Itinerary advice for travel with kids

Don't know if this will be of any help but since you don't have any responses I will try. We visited some of the same places on a family trip in April 10 years ago when our granddaughters were 8 and 10 years old. They enjoyed walking along the walls in Obidos and also wandering through the streets. We visited the Roman ruins of Conimbriga. There weren't many people there and the girls enjoyed wandering through the ruins. They also enjoyed our visit to Coimbra. They enjoyed walking around the old university buildings and even our tour of the library. We visited Alcobaca and Batalha monasteries. There's a great pastry shop across the street from Alcobaca, I think it's named Alcoa, which was a delicious stop!

In Sintra they enjoyed walking around Pena Palace, the outside anyway, not so much the inside:). There are walking paths to the Moorish ruins which they and their parents took but I don't remember how far they went. You said few museums but in Sintra there was a toy museum which everyone enjoyed.

I'm going to answer in two parts as this is getting long.

We visited Evora when our sons were a bit older than yours. They might enjoy the Chapel of the Bones though they will probably miss the point of it. Your sons might also enjoy the Convent of Christ in Tomar. It's a beautiful and historic complex with stairs and hallways to wander through. You might also look into Castelo de Almourol not far from Tomar. It's ruins but is on a small island which makes it interesting. When we were there, without children, the river was low and we stepped on stones to get to the castle but there were men with boats to take people there.

In Lisbon, of course, Castelo de Sao Jorge and Elevador Santa Justa. The girls also enjoyed Belem, climbing the tower, visiting the Coach Museum.

Agree about Douro. You are planning a trip that the whole family will enjoy and hopefully that will encourage your children to have an interest in the world and to want to travel with you and later on their own. You are looking for activities that will suit all of you. Have fun planning and best wishes for a wonderful trip!

Thanks Carol! I appreciate your thoughtful reply. None of those places you mentioned were on my radar, so I'm going to look into them now. Thanks so much!

Hope you all have a great time!

We just got back from Portugal, and I think your boys will love Sintra!! The Quinta da Regaleira has a magical garden to explore. And if I was bringing kids I would probably plan a whole day between Pena Palace and its grounds (pack a picnic) and the Moorish castle. We didn’t see either the palace grounds or the Moorish castle because I didn’t realize how much there was to see in Sintra and prioritized other things, but that’s what I would do when I bring my kids there one day...i haven’t actually done it with kids yet (so take this with a grain of salt), but I might be tempted to spend three nights in Sintra and do the hiking/exploring/mansions/castles up big there. The town also seemed charming.