Parque da Cidade da Mealhada

Mealhada is a small Bairrada town on the old EN1 main road, north of Coimbra. Its Parque da Cidade, the city park, is on the northern edge of town, next to the secondary school and the road that climbs to the Serra do Buçaco. It was built on the site of the old forest-tree nursery, and the Bairrada wine route describes it as about 14 hectares of green space for everything from sitting and looking to sport.

The layout is unusual. Rather than a grid of lawns, the park spreads out in rings from a large entrance square at the north end. The square holds the restaurant and café, both in converted older buildings. From there, a network of straight and winding paths leads out through sown fields, patches of woodland and meadows, and a cycle path runs around the whole park, screened from the roads by trees.

The Bairrada route lists a children’s play area among the park’s facilities, alongside an outdoor exercise area for older people, a fitness trail and a picnic park. The council lists two tennis courts, a mini pitch for football and basketball, a full basketball court and a sand pitch.

Neither source describes the play equipment in detail, so treat the playground as one part of a bigger outing rather than the main event. The strength of the park is its size and variety: a toddler can play while an older sibling shoots hoops, and then the whole family can walk or cycle a loop.

The park is also the base for the council’s walking and running centre, accredited under Portugal’s national walking and running programme, where a specialist coach helps people with their training. Teenagers who want to start running might find it useful.

The park also has a group of very large megalithic sculptures, made from big blocks of stone. They make a good starting point for a conversation about the real prehistoric stone monuments found across Portugal, and how people moved huge stones before machines.

Mealhada celebrates Children’s Day in the Parque da Cidade. For 31 May 2026 the council laid out themed zones for arts, movement, science, nature, reading and wellbeing, with shows, children’s theatre, magic, dance, cinema, traditional games, craft workshops, the mobile library, face painting, bouncy castles and a foam party, all free. Look out for the council’s announcement in late May if you’re nearby.

The park itself doesn’t have a skate park, but the town does. The council’s Parque Radical, in Mealhada’s sports zone, has some ramps, a mini-halfpipe and a set of parkour obstacles for skateboards, BMX, inline skates and parkour. The council doesn’t publish rules, so bring helmets and pads.

Entry is free. The sources don’t mention public toilets away from the restaurant and café, and they don’t say whether the play area is fenced. The paths should suit a buggy on dry days, but the sources don’t describe the surfaces.

The Águeda Bike Park, with its toddler balance-bike loop and pump track, is further north in Aveiro district. The railway museum at Macinhata do Vouga, also in Águeda, has little narrow-gauge trains from the 1940s in an old engine shed. Coimbra is a short drive south, with Portugal dos Pequenitos and the riverside Parque Verde do Mondego.

Is the Parque da Cidade in Mealhada free?

Yes. It’s a public council park.

Is there somewhere to eat?

Yes. There’s a restaurant and a café on the entrance square.

Is there a skate park in Mealhada?

Yes, the Parque Radical in the town’s sports zone, with ramps, a mini-halfpipe and parkour obstacles.

What’s on for children in the park?

The council holds a free Children’s Day festival here. In 2026 it was on 31 May, with shows, workshops, bouncy castles and a foam party.