Portuguese Festivals and Public Holidays through the Year

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

• Anyone living in Portugal, or about to move, who wants to know which days shops and offices close.
• Residents planning trips, appointments, or time off around holidays and long weekends.
• Newcomers who want to join the big festivals, from Carnival to São Martinho.

Not for you if: you need the rules on holiday pay, working on a holiday, or government days off. Read "Public Holidays in Portugal" instead.

Portugal has 13 national public holidays, plus one municipal holiday in every town and an optional Carnival day. On national holidays, banks, public offices, and most shops close. Three of the 13 move each year because they depend on Easter. The country also runs a full calendar of free festivals, from Carnival in February to chestnuts in November. This guide gives the fixed dates, tells you which ones move, and lists the 2026 and 2027 dates for the movable ones.

The 13 national public holidays

These days are public holidays everywhere in Portugal, including Madeira and the Azores. They apply to every employer. The law lists them in the Labour Code.

Easter Sunday counts as one of the 13, even though it always falls on a Sunday. A town may mark Good Friday on another day of Easter week if that is its local tradition.

When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, you do not get a replacement day. Portugal does not move holidays to the Monday.

Holidays that change date each year

Carnival and three of the national holidays follow Easter, so they move every year. Here are the next two years.

The fixed holidays land on different weekdays each year. In 2027, for example, 25 April and 15 August fall on a Sunday, 1 May and 25 December on a Saturday, and 10 June on a Thursday.

Carnival Tuesday and municipal holidays

Two more days off exist, but they are optional. The law lets employers and workers add them through a collective agreement or the employment contract.

Carnival Tuesday. This is not a national holiday. Schools normally close for a short Carnival break. The government usually gives public servants the day off (a tolerância de ponto), and did so on 17 February 2026. Many private employers follow, but check your contract.

Your municipal holiday. Every municipality (concelho) has one holiday of its own. Council offices, public schools, and other local services close. Private employers are only bound if your contract or collective agreement says so. Some common ones:

Some towns tie their holiday to Easter instead, so it moves. Examples are Ascension Thursday in Loulé, Beja, Mafra, and Vila Franca de Xira (14 May 2026, 6 May 2027). Check your own council's website for its date.

Madeira and the Azores. The islands add regional holidays. Madeira marks Madeira Day on 1 July and also takes 26 December off. The Azores mark Azores Day on the Monday after Pentecost (25 May 2026, 17 May 2027).

Bridges, closures, and planning around holidays

When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many people take the Monday or Friday off too. This is a ponte (bridge). You get no legal right to the bridge day; your employer decides.

Before a holiday or bridge, plan for these effects:

• Public offices, Finanças, Loja do Cidadão, and AIMA counters close on national holidays and on the local municipal holiday.
• Banks close. ATMs and online banking keep working.
• Supermarkets and shopping centres usually open, often with shorter hours. Smaller shops may close.
• Public transport runs a Sunday or holiday timetable.
• Motorways and trains are busy on bridge weekends. Book long-distance trains early.
• Any deadline that ends on a holiday usually moves to the next working day. Check the rule for your specific procedure.

Christmas Eve (24 December) and New Year's Eve (31 December) are not public holidays. The government often gives public servants those days off, and did so for 24, 26, and 31 December 2025. Expect many offices to close early or shut completely.

Festivals month by month

The festivals below are free unless stated. Most dates are traditional, so they repeat each year. Check the local council's programme for exact times.

January and February

• New Year's Eve and Day. Lisbon and Porto hold riverside fireworks. The display over Funchal harbour in Madeira is one of the largest in the world.
• Epiphany (Dia de Reis), 6 January. Not a holiday. Families finish the bolo rei, a ring cake with candied fruit. Groups of singers go door to door with the janeiras, New Year songs, especially in the north.
• Carnival, the days up to Carnival Tuesday. Torres Vedras runs the best known Portuguese Carnival, full of satire and giant figures of politicians. Ovar is known for its costume parades, Loulé for its Algarve parades, and Funchal for a week of samba and floats. Rural towns in the northeast keep older masked traditions.

March and April

• Óbidos International Chocolate Festival. Usually in March inside the walled town. It is ticketed. In 2026 it ran from 6 to 22 March.
• Holy Week (Semana Santa). The week before Easter. Braga holds the country's most dramatic processions, with hooded penitents and candlelit parades at night.
• Freedom Day, 25 April. Marks the 1974 Carnation Revolution that ended the dictatorship. Expect red carnations, a parade down Avenida da Liberdade in Lisbon, and ceremonies at Largo do Carmo.

May

• Labour Day, 1 May. Trade unions march in Lisbon and Porto.
• Festas das Cruzes, Barcelos. Early May, with the local holiday on 3 May. Flower carpets, processions, folk music, and fireworks.
• Fátima, 12 and 13 May. Pilgrims walk from across the country for the anniversary of the first apparition in 1917. The candlelit procession on the night of 12 May is the high point. A second pilgrimage takes place on 12 and 13 October.
• Queima das Fitas, Coimbra. Student graduation week in May, with parades of students in black capes and nightly concerts. Porto and other university cities hold their own.

June: the saints' festivals

June is the busiest month of the year. It often starts with Corpus Christi, then Portugal Day on 10 June. After that, the three popular saints take over. Santo António is Lisbon's night (12 to 13 June). São João belongs to Porto and Braga (23 to 24 June). São Pedro closes the month in towns such as Sintra and Póvoa de Varzim (28 to 29 June). Expect street parties, grilled sardines, and fireworks. For dates, the Lisbon parade, Porto's night by the river, and practical tips, read "June Saints' Festivals in Portugal (Santos Populares)".

July and August

• Festa do Colete Encarnado, Vila Franca de Xira. Early July. Horsemen called campinos, bulls released in the streets, and Ribatejo food. It is traditional and also controversial.
• Summer music festivals. Lisbon, Porto, and the coast host large ticketed festivals, such as NOS Alive in Algés in July.
• Medieval fairs. Several towns stage them in summer, notably Óbidos, Santa Maria da Feira, and Silves.
• Assumption, 15 August. National holiday in the middle of the main summer break. Beaches and resorts are at their busiest.
• Village festas and emigrant month. August is when many Portuguese living abroad come home. Almost every village holds its festa: a procession, a brass band, a fair, and fireworks.
• Romaria de Nossa Senhora da Agonia, Viana do Castelo. Around 20 August, the local holiday. Minho costume parades with gold filigree jewellery, flower carpets, and a procession on the river.
• Feira de São Mateus, Viseu. From August into September. One of the oldest fairs in the Iberian Peninsula, with concerts, crafts, and regional food.

September and October

• Grape harvest (vindima). September and early October in the Douro, Alentejo, Dão, and other wine regions. Some wine estates offer harvest days and grape treading, usually paid.
• Nossa Senhora da Nazaré, Nazaré. In September, around the local holiday on 8 September, with processions and a fair.
• Republic Day, 5 October. Marks the end of the monarchy in 1910, with a ceremony at Lisbon City Hall.
• Fátima, 12 and 13 October. The second large pilgrimage of the year.
• Festival Nacional de Gastronomia, Santarém. About ten days in mid to late October. Regional food and wine from every part of the country; there is an entry charge.

November and December

• All Saints' Day, 1 November. Families visit cemeteries. Children in some areas go door to door asking for pão por Deus, small gifts of bread or sweets.
• São Martinho, 11 November. Not a national holiday, but the local holiday in Torres Vedras and Penafiel. Roasted chestnuts and new wine everywhere; the saying is "No dia de São Martinho, lume, castanhas e vinho" ("On St Martin's Day, fire, chestnuts, and wine"). Schools and villages hold a magusto, a chestnut roast.
• Restoration of Independence, 1 December, and Immaculate Conception, 8 December. Two national holidays a week apart. Our Lady of the Conception is Portugal's patron saint.
• Christmas. The main meal is the consoada on Christmas Eve, usually salt cod with potatoes, cabbage, and eggs, followed by midnight mass (Missa do Galo). Christmas Day is a quiet family day.

How to join in

• Go. Portuguese festivals are public and free, and locals welcome newcomers. Accept the sardine, try the ginjinha, and learn a verse of the local song.
• Dress for the occasion. Shorts are fine at a street party but not at a procession, in a church, or at Fátima.
• Book early. Rooms near the June festivals, Carnival in Torres Vedras, and August romarias fill weeks ahead.
• Expect noise. Fireworks, church bells, and brass bands are part of every festa. If you live near a church square or a festival ground, keep earplugs for June and August. For your rights on noise, read "Dealing with Noise and Neighbours in Portugal".
• Carry cash. Many stalls at local festas take cash or MB Way only.
• Pace yourself. Most festivals run past midnight, and the best part is often late.

Coming up and possible changes

The holiday list has not changed since 2016, when the four holidays suspended in 2013 were restored. In July 2026 a petition asked Parliament to make Europe Day (9 May) a national holiday. It is at an early stage, and as of September 2026 no change to the holiday calendar has been decided. We will update this guide if it moves forward.

Sources

• Labour Code, Articles 234 to 236 (national holidays, optional holidays, and closure rules), as reproduced by SNQTB: https://www.snqtb.pt/media/knnp4vwg/artigos-234%C2%BA-a-236%C2%BA-do-ct.pdf (list of 13 holidays, Carnival and municipal holiday as optional, Good Friday exception)
• Diário da República, Labour Code Article 234 consolidated text: https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2009-34546475-73982045 (reference)
• Diário da República, Despacho 1853/2026 of 13 February: https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/despacho/1853-2026-1049253850 (Carnival 2026 day off for public servants)
• Government of Portugal, tolerância de ponto on 24, 26, and 31 December: https://www.portugal.gov.pt/pt/gc25/comunicacao/noticia?i=tolerancia-de-ponto-nos-dias-24-26-e-31-de-dezembro (Christmas 2025 days off)
• dirPortugal, municipal holidays 2026, municipality by municipality: https://dirportugal.com/feriados-municipais/ (municipal holiday dates; corroborated by Sage and Santander lists)
• Madinfo, holidays in Madeira: https://madinfo.pt/feriados and Futurismo, holidays in the Azores: https://www.futurismo.pt/blog/public-holidays-in-the-azores/ (regional holidays)
• Turismo de Portugal, Óbidos International Chocolate Festival 2026: https://www.turismodeportugal.pt/pt/agenda/Paginas/festival-chocolate-obidos-2026.aspx (2026 dates)
• Tinta Fresca, Festival Nacional de Gastronomia 2025: https://tintafresca.net/index.php/2025/10/16/santarem-recebe-44o-festival-nacional-de-gastronomia-de-16-a-26-de-outubro/ (usual timing)
• Postal, petition for a Europe Day holiday, 9 September 2026: https://postal.pt/nacional/vem-ai-um-novo-feriado-nacional-parlamento-analisa-proposta/ (status of the proposal)
• Movable dates calculated from the Western Easter date for 2026 and 2027 (Carnival Tuesday is 47 days before Easter; Corpus Christi is 60 days after).

Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.