Free or low cost activities with children in Porto area

The magnificent Serralves Park and Foundation delight children and adults alike, but the normal price (10 euros for the Park and 20 euros for the general ticket for adults) can complicate a family trip. But did you know that on the first Sunday of each month, between 10 am and 1 pm, you can visit all for free, if you are a Portuguese resident? Explore the park's 18 hectares of gardens and leafy forests, which are also a museum setting, as it has sculptures on display. The highlight for children will certainly be the small farm with animals and pedagogical vegetable garden and the Treetop Walk, a walkway at the top of the trees.

The Porto Botanical Garden, with its four hectares with an impressive collection of plants, is a good plan to spend a morning with the family, but the Biodiversity Gallery, located in Casa Andersen, which is right on the Garden entrance, is its perfect complement. Here, where art meets biology and natural history, right at the entrance, a huge skeleton of a whale will surprise the younger ones. The ticket price is 5 euros for adults and 2.5 euros for children between 5 and 17 years old, but if you visit on the second Sunday of the month, between 10 am and 1 pm, admission is free.

As the name implies, the Museu das Marionetas do Porto exhibits puppets and props from various shows at the Teatro de Marionetas do Porto. Here you can enjoy posters, scenography, photographs, props, puppets and videos of plays and documentaries. The ticket costs 3.5 euros for adults and 2.5 euros for children, and there are also workshops to make a puppet, the latter by appointment. Spend a different afternoon exploring the behind the scenes enchanting world of puppet theater.

Located in the center of Invicta, in a viewpoint overlooking the Douro River, the Palácio de Cristal Gardens is one of the most famous green spaces in the city. Strolling along its avenues, surrounded by exotic plants, fountains, a lake, children's area and viewpoints over the river, you can enjoy the company of peacocks, roosters and ducks. Inside, it houses the Rosa Mota Pavilion, stage for sporting and cultural events, and the Almeida Garrett Library, where on Saturday mornings you can watch the Story Hour for free, followed by a workshop for plastic, writing or dramatic expression.

The Porto Planetarium takes visitors on a journey to discover the Universe, using an immersive environment of films, image and sound, where the hemispherical dome is the projection screen. Between moons and planets, stars and galaxies, asteroids and comets, life in the cosmic context will delight the youngest. In addition to these planetarium sessions, which cost 5 euros per adult and 3.5 euros per child, they also promote educational workshops and astronomical observations. Note this delightful detail: the planetarium is literally located on Rua das Estrelas (Stars Street)…

Strolling around Foz do Douro, either by bike or on foot, is a good family outing, but have you ever tried to complement it with a minigolf game at the Porto Minigolf Club? Located in Jardim do Passeio Alegre, this small minigolf course, founded in 1973, has two minigolf circuits, with 18 holes each, with different degrees of difficulty. Prices are low cost, around 2.5 euros for adults and 1.5 euros for children up to 13 years old. A different activity, which will certainly please kids and adults alike.

Zoos are excelent entertainment for the little ones, one of the most exploited activities with children, but the prices are not always appealing. The Gaia Biological Park, where children between 7 and 17 years old pay 1 euro and adults 3 euros, is the best low-cost option with animals in the Porto area. With a total area of 35 hectares, it is an environmental education center that shows the region's ecosystems, featuring hundreds of animal and plant species in the wild. On its route of about three kilometers, you can find fallow deer, bison, badgers, ferrets, squirrels, goats, otters and even a fox.

When thinking about activities with children, maybe you don't immediately think of a walk between Ribeira and Cais de Gaia, but try parking your car in Ribeira and walk, we bet you will be surprised by how thrilled the younger ones will be. Stop to watch the rabelo boats, to listen to the street artists who stop there, then walk across the Dom Luís bridge and enjoy the privileged view over the Douro River, ending at Cais de Gaia, where you will find a pleasant playground. which will end this tour with a flourish.

Quinta da Conceição, in Leça da Palmeira, Matosinhos, is one of the green spaces of choice in the city. In its leafy woods, ideal for walking with children or for playing sports, the remains of a Manueline portal, the old cloister of the Convento de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, some fountains and the Capela de São Francisco stand out. In summer, it has a swimming pool, with paid access, designed by the well-known architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, a great suggestion for an afternoon well spent. The price of the swimming pool for half a day costs between 2.5 euros and 5 euros.

If your child likes to play pirates, we finish with an unbeatable suggestion, the Nau Quinhentista de Vila do Conde,anchored in the riverside area. Start by visiting the Alfândega Régia, right in front, dedicated to the history of Portuguese Navigation and shipbuilding, then heading to this replica of a ship, where you can visit all the interior rooms, with human sculptures and navigation and merchandise artefacts. The normal price is 1 euro for each museum unit for children between 6 and 18 years old, and 2 euros for an adult, but on Sunday mornings you pay absolutely nothing.