I‘ve been looking for a map of Portugal in a puzzle format for a while. I knew that Science 4 You had one but it’s out of stock. In a recent visit to Pavilhao do Conhecimento (Science Museum) in Lisbon, I found this puzzle with the map of Portugal by toy brand Clementoni which I review below.

 

 

 

Why I wanted a map of Portugal

We love maps generally and have many in all sorts of formats. However, I’ve been wanting a Portuguese map in puzzle format because

 

1. The children will learn about the geography of the United Kingdom in school because that’s where we live, but not Portuguese geography – it’s down to me to teach them
2. Our girls like puzzles and puzzles offer another interactive way to learn  about the country of the target language and their heritage

 

 

About Clementoni

Clementoni is an Italian toy brand which can be found widely in Portugal in supermarkets, bookstores like FNAC and other shops. It offers a range of toys from 0 to 12 years old plus.

Its website caters for Italy, UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Turkey, Norway, Sweden, Finland’s and Denmark. The information appears to be in those languages but it’s not clear where to buy the products. I will update this post when I get official details from the company.

 

Clementoni’s offering ranges from soft toys and puzzles to creative and scientific toys.

We have a few products from Clementoni. A couple of mimic a tablet but it’s not. The technology of the interactive toys can be a little bit awkward if you think that many children are used to iPads which are much slicker. Having said that, the Ckementoni products are cheaper than others in the market.

They also offer apps. I’ve downloaded a couple in the past and from what I gather the apps are linked to physical products they sell and have limited features.

 

The Map of Portugal puzzle

This puzzle has 104 pieces. It’s is double sided (which adds another degree of difficulty): one of the maps is a political map and the other a physical map of the country.

 

 

 

The map has a few landmarks highlighted on the map itself and comes with separate cards with more details about the main cities and popular attractions. The photos are not great quality, but do the job.

 

The design itself is ok. It appears to be accurate and the pieces are strong enough, slot well together and stay together unlike some cheap puzzles which are so flimsy that fall apart and end up in frustration and tantrums.

The size of the pieces and the puzzle itself is nice as well.

 

 

Age

Clementoni says that the puzzle is for children aged 7 years old plus.

My 3 year old loves puzzles and got stuck in straight away. The 5 years old did as well. They still need some guidance, but I can see the map staying in the family for a long time and them being able to do it by themselves in the future, eventually using their knowledge of the shape of the county and where some cities and attractions are.

 

Verdict

We paid £9.99 for this map. It has educational value, it’s decent quality and will have longevity in terms of accompanying the children’s learning over time. I’m happy with it.

Clementoni also sells a map of Europe. Whether you buy Clementoni or other, I strongly recommend getting hold of a map puzzle of your country to help them learn about its geography.