Parque Infantil Almeida Margiochi and Ludoteca de Évora

Évora’s old town is full of things for adults to look at and not much for small children to climb. The Parque Infantil Almeida Margiochi fixes that. It’s the playground in the Jardim Público, Évora’s big 19th-century public garden, and it has something most playgrounds don’t: a free indoor toy library and a small toy museum in the same building.

The playground is named after Francisco Simões de Almeida Margiochi. The garden around it was laid out between 1863 and 1867 on land that had once been the royal kitchen garden of the Palácio de D. Manuel and the Convento de São Francisco. So it’s a short walk from the Igreja de São Francisco, home of the Capela dos Ossos, and the two make an easy pairing: the bones for the older children, then the swings for everyone.

The outdoor play area is under the canopy of the garden’s big trees, which matters a great deal in an Alentejo summer. VaiVer’s visitor guide describes wooden play structures among the trees, with space for traditional games and quieter corners to rest, and a paved courtyard with benches, tables and wooden toys by the Ludoteca building. Independent guides mention swings and slides. It’s a traditional park playground rather than a modern adventure playground, and its draw is the shade and the setting as much as the equipment.

The Ludoteca de Évora is a toy library: a room full of toys, games, books and educational materials that children can play with. According to VaiVer’s history of the building, it opened in 1979, the International Year of the Child, as the first public ludoteca in Portugal. An educator looks after the room and joins in the play. The council describes it as open to everyone, and as an educational resource as well as a place to play.

It’s a very useful place to know about if you’re in Évora with toddlers on a rainy day, or in the middle of a July afternoon when the streets are too hot for small children.

In the same building is the Coleção do Brinquedo, a collection of toys that children played with in the 1940s and 1950s. The council’s own description suggests using it to show children how their parents or grandparents used to play. VaiVer lists traditional wooden and wire toys, mechanical, military and musical toys, dolls’ houses and board games. The star is an old electric train that still works. An independent guide suggests asking the staff to set it running.

The collection is small, so it takes minutes rather than hours, but it’s a good way to start a conversation about how childhood has changed.

The Ludoteca runs occasional activities for families. In June 2026 it hosted a three-hour workshop in empalhamento, the traditional craft of weaving natural fibres (like chair caning), run by APPACDM de Évora for children aged 10 and over with an adult. Places had to be booked by email in advance. Check with the council for upcoming sessions.

The garden covers about 3.3 hectares. Children usually enjoy:

• the Ruínas Fingidas, “fake ruins” built in the 19th century from real carved stonework rescued from demolished buildings around the city, where peacocks often walk along the top
• the lake, with ducks and swans
• the 19th-century bandstand, which you pass near the entrances
• the kiosk, for a cold drink or an ice cream
• the Mata, the wooded part of the garden, good for a picnic

The Palácio de D. Manuel and a stretch of the medieval town wall are also inside the garden.

• Everything here is free.
• The Ludoteca and toy collection open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 19:00, and close for lunch. They’re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so plan around that.
• Older guides give different weekday-only hours; the council’s page, updated in January 2026, is the one to trust.
• The garden paths suit a buggy.
• We could not confirm public toilets or baby changing from the sources we checked.
• Évora gets very hot in summer. The trees make this one of the cooler places in town, but still go in the morning or late afternoon.

Pair the park with the Capela dos Ossos next door, the Museu do Relógio for clock and watch fans, or a walk along the Água de Prata aqueduct. For a swim, the council’s outdoor pools are on our Piscinas Municipais de Évora page, and Pão de Rala is a traditional pastry shop for a treat.

Is there a playground in Évora’s old town?

Yes. The Parque Infantil Almeida Margiochi is in the Jardim Público, near the Igreja de São Francisco and its Capela dos Ossos.

Is the Évora toy library free?

Yes. The Ludoteca and the toy collection have free entry, according to the council.

When is the Ludoteca de Évora open?

Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 19:00. It’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

What can we do in Évora with toddlers on a rainy day?

The Ludoteca is one of the best options: an indoor room of toys, games and books, with the toy collection and its working train in the same building.

Is the playground shaded?

It sits under the large trees of the public garden, which give good shade. Take water in summer all the same.