On a two-week trip to Portugal with my two kids under-five, I accidentally misread the location of an Airbnb I booked, thinking it was in Óbidos. Only after we arrived in Portugal did we realize that we were actually staying in the city next door: Caldas da Rainha.
Where?
Yeah, that’s what my partner said as we drove past Óbidos on the highway. Whoops.
Despite not having heard of Caldas before, we were happy to find that the city was walkable, less touristy, and a quick drive from the historic and romantic city we had originally planned to stay. My family got a truly immersive experience in this bustling city.
Caldas da Rainha is about a 1.5-hour drive north of Lisbon, and a 10-minute drive from the romantic city of Óbidos. Caldas da Rainha means “baths for the queen” because of the thermal waters that run under the city that cured a Portuguese queen of her illnesses in the 1400s. Later the town became well-known for ceramic production, which is why the city is covered in ceramic art and tiles that decorate buildings, floors, and even street signs.
Here are some of the local activities in Caldas that you just can’t miss with your family and kids:
Trip Purpose
Spend two nights in Caldas da Rainha during our family's first trip to Lisbon
DESTINATION: Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
AGE OF OUR KIDS: 2 years; 5 years
LENGTH OF STAY: Two nights, one day to explore Caldas
TIME OF YEAR: December
Getting There
Caldas da Rainha is a 1.5-hour drive from Lisbon, Portugal.
Or, try the train! A train from Lisbon to Caldas da Rainha takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes and costs about $11.
BASE COST
- Ceramics class €35/pp
- Museu Malhoa €1.50 for children, €3 for adults
Add-ons
- Food
5 Tips for Visiting Caldas da Rainha with Your Family
1. Play at Parque Dom Carlos I
The beautiful Parque Dom Carlos I is located just off Rua de Camões. The green space offers a playground, a lake with boats, and an art museum.
Take a walk through the park, check out the lake and playground, and bring a picnic or pastry from town to enjoy under the shade of the trees.
I loved the lake views, while my kiddos loved the playground, especially the teeter totter!
2. Walk through the sculpture garden at Museu Malhoa
€3/adult, €1.5/child
2 hours
Located in Parque Dom Carlos I, the Museu Malhoa is a tribute to the painting and ceramic work of José Malhoa and other local artists.
My kids tolerated the art museum briefly due to a fun “I spy” game we created, guessing how many baby Jesuses they could spot. They did, however, truly enjoy seeing the outdoor sculpture garden.
Tickets are €1.5 for children and €3.00 for adults. Plan to spend about two hours here.
3. Take a ceramics class
€35/person
2.5 hours
19 Tile hosts a family-friendly ceramics class to fully immerse yourself in the ceramic culture of Caldas.
When you arrive, you are taken to a small room with a large table, provided aprons and clay, and have a local ceramist as your instructor. My partner, myself, and our two kids took turns making our own cups using the roller method instead of a pottery wheel. Turns out our 3- and 5-year-old loved rolling little worms out of clay, stacking them on top of each other, and painting them. We were a mess!
I was surprised to find out after the clay-making class that we would not be able to bring our items home right away. We would’ve had to pay for them to be shipped to us later because of the firing process for ceramics. Plus the shipping was quite expensive (€74). My partner and I agreed that the experience was fun, but our creations were not worth breaking the bank over.
4. Visit the Praça da Fruta
The daily fruit, vegetable, and flower market in Praça da República is a local favorite and something you just can’t miss.
Our kids loved all of the food and ceramics vendors in the Praça da Fruta. We ended up buying some fruit for the littles to snack on and a ceramic flower to bring home.
5. Wander the historic streets
We loved wandering through the cobblestone streets of Caldas da Rainha, marveling at the ceramic lined buildings and window shopping.
Take a seat at Pastelaria Venezia and enjoy live music and people watching in this bustling shopping district.
The view never got old.
Where to Stay
While there are a lot of Airbnb and hotel options in Caldas, we chose to stay at 19 Tile for the convenient location and artsy décor.
Tile19 supports the ceramic community by offering ceramic classes, and hiring local ceramists to decorate and design the interior of the rooms. Our kids loved the ceramic bugs in the apartment we rented!
We stayed at the top floor, without an elevator, and loved the real local feel we got from staying at this hip Airbnb. The balcony views were stunning, the apartment was located next door to a delicious restaurant and within walking distance of most things in Caldas.
Where to Eat
Maria dos Cacos
€10-15/person
Located next door to Tile19, Maria dos Cacos offered delicious Mediterranean food and wine in a fancy setting. We ate there for a late lunch and were one of the few groups of people at the restaurant.
Our kids loved the hummus and octopus, while my husband and I enjoyed our very reasonably priced bottle of wine.
Casa Antero
€10+/person
Our hotel recommended Casa Antero as a great local restaurant with delicious Portuguese food. Our kids loved the sopa, while I loved the bacalhau, dried and salted cod.
Make sure you call ahead for reservations! The restaurant is small and fills up fast.
Dessert Recommendations
€10-15/person
Take a seat on the outdoor patio with your family as you people-watch, sip a coffee, and enjoy a delicious baked goodie.
We bumped into this little café on our walk home and couldn’t help but stop for a bite of a pasteis de nata, the traditional egg tart of Portugal.
Forno do Beco or “alley oven” was highly recommended by locals, and for good reason. The line for this alley bakery went around the block on the mid-morning we arrived.
No one in line or in the bakery spoke English, so we had to point to what we wanted.
The bread was warm, the pastries were delicious, and the smell lingered with us as we held our warm bread bags on the walk home.
Caldas da Rainha was the perfect place for my family to start our two-week road trip through Portugal. We spent the first two nights of our trip in this little city, adjusting to the time zone and the new surroundings.
Even though we stayed Caldas in order to spend time in the tourist hub of Óbidos, we found Caldas da Rainha to be a more traditional Portuguese place to explore.
If it hadn’t been for my misunderstanding of the Airbnb advertisement, I would probably not have dragged my family to Caldas, and would have missed an amazing opportunity to begin our trip in a town full of non-English speaking Portuguese folks, with traditional shops, eats, and activities.
I’d highly recommend a stay in Caldas to get a taste of the local scene, while still being nearby to Óbidos.
Have you discovered you accidentally booked an Airbnb in the wrong place on the day you arrived? How did it turn out? Share in the comments below.
This post is part of a series of posts about visiting Portugal with kids. Continue the adventure with us here:
Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.
You might also enjoy
A Portugal Family Road Trip: 14-Day Itinerary of Kid-Friendly Wonders and Cultural Delights!
How to Visit the Enchanting City of Óbidos, Portugal with Kids
How to Visit Sintra with Kids – Family-Friendly Adventures in Portugal
Aveiro, Portugal: The Best Family Day Trip from Porto
Exploring Sintra’s Moorish Castle with Kids: A Family Adventure Amidst Ancient Wonders
