The Iberian Peninsula is an incredible place filled with lovely views, great food, and wonderful people! Our family trip to Europe couldn’t have been complete without a trip to three of the Peninsula’s most significant cities: Lisbon, Madrid and Seville. Here’s an overview of our trip, plus some ideas for your own adventure!
Plan
We arrived in Madrid and began our trip by driving straight to Portugal. After this, we went to Seville. We finished our trip with a drive back to Madrid before flying home to Chicago.
Days 1 and 2: Lisbon, Portugal
The first place we visited in Portugal was the the Oceanarium for a fun look at a modern Portuguese attraction! This is a really cool aquarium that gives a unique look at Mediterranean marine life. It’s a great way to let your kids have some fun after all the walking around in the historic sections of the city!
After Oceanarium, we visited Nation’s Park. Locals call this place Parque das Nacoes, but it’s a cool place to visit in any language! This place is a cross between a park, a nature reserve, and an art museum. It is a beautiful park along water front that includes restaurants, cultural sites, wonderful views, modern architecture. There’s a lot to see here! Don’t miss Tagus Estuary and the Pavilion of Knowledge.
The 2nd day, we headed to the Belem area of Lisbon. As the capitol of Portugal, Lisbon has plenty of interesting places! Many of the main attractions are located in Belem. Here, we found historic monuments, interesting museums, parks, and more. Here are some of the cool things we did in the Belem District and its surroundings:
Pastéis de Belém (Nata Factory)
This Belem bakery is a huge deal in Portugal. Pastel de nata is a Portuguese egg tart pastry(national pastry of Portugal) were great, but the bakery is important for historical reasons, as well. It uses a famous recipe that was once only found in convents, but was finally shared with the lay community in 1820.
Praca do Imperio
This is the main city square of Lisbon. It’s one of the biggest squares in Europe at 280 by 280 meters! The square itself is worth visiting for the sake of the gardens, but it’s also a great place to visit for the cultural buildings that surround it.
Jeronimos Monastery
This former religious building was constructed all the way back in 1495! It was once a monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome, but today it belongs to the state and serves as a beautiful example of Portuguese art and architecture.
Days 3 and 4: Seville
Seville is a classic European city. It has roots that go back hundreds of years, and many of its buildings have been around for a very long time. Of course, Seville is a distinctly Spanish city! You can enjoy a lifetime’s worth of culture and history here.
Plaza De Espana
The “Square of Spain” is Seville’s version of Praca do Imperio. This famous city center is surrounded by impressive Regionalist architecture that you will definitely want to photograph. The tiled walls of The Provincial Alcoves are the most beautiful part! We spent about half a day here.
Maria Louisa Park
Not far from the Plaza de Espana, we found Maria Louisa Park. This is a great place for a walk and lunch. There some gorgeous fountains throughout the park.
Flamenco Dance Class
While we were in Seville, we took a flamenco dance class! This was one of the most fun things we did during our time in the city! I definitely recommend this, as it is a great cultural experience.
Giralda Seville
This is a beautiful Moorish bell tower that is now part of the Seville Cathedral. It is close to Archivo de Indias, so you can hit both in a day.
Archivo de Indias
You can visit this in an evening after seeing Giralda Seville. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a Renaissance building full of important old documents of the Spanish Empire.
We were able to tour the Alcazar during our visit. Also known as Reales Alcazares, this beautiful structure was originally a Moorish palace. It features lovely gardens, which we enjoyed walking through.
Royal Bullring of Seville
Bullfighting is still a big deal is Spain! The Royal Bullring of Spain is the most famous place to watch this sport.
Food:
Food in Seville is phenomenal. We finished the day in Seville with dinner at Casa Robles, a delicious restaurant on Calle Alvarez Quintero and the entertainment was free of charge.
Days 5 and 6: Madrid
Madrid is a stately old city filled with infrastructure from a time long gone by. However, it is also a modern city with attractions from today’s world! We saw a mix of both during our trip.
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (Real Madrid Soccer Stadium)
If anyone in your family is a sports enthusiast, then a trip to Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is definitely in order. After all, who wouldn’t want to see the home stadium of Ronaldo? To tour the stadium, you must purchase tickets. These are 25 Euro for adults and 18 Euro for children.
Plaza Mayor
This famous plaza is located near Mercado de San Miguel, so you should plan to visit both in the same day. This 16th Century square is beautiful! Be sure to check out Casa de la Panderia, a beautiful old building on the square.
Puerta del Sol, Madrid
Near Plaza Mayor is another famous square, Puerta del Sol. This is a good place to walk around, shop, and eat. This plaza is actually a lot more interesting than Plaza Mayor, so plan to spend more time here.
Carrera De San Jeronimo
If you want to experience authentic Spanish culture, this is the place to do it. We walked through this street and enjoyed seeing all the interesting buildings and food.
Buen Retiro Park
We spent half a day at Buen Retiro Park. There’s a lot to see here, from statues to interesting landscaping and buildings. The Cristal Palace is especially beautiful!
Food:
Chocolatería San Ginés was a great way to end a day in Madrid! You haven’t experienced Madrid until you’ve tasted churros with chocolate. This makes an awesome late-night dessert. I think we should go back to Spain just to get more of those!
Our favorite lunch spot was Mercado de San Miguel. You can get just about anything you want here. It’s a great place for lunch, with many local choices. Be sure to try some tapas.
In the mornings, head to La Mallorquina. This is a good place for breakfast and sweets. It was definitely our favorite breakfast place for the trip!
Accommodations:
Lisbon:
Novotel Lisbo. We stay in the Novotel for two nights, from March 26 to March 28. This hotel is great for families—it has restaurants and pools, plus a children’s club.
Seville:
Barceló Sevilla Renacimiento. In Seville, we stayed at this hotel for 2 nights. We were here from March 28 to March 30. This is a beautiful hotel with a swimming pool and family activities! It’s also very close to points of interest in Seville.
Madrid:
Gran Vía Capital. We spent two nights here, from March 30 to April 1. This place is awesome for its location. It’s about 500 meters away from Puerta del Sol!
