcelona Spain.
Here is some food for thought about Bounce Luggage Storage service.
What it is is part of the “Sharing Economy”. Essentially owners of shops selling things like souvenirs sign up for this service. They use their storefront to store your luggage. This is a brilliant idea. Travelers can store their luggage conveniently in popular tourist destinations. The shop owners make some extra cash and sell more of their merchandise. For instance, we ended up buying some souvenirs in Lisbon from the shop where we stored our luggage.
- Coming down from St. George’s Castle to the Commerce Square
- Lisbon Street
- Rissio Square Lisbon
- Commerce Square Lisbon
- The Sardin Shop near Commerce Square
- Lisbon Street, Food from the restaurant near Commerce Square
- Onboard TAP flight to Barcelona
How to use Bounce Luggage Storage Service?
You have to use the Bounce App to book first. After your booking is confirmed, it will tell you the detailed address. Initially, I didn’t know what to look for, thinking I would see a “Bounce Storage” sign. Of course, there would be no such sign.
Therefore it took us a while to find our Bounce in Boston, the owner of a bike & service shop. He said he canceled Bounce service, but for whatever reason he is still listed. He insisted I cancel the order and pay him directly, which I did. Luckily Bounce gave me credits for this cancellation which I was able to use in Lisbon.
Overall it is a fine experience. It appears it works better in Europe than in the US. The Bounce network is huge, you can find services close to popular sightseeing places with no problem.
Needless to say, the service varies. The mobile phone service shop in Barcelona has the most stringent process. He has a closed locker just for this purpose. He took a picture of the luggage. While others are more casual about it, like the souvenir shop owner in Lisbon. He simply asked us to put the luggage next to his cash register.
After the Boston experience, I always booked one piece of luggage first, found the place, and then added extra bags.
Belem Tower, Jeronimo’s Monastery, and Discovery Monument
All three places are closed on Mondays. We didn’t get a chance to visit inside but admired it from the outside. Given opportunities, we might come back to visit these three iconic places.
St. George’s Castle {Castelo de S. Jorge} in Lisbon
St. George’s Castle is one of the must-sees while visiting Lisbon. It stands on Lisbon’s highest hill, the iconic Tram 28 can take you here. It is a historical castle that also offers panoramic views of the Lisbon city.
The place has a small museum explaining the history of the castle, the oldest parts date from the 6th century. It served as a royal Moorish residence until Portugal’s first king acquired it in 1147. It was the royal palace until another one was built in today’s Comercio Square.
We climbed the towers and walked along the ramparts while enjoying the breathtaking views of Lisbon from all angles.
It is worth mentioning that St. George’s Castle is home to many peacocks. When we arrived, one of the peacocks was proudly showing off, which was such a nice surprise.
Lisbon Cathedral
Lisbon Cathedral, or the Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, is a Roman Catholic cathedral. It is the oldest church in Lisbon. An exhibition on the second floor tells the history of the Church with the display of many historical treasures. Photos are prohibited for the exhibition. There is a small narrow overlook pathway, which is right outside of the iconic front center round pattern.
The Church might not be the largest, but still pretty impressive, with more than 800 years of history.
