Chapitô

Chapitô is a cultural and recreational association on Costa do Castelo, the lane that curls around the hill below São Jorge Castle in Lisbon. Its heart is a professional circus school, the only one of its kind in Portugal, and around it sit an after-school programme, a theatre company, a social action team working with local children and older people, an events arm and a restaurant, Chapitô à Mesa. Chapitô describes itself as roughly the same age as the April Revolution of 1974. Its director is the circus artist Teresa Ricou.

For a family, that adds up to three reasons to go: a weekly class for a child who is hooked on circus, a show, or a meal on the terrace with the circus tent next to you and Lisbon below. This page covers all three.

Chapitô’s after-school courses are called Cursos Fim de Tarde, which means “end of the afternoon courses”. They run on weekday evenings through the school year and nobody needs any experience to join.

When we checked, two courses were listed for children:

• Sevilhanas, the Andalusian folk dance, with Lúcia Mourinho, for ages 4 and up. Mondays and Fridays, 18:00 to 19:00, from October 2026 to June 2027, €40 a month. A free trial lesson is offered, and the page says younger children can try it too.
• Atelier de Circo (circus workshop) with Rui Ferreira, for ages 6 and up. Wednesdays, 18:00 to 19:00, €40 a month, with a trial lesson available. The course dates on the page still read October 2024 to June 2025, so email before you plan around it.

Pumpkin.pt, a Portuguese family website, described Chapitô’s children’s workshops in February 2026 as circus-based sessions that build motor skills, thinking and getting along with others, taught through play.

Teenagers and adults have a longer list. Courses for the 2026/27 year include aerial acrobatics with Helder Duarte, acroyoga, capoeira (the Brazilian martial art danced to music) and theatre training with Clovis Levi. A clowning course and a contemporary dance course were also listed, again with older dates. Ask about age limits if your teenager wants to join an adult group.

You enrol through an online form and the details arrive by email. Questions go to cft@chapito.org or +351 21 885 55 50.

The Escola Profissional de Artes e Ofícios do Espetáculo (EPAOE) is a full-time, three-year vocational school. Students need to have finished 9th grade, be under 20 and not be past 12th grade when they start. There are two courses: circus performance and animation, which covers circus arts, acrobatics, dance and dramaturgy, and a stagecraft course in set design, costumes, props and special effects.

Students keep studying Portuguese, English, history and maths alongside the circus training and do work placements. They finish with a 12th-grade certificate and a level 4 professional qualification on the European scale. The school holds the EQAVET quality mark for vocational training. For a teenager who has outgrown weekly classes, this is the obvious next step in Portugal, and home-educating families may find the combination of academic and practical study interesting. Contact epaoe@chapito.org about applications.

The Chapitô calendar mixes the house theatre company with music nights. In late September and early October 2026 the Companhia do Chapitô was performing Ensaio Sobre a Lucidez, an adaptation of José Saramago’s novel about an election in which most voters hand in blank ballot papers. Evening performances started at 21:00, with some Sunday shows at 17:00. The same weeks had samba and choro (a Brazilian instrumental style) nights starting at 21:30.

The Companhia do Chapitô was founded in 1996 and makes physical comedy theatre. The company says its shows rely on actors’ bodies and “a universal visual language” rather than on dialogue, which is why they tour so widely. It has made 42 productions, including Odisseia, Rei Lear and Júlio César, and plays in Portugal, Spain and further afield. That wordless style can suit children who don’t yet speak much Portuguese, but the company doesn’t publish age ratings on its site, and some subjects (the Saramago piece is political satire) are aimed at adults. Check each listing, and ask the box office if you’re unsure whether a show suits your child.

Evening shows finish late for younger children. The Sunday matinées are the better bet for a family trip.

The restaurant has two spaces. The terrace (esplanada) is in the inner courtyard next to the performance tent and is the relaxed option. It opens from 12:00 to 00:30, with the kitchen serving until 23:00. The panoramic room on the first floor is quieter and more formal, with views over Lisbon and the Tagus, and opens from 18:30 to 00:00 (kitchen until 22:30). Book the panoramic room ahead.

There’s no children’s menu, but the 2026 terrace menu has plenty a child will eat. When we checked, it listed soup of the day for €4, a codfish cake for €2.50, a homemade beef croquette for €3, piri-piri chicken with homemade chips for €17, a steak sandwich (prego) with crisps for €15 and the Chapitô burger with bacon, cheese and homemade chips for €15. Chocolate mousse was €6 and seasonal fruit €5. Bread and olives come as a couvert at €3 a person.

Book by phone or WhatsApp on +351 218 875 077, by email at reservas@chapitoamesa.pt or through TheFork.

Chapitô is at Costa do Castelo 1/7, on the castle hill. The nearest public car park is Chão do Loureiro, about 200 metres away, according to the restaurant. The streets up here are steep and cobbled, so a buggy is hard work and a sling is easier for a baby.

The classes run in the evening, so a class followed by dinner on the terrace makes a sensible school-night routine if you live nearby. Bring comfortable clothes a child can move in, and water.

Chapitô sits between the Baixa and the castle. The Elevador de Santa Luzia saves some of the climb, and for lunch inside the castle walls there’s Restaurante 1147. If your child wants more circus than one class a week, Lisbon has other schools: Armazém Aério in Carnide teaches aerial circus from age 6, Jaya Aerial Lab runs holiday camps, and Gato Ruim in Loures takes children from age 3.

Does Chapitô have circus classes for children?

Yes. When we checked, it listed a weekly circus workshop for ages 6 and up on Wednesdays from 18:00 to 19:00 at €40 a month, but the dates shown were from an earlier school year. Email cft@chapito.org to confirm it runs in 2026/27. A children’s Sevilhanas dance class for ages 4 and up was confirmed for October 2026 to June 2027.

Can you try a class before signing up?

Yes. Both children’s courses offer a trial lesson, and the Sevilhanas trial is free.

Can children eat at the Chapitô restaurant?

Yes. There’s no kids’ menu, but the terrace menu includes soup, a burger with homemade chips, piri-piri chicken and chocolate mousse. The terrace by the circus tent is more relaxed than the panoramic room upstairs.

Are the Chapitô shows suitable for children?

Some are. The Companhia do Chapitô’s physical comedy works mostly without words, which helps younger audiences, but the programme includes adult themes and late starts. Check each show’s listing on the calendar and choose Sunday afternoon performances where you can.

How old do you have to be for the Chapitô circus school?

The full-time professional school takes students who have finished 9th grade and are under 20. It’s a three-year course leading to a 12th-grade certificate and a professional qualification.