Portugal dos Pequenitos is the perfect excuse to include Coimbra in your route if you are traveling to Portugal by car with children. This curious children’s theme park is a very good plan for things to do in Portugal with the little ones, as long as it is not a rainy day because most of the facilities are outdoors. So you don’t get disappointed, I warn you not to expect rides or characters greeting the kids here because the leisure offer of Portugal dos Pequenitos is very different. You come to this park to have fun, yes, but also to learn about Portugal in a fun and different way. How? Keep reading and I’ll tell you.
Portugal dos Pequenitos: what will you find?
In 1940, Portugal dos Pequenitos was inaugurated in Coimbra after the modernist architect Cassiano Blanco made the project conceived by the doctor, professor, and humanist Bissaya Barreto a reality, to build a place where leisure and learning went hand in hand.
Thus, with the guiding thread of uniting play with pedagogy, the park is divided into five thematic areas, but they all have something in common: you will find miniature representations of Portuguese architectural heritage. It is a good place to learn, in a different way, about the history of Portugal.
If after reading this you feel a bit down, thinking that heritage won’t grab your children’s attention and you’re doubting if it’s worth visiting Portugal dos Pequenitos, I’ll clear up that uncertainty right now. Yes, it’s worth it especially for younger children because, although the entire park in general is very interesting, there is one specific area that will delight the little ones.
The madness of the miniature regional houses
It is the last area of the park, you won’t discover them until the end of the visit, but it is undoubtedly the most famous part of Portugal dos Pequenitos and where you will spend the most time. For that reason, when organizing your visit, keep it in mind to leave plenty of room. As if it were a village in miniature, the different types of typical constructions that you can find in villages throughout Portugal are recreated here. But best of all, children can go in and out of all these regional houses built to their scale, making the visit a very fun activity.
In the thematic area of the regional houses of Portugal dos Pequenitos there is also a lighthouse, a castle, a mill, a chapel, and even some mines or a dolmen. And everything is recreated with maximum detail and realism, from the most rural architecture of Tras Os Montes to the most elegant small palaces. Get ready because the kids won’t want to leave, and you will surely fall into the temptation of checking if you fit into any of the little houses.
In the center of the enclosure, you will find a statue, in miniature of course, of the first king of Portugal, Alfonso Henriques; there is also a sculpture of Luis de Camões and another of Queen Isabel. Right behind it is the Rainha Santa Isabel nursery school, as old as the park, next to which there is a play area with swings and slides.
Explore the most monumental Portugal without leaving the park
Prepare your camera because without leaving Portugal dos Pequenitos you will be able to contemplate some of the most famous monuments in the country. In the Monumental Portugal area, they have recreated on a child scale some parts of buildings and well-known constructions such as the Belém Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, or the Rua Augusta Arch in Lisbon, the Sintra National Palace, the Bragança and Guimarães castles, the Clérigos Tower in Porto, or the São Brás chapel of Alentejo, among many others.
Pay attention to see how many of them you can recognize with your children. In this area, there is also the Portugal dos Pequenitos costume museum where you can see some 300 miniature reproductions of how clothing has evolved from antiquity to the 20th century. To showcase the costumes, both historical figures are used as models and scenes of daily life, all handmade, resulting in a completely artisanal collection. Currently (December 2021) the museum is closed.
Coimbra in miniature
The city where Portugal dos Pequenitos is located has a special place dedicated to it next to the monumental zone. Join the children here in the task of exploring Coimbra in miniature and let yourself be surprised by the level of detail with which architect Cassiano Branco built a child-scale reproduction of the courtyard of the University of Coimbra, perhaps the most spectacular building in the entire park.
Walk with the children through the cloister of the Santa Cruz Monastery or admire the facade of the Old Cathedral, among many other miniatures in this tiny scale city.
- Before or after this visit, another good plan to do in Coimbra with children is a free tour of Coimbra
Beyond the seas in Insular Portugal
Two small lakes acting as the Atlantic Ocean welcome you to the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, with their respective pavilions which of course you can enter. In addition, there is a large map with all the maritime routes of the Portuguese expansion of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, such as the one that took the navigator Vasco da Gama to Calcutta in India back in 1498, rounding Africa.
Discover the Portuguese presence in the world
The last of the areas, which is actually the first one you’ll see right after entering Portugal dos Pequenitos, is the one representing Portugal’s presence in the rest of the world, places where Portuguese is spoken or that were colonies such as Brazil, India, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe or the island of Timor.
This is undoubtedly the most exotic area of Portugal dos Pequenitos. Be sure to enter the Macau Pavilion to see some miniature reproductions of scenes such as a parade with the classic Chinese dragon. Oh, and at the back, there is a tiny stream with an Asian temple.
Download the app to complete your visit
Although children are given a visitor’s guide at the entrance (which is not in English, just a heads-up), if you want a map, they will charge you one euro. To find out everything there is to see in Portugal dos Pequenitos, there is an app you can download where you will find plenty of information about the park. The application includes a three-dimensional map of the site to identify each area. The app will come in handy, for example, to identify what each building or construction is in the Portugal Monumental area. Additionally, with it, you can read the QR codes found on many exhibits to get more information, and even the little ones can complete some challenges that will give them points and unlock new information.
On the official park website, it says the application costs €3, but I downloaded it for free without any problem on Google Play. Honestly, the app doesn’t work very well.
Portugal dos Pequenitos: opening hours and prices
For how small it is, it is not a cheap park, but once inside you will see that it is worth it. Here is how much it costs to enter Portugal dos Pequenitos:
- Adults: €12
- Children from 3 to 12 years old: €7
- Children under 3: free.
- Seniors over 65: free.
Anyway, those are the general rates, but I’ll leave you the link to the official page so you can see all the Portugal dos Pequenitos pricing options in detail, such as combined tickets with other monuments, the annual pass, or the price of guided tours. Tickets can be purchased upon arrival at the ticket office itself or in advance through the website. If you do it this way, don’t worry about which day you go because they are valid for one year from the date of purchase.
Opening hours of Portugal dos Pequenitos:
- From March 1st to October 15th from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- From January 1st to February 29th and from October 16th to December 31st from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
How long does it take to visit Portugal dos Pequenitos?
There is no single correct answer. It all depends on the age of the children, how interested you are in the exhibitions found inside the pavilions, how much of a hurry you are in to visit the rest of Coimbra, or how much they entertain themselves entering and leaving the regional houses at the end.
That said, the park is quite small, do not expect a large expanse, so it is not a place to spend the whole day. Surely two hours will be enough. In my case, with two children under five and a 7-month-old baby, we spent more than half a morning. As a guide, the visitor’s guide they give you at the entrance says it lasts approximately 90 minutes.
What facilities are inside the park?
Due to the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic, there are some service restrictions in the park. Additionally, they are carrying out some renovations and some pavilions are closed. Even so, currently (December 2020) you will find a souvenir shop open, a small ice cream stand, and vending machines for drinks, sandwiches, and snacks. I warn you that there is no restaurant or picnic tables inside, although there are some benches and a small grass area at the end.
There is a little train that you can take for a ride around the park for about 3 euros, although given the size of the facilities, I honestly don’t see it as necessary. At the entrance, they will take a souvenir photo that you can optionally buy at the exit.
Where is Portugal dos Pequenitos
Portugal’s oldest theme park is located at Largo Rossio de Santa Clara, 3040-256 Coimbra, Portugal. You can easily walk there from the center of Coimbra; you just have to cross the Santa Clara bridge over the Mondego River. For example, it is about a ten-minute walk from the old cathedral. Anyway, there is a bus stop right in front of the entrance in case you want to save yourself the walk.
If you arrive by car, you can park for free in the surrounding streets. Very close by, you have the Santa Clara Convent, both the new one and the remains of the old one. And behind Portugal dos Pequenitos are the Quinta das Lágrimas Gardens, ideal for a beautiful walk.
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