Public Holidays (Feriados) in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the 13 National Days, the Movable Easter Cycle, the Municipal Feriado Calendar, the Carnaval Optional Day and the Tolerância de Ponto Despacho

Portugal carries one of the busiest feriado calendars in Europe — thirteen obligatory national holidays in a standard year, plus one or two regional or municipal feriados depending on where you live, the optional Carnaval Tuesday that most of the country observes by long-standing tradition, and the discretionary Tolerância de Ponto days the Government issues each year through a Prime-Minister despacho. For foreign residents arriving in Portugal, understanding the feriado calendar is practical bread-and-butter: it shapes when public services open and close, when banks process transfers and direct debits, when schools sit, when the post and parcel-delivery network slows, and — for the employed-and-self-employed population — when you have the right to a paid day off, a working-day premium, or a compensatory rest day.

This guide covers the 2026 calendar in full: the thirteen national feriados under Article 234 of the Código do Trabalho, the Easter-cycle calculation that drives the three movable dates, the municipal feriados for the major cities, the autonomic-region days for Madeira and the Açores, the Carnaval Tuesday optional position, the Tolerância de Ponto despacho the Government typically issues each year, and the pay-and-rest rules that apply when an employee works on a feriado.

The Legal Framework — Article 234 of the Código do Trabalho

The feriado architecture sits inside the Código do Trabalho (Lei n.º 7/2009) as the principal legislative anchor, with the supplementary Lei n.º 8/2016, de 1 de abril as the more-recent amendment that restored four feriados the 2012 Government had suppressed under the Troika-era public-finance austerity package (Corpo de Deus, 5 October, 1 November and 1 December). The relevant provisions:

• Article 234.º (Feriados obrigatórios) — sets the list of obligatory national feriados that every employer must observe across the public-and-private-sector employment perimeter.
• Article 235.º (Feriados facultativos) — sets the framework for facultative feriados: Terça-feira de Carnaval (Shrove Tuesday) and the feriado municipal. Employers can elect to observe these by collective agreement or by company-level decision.
• Article 236.º (Feriado municipal) — frames the feriado municipal of each município, set under the historical-tradition or municipal-decision framework.
• Article 269.º (Trabalho prestado em dia feriado) — sets the pay-and-rest rules when an employee works on a feriado in a private-sector establishment that is operationally open on that day.

The 13 National Feriados in 2026

The complete list of obligatory national feriados under Article 234.º, with the 2026 dates and the underlying historical or religious anchor:

• 1 January — Ano Novo (Quinta-feira). The civil-calendar New Year. Universal closure across public-and-private services. The historical anchor is the Gregorian-calendar New Year as set by Pope Gregory XIII's 1582 calendar reform.
• 17 February — Terça-feira de Carnaval (Tuesday) — facultative. Carnaval Tuesday is technically a facultative feriado under Article 235.º, but is observed by long-standing practice across almost the entire country. The Government typically issues a Tolerância de Ponto despacho granting the public sector the day off. Private-sector observation depends on the collective-agreement or company-level decision. Drives the 47-day pre-Easter movable date.
• 3 April — Sexta-feira Santa (Good Friday). The Christian Good Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday. Movable date in the Easter cycle: in 2026, Easter Sunday falls on 5 April, so Good Friday is 3 April. Universal closure across the country.
• 5 April — Domingo de Páscoa (Easter Sunday). Easter Sunday itself is a Sunday and falls inside the standard weekly rest-day framework; while not technically listed in Article 234 (which lists weekday feriados), the Páscoa Sunday is the anchor for the broader Easter-cycle observance.
• 25 April — Dia da Liberdade (Saturday). The Carnation Revolution anniversary — 25 April 1974 — celebrating the end of the Estado Novo authoritarian regime and the restoration of democratic governance. In 2026, falls on a Saturday, so the working-day-impact is muted; the symbolic-and-cultural observance runs strong.
• 1 May — Dia do Trabalhador (Friday). Workers' Day, the international labour-movement commemoration. Universal closure; major union demonstrations in Lisbon, Porto, Braga and other large cities under the CGTP and UGT coordination.
• 4 June — Corpo de Deus (Thursday). Corpus Christi, the Christian feast of the Body of Christ, falling 60 days after Easter Sunday — always a Thursday. In 2026, Easter is 5 April, so Corpo de Deus is 4 June. Restored to the national-feriado calendar in 2016 after the 2012-2015 suppression.
• 10 June — Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas (Wednesday). The national day, commemorating the death of the poet Luís de Camões on 10 June 1580. Official ceremonies in Lisbon and in a rotating second city each year; major Comunidades Portuguesas events at diplomatic posts across the global Portuguese-emigration diaspora.
• 15 August — Assunção de Nossa Senhora (Saturday). The Assumption of Mary, the Christian feast of the bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven. In 2026, falls on a Saturday. Local Romarias and religious processions in many parishes.
• 5 October — Implantação da República (Monday). The 1910 Republican Revolution anniversary, marking the end of the constitutional monarchy and the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic. Restored in 2016 after the 2012-2015 suppression.
• 1 November — Todos os Santos (Sunday). All Saints' Day. In 2026, falls on a Sunday. The traditional anchor is the broader cycle of cemetery-visit-and-flower-offering observances on the days around 1 November. Restored in 2016.
• 1 December — Restauração da Independência (Tuesday). The 1640 Restoration anniversary, marking the end of the 60-year Iberian Union under Habsburg rule and the proclamation of King João IV in the House of Bragança. Restored in 2016.
• 8 December — Imaculada Conceição (Tuesday). The Immaculate Conception of Mary. Universal closure; the Imaculada is the patron saint of Portugal under the 1646 dedication by King João IV.
• 25 December — Natal (Friday). Christmas Day. Universal closure across the country; the Christmas-Eve-and-Christmas-Day cycle is the principal annual family-gathering observance for the Portuguese cultural calendar.

The Easter-Cycle Calculation

The three movable feriados — Sexta-feira Santa, Domingo de Páscoa and Corpo de Deus — derive from the Easter calculation. The rule, set by the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and codified in the Gregorian calendar of 1582: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon that falls on or after the spring equinox (taken as 21 March). For 2026, the first ecclesiastical full moon after 21 March falls on 1 April (Wednesday); the first Sunday after that is 5 April 2026. The two derived dates:

• Sexta-feira Santa: the Friday before Easter Sunday — 3 April 2026.
• Corpo de Deus: the Thursday 60 days after Easter Sunday — 4 June 2026.
• Carnaval Tuesday (facultative): 47 days before Easter Sunday — 17 February 2026.
• Quinta-feira da Ascensão (not a national feriado, but observed in religious-calendar terms): 39 days after Easter — 14 May 2026.

The Tolerância de Ponto Despacho

The Tolerância de Ponto framework is the Prime Minister's discretionary power, exercised through a despacho (administrative order), to grant the public-sector workforce additional days off around the calendar feriados. The despacho applies directly to the public-sector employment perimeter (central administration, autarquias, public-sector institutes, the SNS, the education system); it does not bind the private-sector employer, but it sets a strong informal anchor that many private-sector employers follow by company-level decision or by collective agreement.

The 2026 cycle, on the despacho pattern established under the Montenegro Government and consistent with the precedent set under previous Governments:

• 16 and 17 February (Monday and Tuesday) — Carnaval. Standard despacho: Tolerância de Ponto on Terça-feira de Carnaval (Tuesday 17 February) and frequently on the preceding Monday. Public-sector services close for the long Carnaval weekend.
• 24 December — Christmas Eve. Standard despacho: half-day or full-day Tolerância de Ponto. Public-sector services typically close at midday or fully close.
• 31 December — New Year's Eve. Similar position: half-day or full-day Tolerância de Ponto under the same despacho framework.
• Ponte (bridge) days: when a feriado falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, the Government may issue a Tolerância de Ponto for the intervening Monday or Friday to create a four-day weekend. The 2026 calendar has Imaculada Conceição on Tuesday 8 December — a potential ponte for Monday 7 December — and the Restauração on Tuesday 1 December — a potential ponte for Monday 30 November.
• Sexta-feira da Ascensão / Quinta-feira Santa: the Holy-Week cycle frequently carries an informal half-day public-sector closure on Maundy Thursday (2 April 2026); the Tolerância de Ponto despacho may or may not formalise this on the year-specific cycle.

The despacho is published in the Diário da República in the weeks ahead of the relevant date; the Government typically publishes the full annual calendar of Tolerância de Ponto days in early-January each year, with case-specific despachos issued ahead of the Carnaval, Easter and Christmas cycles.

The Municipal Feriado — One Day Per Município

Each Portuguese município (municipality) carries one municipal feriado per year, anchored on the patron-saint day or the city-historical-event date set by the local câmara municipal. The municipal feriado is a national-statutory feriado within the município's territorial perimeter — meaning employers in that município must observe the day under Article 236.º of the Código do Trabalho. The principal cities:

• Lisboa — 13 June, Santo António. The Lisbon patron saint, Santo António de Pádua (born in Lisbon in 1195). The day is the centrepiece of the broader Santos Populares cycle of June celebrations; the Marchas Populares on the Avenida da Liberdade are the principal public event the night before. See our Santos Populares guide.
• Porto — 24 June, São João. The Porto patron saint, São João Baptista. The all-night São João street festival on 23-24 June is one of Europe's largest urban patron-saint celebrations.
• Braga — 24 June, São João. Braga also celebrates São João, with its own historical festival tradition.
• Coimbra — 4 July, Rainha Santa Isabel. The patron saint of Coimbra, Queen-consort to King Dinis (1271-1336).
• Aveiro — 12 May, Santa Joana Princesa. The patron of the city.
• Évora — 29 June, São Pedro. The patron of the city.
• Faro — 7 September. The dia da cidade.
• Setúbal — 15 September, São Julião.
• Funchal — 21 August. The dia da cidade.
• Ponta Delgada — 24 May. The dia da cidade.
• Viana do Castelo — 20 August, Nossa Senhora d'Agonia.
• Leiria — 22 May.
• Beja — 30 May, Nossa Senhora da Conceição.
• Bragança — 22 August.
• Castelo Branco — 22 April, Nossa Senhora de Mércoles.
• Guarda — 27 November, Santa Catarina.
• Portalegre — 23 May, São Bernardo.
• Santarém — 19 March, São José.
• Viseu — 21 September.
• Vila Real — 13 June, Santo António.

The dia do município applies within the territorial perimeter of the município, on the registered-residence or registered-workplace anchor. Employers in Lisbon close on 13 June; employers in Porto close on 24 June; an employee who lives in Lisbon but works in Porto would observe the day applicable to the workplace.

The Autonomic Regions — Madeira and Açores

The two autonomic regions carry additional regional-day feriados under the regional-government legislative framework:

• Madeira — 1 July, Dia da Região Autónoma da Madeira. Applies across the whole Madeira archipelago (Madeira, Porto Santo).
• Madeira — 26 December, Segundo Dia de Natal. Madeira carries Boxing Day as a regional feriado, in addition to the mainland Christmas-Day feriado.
• Açores — Segunda-feira do Espírito Santo. The Monday after Pentecost — 25 May 2026 (50 days after Easter Sunday + 1). Applies across the nine-island archipelago.
• Açores — Dia da Região Autónoma dos Açores. Coincides with the Espírito Santo Monday in the legal-and-cultural framework, though some sources cite an independent regional-government anchor.

Foreign residents who relocate to Madeira or to the Açores should add the regional feriados to the mainland calendar.

Working on a Feriado — The Article 269.º Pay-and-Rest Rules

The framework around what happens when an employee works on a feriado is set by Article 269.º of the Código do Trabalho. The principal rules:

• Most feriados close most workplaces. The Article 234 feriados are mandatory closure days for most private-sector employment perimeters, with the exception of operationally-essential sectors (healthcare, emergency services, hospitality, retail under certain regimes, transport, security, media) where the workforce continues to operate.
• If you work on a feriado in an operationally-open sector, the standard pay-and-rest framework applies: (i) you are paid the standard daily wage for the feriado day under the normal employment contract; (ii) you have a right to an acréscimo de 50% da retribuição correspondente — a 50% premium on the day's pay — or alternatively, (iii) a compensatory descanso compensatório of half the day in a subsequent work period (under collective-agreement provisions). The exact balance is set by the collective-agreement framework of the relevant sector.
• The employee cannot be required to work a feriado unless the operational-essentiality framework justifies it, the employee accepts the assignment under the collective agreement, or a specific provision in the individual contract addresses feriado-day work.
• Public-sector employees who work on a feriado in operationally-essential public services (SNS, security forces, emergency response) typically receive the premium under the public-sector employment framework.
• Holiday-pay continuity: the employee's standard annual-holiday entitlement (22 working days plus the feriado calendar) is unaffected by working on a feriado — the feriado is a separate rest-day category.

What This Means for Foreign Residents

The practical implications across daily life in Portugal:

• Public-service closures: AT (tax offices and Finanças), Segurança Social, IMT, AIMA service points, Conservatórias do Registo Civil, Juntas de Freguesia and most other public-service points close on the feriado calendar. Plan administrative appointments around the feriado dates — particularly the May, June and December clusters where multiple feriados can stack with weekends.
• Banking and direct-debit cycles: bank branches close on feriados; debit-card and Multibanco operations continue; débito direto and transferência bancária cycles may shift by a day depending on the SIBS-and-BdP clearing-cycle calendar.
• Retail and supermarkets: Continente, Pingo Doce, Lidl, Auchan, Aldi, Mercadona and other major retailers typically open with reduced hours on most feriados, but close on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Smaller shops and family-run mercearias close more broadly across the feriado calendar.
• Schools and universities: the public-school calendar follows the national feriado list and adds the school-specific holiday cycles (Christmas break, Carnaval break, Easter break, summer break). Private and international schools typically follow a similar pattern with local variations.
• Public transport: Metro de Lisboa, Metro do Porto, CP-trains, STCP, Carris and the broader public-transport network typically run on a Sunday-or-holiday timetable on feriado days. The Lisbon Navegante and Porto Andante passes remain valid; see our public-transport-passes guide.
• Healthcare: SNS Centros de Saúde close on feriados; Urgências hospitalares operate 24/7; the SNS24 telephone-and-online triage line (808 24 24 24) operates around the clock. Private healthcare networks (Lusíadas, CUF, Luz Saúde, Trofa) maintain reduced consultation schedules. See our private health insurance guide.
• Postal and parcel delivery: CTT and the major couriers (DHL, UPS, Chronopost, Seur) close on feriados. International deliveries scheduled across the feriado window may add a day or two to the standard transit estimate.
• For the employed expat: confirm with your employer that the feriado calendar is correctly reflected in your contract and your sector's collective agreement; the standard private-sector employment carries the 13 Article-234 days plus the municipal day plus the standard 22 working-days holiday entitlement.
• For the self-employed expat on the recibos verdes framework: the Segurança Social and the AT obligations continue regardless of feriado calendar; quarterly IVA and Modelo 22-IRC filing deadlines that fall on or around a feriado typically shift to the next working day under the standard administrative-procedure framework.
• For the retired expat on a Portuguese pension: pension payments continue on the regular CGA or Segurança Social cycle, with the bank-clearing timing potentially shifted by a day around the feriado calendar.

The 2026 Calendar at a Glance

The 2026 feriado map across the year:

• January: 1 January — Ano Novo (Thursday).
• February: 17 February — Carnaval Tuesday (facultative).
• April: 3 April — Sexta-feira Santa (Friday); 25 April — Dia da Liberdade (Saturday).
• May: 1 May — Dia do Trabalhador (Friday); 25 May — Espírito Santo (Açores only, Monday).
• June: 4 June — Corpo de Deus (Thursday); 10 June — Dia de Portugal (Wednesday); 13 June — Santo António (Lisbon, Saturday); 24 June — São João (Porto and Braga, Wednesday); 29 June — São Pedro (Évora, Monday).
• July: 1 July — Dia da Região Madeira (Wednesday); 4 July — Rainha Santa Isabel (Coimbra, Saturday).
• August: 15 August — Assunção (Saturday); 20 August — Viana do Castelo (Thursday); 21 August — Funchal (Friday); 22 August — Bragança (Saturday).
• September: 7 September — Faro (Monday); 15 September — Setúbal (Tuesday); 21 September — Viseu (Monday).
• October: 5 October — Implantação da República (Monday).
• November: 1 November — Todos os Santos (Sunday); 27 November — Santa Catarina (Guarda, Friday).
• December: 1 December — Restauração da Independência (Tuesday); 8 December — Imaculada Conceição (Tuesday); 25 December — Natal (Friday); 26 December — Segundo Dia de Natal (Madeira only, Saturday).

The Bridge Opportunities — Pontes in 2026

Several feriados sit on Tuesdays or Thursdays in 2026, opening the door to ponte long-weekend opportunities — the Government's Tolerância de Ponto despacho may or may not formalise these:

• 1 December (Tuesday) — natural ponte with Monday 30 November.
• 8 December (Tuesday) — natural ponte with Monday 7 December.
• 4 June (Corpo de Deus, Thursday) — natural ponte with Friday 5 June.
• 20 August (Viana do Castelo, Thursday) — natural ponte with Friday 21 August.

The Carnaval long-weekend cycle (Monday 16 February through Tuesday 17 February) and the Easter-week cycle (Holy Thursday 2 April through Easter Monday 6 April) are the two structural long-cycle holiday windows of the year. The summer of 2026 also carries a midweek Wednesday-feriado cluster (10 June, 24 June) that is more difficult to ponte but that drives the broader Santos Populares cultural festival cycle.

Beyond the Feriado Calendar — Carnaval and Religious Festivals

The cultural-calendar feriados sit alongside a parallel cycle of festivals and observances that don't carry feriado status but that shape the lived-experience calendar:

• Carnaval — multi-day pre-Lent festival, with the major street-celebration centres in Torres Vedras, Loulé, Ovar, Madeira, Sesimbra and Estarreja. The Carnaval week runs from the Saturday before Ash Wednesday through to Terça-feira Gorda.
• Holy Week (Semana Santa) — major religious-calendar week leading to Easter, with the principal observances in Braga (the country's leading Semana Santa centre), Óbidos, Marvão and the Algarve coast. Solemn processions through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
• Festas dos Santos Populares — June celebrations centred on Santo António (13 June), São João (24 June) and São Pedro (29 June). The Lisbon Marchas Populares on Avenida da Liberdade are the principal public event. See our Santos Populares guide for detailed coverage.
• Romarias — local religious-procession-and-pilgrimage events that punctuate the late-spring-and-summer cycle, with the Senhora d'Agonia in Viana do Castelo (20 August) the largest of the cycle.
• Fátima pilgrimages — the principal pilgrimage cycle to Cova da Iria, with the major dates on 12-13 May and 12-13 October. See our Fátima guide.

Where to Verify the Calendar

The authoritative sources for the feriado calendar:

• Diário da República (dre.pt) — for the underlying Código do Trabalho text, the Lei n.º 8/2016 amendment text, and the year-specific Tolerância de Ponto despachos.
• Portal do Cidadão (portaldocidadao.pt) — for the consolidated annual feriado calendar, on the Cidadão / Vida Profissional / Tempos de Trabalho rail.
• Câmara Municipal of each município — for the municipal feriado date confirmation.
• The collective-agreement (contrato colectivo de trabalho — CCT) applicable to your specific employment sector — for the sector-specific application of the feriado-day pay-and-rest rules and any additional non-statutory feriados (e.g. the metal-workers' day, the rail-transport day) that the CCT may carry.

What This Means for You

For the employed foreign resident: verify with your HR department that the 13 Article-234 days, the municipal feriado, and any sector-specific CCT additions are correctly reflected in your annual calendar. If the company operates on a feriado, make sure the Article-269.º premium-or-rest rule is correctly applied to your pay-slip.

For the self-employed or recibos-verdes-track foreign resident: the feriado calendar does not free you from invoicing, IVA cycle or Segurança Social obligations, but it does shift the public-service-interaction calendar — plan AT, AIMA, IMT and Conservatória appointments around the feriado dates.

For the retired foreign resident: the feriado calendar mostly affects public-service interactions (Centros de Saúde, AT, Segurança Social) and bank-clearing cycles. Pension payments continue on the standard cycle.

For the relocating foreign resident: plan your AIMA residence-permit appointment, your NIF registration, your bank-account opening, and your Centro de Saúde inscription around the feriado calendar — the December-cycle (1, 8, 25) and the June-cycle (4, 10) are particularly busy public-service-closure windows.

For the tourist or short-term visitor: the feriado calendar shapes museum, monument and public-service opening hours. Major museums in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra typically close on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December; other feriados often carry reduced hours. The Santos Populares cycle in June, the Carnaval cycle in February, and the Christmas market cycle in December are the principal cultural-calendar peaks.

The feriado calendar is the most visible expression of Portugal's cultural and labour-rights tradition. Knowing it well — and planning around the ponte opportunities — is one of the simplest ways to fit into the rhythms of life in Portugal as a foreign resident.