KidZania Lisboa

KidZania Lisboa is a theme park for families with children aged 3 to 15, inside the UBBO shopping centre in Amadora, on the north-west edge of Lisbon. It’s a city with streets, buildings and vehicles, all built at child scale, and children run it. They pick a job, join a short shift at a scaled-down copy of a real workplace, and get paid in the city’s own money. The idea is “playing at being adults” in a setting realistic enough that children take it seriously.

Staff called monitors run each workplace and help children through the task, and coordinators walk the streets to help anyone who’s lost. There are no guided tours. The point is for children to choose for themselves and find their own way.

The KidZania site lists about 40 activities. Among them:

• Emergency services: fire station, police station, medical emergency team and a security control room.
• Health: maternity ward, dental clinic, vet clinic (a pet school), optometrist, pharmacy and a medicine factory.
• Getting about: an aeroplane, a driving school, a car circuit, a racetrack and a petrol station.
• Media and culture: TV studio, radio studio, newspaper, art workshop and a disco.
• Food and shops: pizzeria, restaurant, café, juice factory and supermarket.
• Money and law: bank, insurance company, travel agency, court and university.
• Other: construction site, water laboratory, hotel, repair shop, a marine animal rescue centre, an escape game and a stadium.

Each activity lasts between 15 and 30 minutes, and children queue for a place at the table. Some are more physical, such as the climbing building, the stadium and the driving circuits, but most of the day is role play.

The kidZo is KidZania’s currency, printed in notes of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. Every child gets a cheque for 50 kidZos on the way in, which they cash at the bank. From then on they earn more by working (as a nurse in the maternity ward, say, or as a firefighter) and spend it as customers, for example on entry to the disco or a manicure at the beauty salon. Wages and prices go up and down with supply and demand.

Children can open a bank account, pay money in, take it out and check their balance. They can also save up for items at the kidZo shop, such as pencils and notebooks, or donate kidZos to a cause of their choice.

The website’s price bands start at 3, but children aged 3 and 4 can only join some activities, which is why their ticket is cheaper. KidZania works best from about 5, when children can follow a monitor’s instructions on their own, and really comes into its own from 8, when they can go round without a parent. Teenagers up to 15 can go, but most activities are aimed at younger children, so a 13-year-old may feel too old.

This matters for planning. Adults can leave the park for a while, but only if every child they brought is 8 or older. With a child under 8, at least one responsible adult from the family must stay inside. Children can’t leave and come back: once a child walks out, the visit is over.

Every visitor wears a wristband linked to their family or group, entry and exit are controlled, and there’s CCTV and private security. Even so, KidZania doesn’t present itself as a childcare service, so treat it as a chance for a coffee in the shopping centre while older children play, and check the current rules when you buy. Adults who stay can use a small lounge by the café with a reading area and internet.

KidZania doesn’t open every day, and this catches families out. When checked for September 2026, in term time it opened to families only on Saturdays and Sundays, in two sessions: 10:00 to 14:00 and 15:00 to 19:00. On weekdays it was closed to families, because those days are kept for school groups. In the first week of September, before schools went back, it opened from 11:00 to 18:00, Wednesday to Sunday. Some dates open only to booked groups, so always look at the calendar on the official website before setting off.

KidZania recommends at least three hours, and a four-hour session gives you that. The last activities of the day can start up to 30 minutes before closing.

When checked in September 2026, tickets cost €25.50 for children aged 5 to 15, €17.50 for ages 3 to 4, €10 for adults and €8 for over-65s. The ticket covers the activities only; food and drink, photos and lockers are extra, and promo codes can’t be combined with other offers.

You can buy online, at shops such as FNAC, Worten, CTT and El Corte Inglés, at the KidZania shop by the exit, or at the ticket desk on the day if places are left. Desk sales depend on availability, so buying ahead is safer.

Birthday parties are available by arrangement; email or phone KidZania on 211 545 530. School groups (from 10 pupils, pre-school to year 9) get one free adult per 10 pupils, or per 5 children at pre-school.

UBBO is off the IC16 at the Casal da Mira exit and has about 9,000 free parking spaces. By public transport, Carris Metropolitana buses run to UBBO from Amadora station (route 1005), from the Colégio Militar and Amadora Este metro stations (routes 1706 to 1708) and from Odivelas metro (route 2610).

Inside KidZania there are two places to eat, paid in euros, serving lunch menus and café items. The shopping centre has many more restaurants, lends buggies and wheelchairs at its concierge desk, and has a baby area.

Dress children in practical clothes and trainers for the climbing and driving activities. KidZania advises leaving backpacks, phones, earrings, necklaces and wallets at home, since they’re easy to lose mid-job.

Sould Park Jump, a trampoline park in the same shopping centre, works for burning off energy afterwards. For outdoor play in Amadora, Parque Central da Amadora has a space-station playground, and the Turma da Mônica park is themed on the Brazilian comic.

What age is KidZania Lisboa for?

Ages 3 to 15. Children of 3 and 4 can only do some activities; most children get the most from it between about 5 and 12.

Can I leave my child at KidZania?

Adults can leave for a while only if all the children they brought are 8 or older. With under-8s, an adult from the family must stay inside. It isn’t sold as childcare.

Is KidZania Lisboa open every day?

No. In term time in September 2026, it opened to families only at weekends, in morning and afternoon sessions. Check the calendar on the website before you go.

How long should we stay?

KidZania recommends at least three hours. A weekend session lasts four.

Do adults need a ticket?

Yes. Adults paid €10 and over-65s €8 when checked in September 2026. The jobs themselves are for the children.