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Portugal Festivals Calendar

Festivals in Portugal - Festas: Saints, Miracles and Magic - Portugal's rich heritage of local festas, romarias and carnaval

A village decorated for the local festival, Portugal.
A village decorated for the local festival, Portugal

There is probably a festival of some sort going on every day somewhere in Portugal.

Attending a traditional festival (festa) is a great way for any visitor to Portugal to absorb something of Portuguese popular culture and get to know better the local people and their way of life.

Portugal's strong Catholic heritage, allied to the many local pagan customs which were integrated into the average person's religious convictions, has lead to a popular culture rich in a firm belief for many Portuguese in saints, miracles, lucky charms, healing springs, shrines, offerings, magic, cults and superstition.

The cult of Our Lady of Fatima and the locating of the Knights Templar in Tomar show the strength of local support for people on the fringes of orthodox Catholicism. Even today, in the pilgrimage season May-October, thousands of pilgrims line the roads to Fatima, just outside Leiria, to pay their respects to the Virgin, who appeared to three children in May 1917.

Every town and village in portugal has a patron saint, whose saint's day is celebrated with gusto by the whole community, thus fostering a sense of communal identity and local pride, long lost in many other parts of Europe. The main themes of these festas is a procession of a statue of the patron saint after Mass from the local church, accompanied by fireworks, music, dancing and joyous merrymaking involving copious consumption of wine.

Portugal is not just about traditional festivals - new ones are springing up all the time. Especially film, music and food festivals, often sponsored by local authorities to boost local tourism.

We have tried to list the major festivals throughout Portugal but no list can be exhaustive so please check with local tourist offices and our Portugal city guides for further details.

Portugal Festival Calendar

January

Epiphany

A cake in the shape of a king's crown bolo rei is traditionally eaten during Epiphany (Dia de Reis).

The Festa das Fogaceiras held annually on January 20 in Santa Maria da Feira sees young girls in traditional dress carrying castle-shaped fogaças cakes on their heads to give thanks for good health.

Carnival is celebrated with gusto in Portugal.
Carnival is celebrated with gusto in Portugal

February/March

Carnaval

Portugal as a whole celebrates carnival but there are famous more Rio-style carnival processions with floats, music and costumes in Lisbon, Loule, Nazare and Viana do Castelo.

The Fantasporto International Film Festival is one of Portugal's oldest and longest running film festivals. The film festival began in 1981 in Porto and has been going strong ever since with past contributions from the likes of Pedro Almodóvar, Luc Besson and David Cronenberg.

The Entrudo dos Comprades in Lazarim near Lamego is a lively, masked carnival celebration with fireworks and a male/female face off.

Essência do Vinho in Porto's Palácio da Bolsa is an international wine show.

March

The town of Beja holds a nine-day agricultural festival with music, food and handicrafts.

The Feira de Março in Aveiro from late March to late April is an historic festival now featuring folk and rock concerts.

Porto Interceltic Festival celebrates Celtic music from across Europe.

Easter re-enactment in Obidos.
Easter Biblical re-enactment in Obidos

March/April

Semana Santa (Holy Week/Easter)

The Procissão do Senhor Senhor Ecce Homo festival in Braga is an Easter festival on Holy Thursday with barefoot, torch-bearing, hooded penitents in a spooky procession through the town. It is part of the whole Semana Santa celebrations in the city which are attended by thousands of people each year. Each day of the 10-day festival sees different events including symphonic concerts, biblical pageants, masses and processions such as Ecce Homo, the Lord's Burial's Procession on Good Friday and the Resurrection Procession in Braga Cathedral on Easter Sunday.

In Porto on Passion Sunday (the second Sunday prior to Easter) there is a procession near the church of Nossa Senhora da Esperanca. Effigies of Judas are burnt around the cathedral on Easter Day.

Festa das toches is an Easter procession in São Brás de Alportel in the Algarve.

The Festa de Mãe Soberana in Loule is another large Easter festival.

On the Algarve in Loulé, Festa da Mãe Soberana on Easter Sunday sees eight men dressed in white carry a statue of the Virgin Mary (Nossa Senhora da Piedade) to the Church of São Francisco. This is known as the "Little Festival" (Festa Pequena) and two weeks later the "Big Festival" (Festa Grande) sees the heavy image paraded again through the streets accompanied by a band, an open air mass and concluding fireworks.

Easter procession in Obidos.
Easter religious procession in Obidos - purple symbolizes humility, penance, and sorrow for Jesus' suffering on The Cross in Jerusalem; the fish is an established symbol for Christians and after the Resurrection Jesus prepared a fish meal for his disciples

In Obidos the Semana Santa celebrations are some of the most vivid in Portugal and last for two weeks. At night there are torchlight processions and during the day the last moments of Christ are re-enacted including a Christ figure wearing a crown of thorns, carrying a cross and surrounded by Roman soldiers.

Castelo de Vide mixes Catholic and Jewish traditions in its unique Easter rites, while Portalegre sees straw figures of Judas ceremoniously burnt.

The fifth Sunday after Easter is celebrated in Ponta Delgada in the Azores with the large Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres (Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles). The streets are carpeted with flowers and there are processions with brass bands. An image of Senhor Santo Cristo (Lord Holy Christ) garlanded with flowers is carried through the streets.

Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, Portugal.
Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, Ponta Delgada in the Azores
Fatima Festival, Fatima, Portugal.
Devotion at Fatima © Dias dos Reis

May

The Fatima romarias (pilgrimage) is held in Fatima to commemorate the anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary.

The lively Festas das Cruzes is held over a week in Barcelos with a procession and handicraft fair.

Faro hosts an international music festival through May/June.

Early May sees the civic festival of Santa Joanna, held in honor of the royal princess Joana, who retired to Aveiro's convent (now a museum) in the 15th century.

The Queima das Fitas is a drink-filled festival in Coimbra when the town's students go mad with parades, fado and the burning of gowns. Porto too has its own version - the Queima das Fitas do Porto.

At the end of May or early June is the Corpus Christi Vaca das Cordas "bull running" ceremony in Ponte de Lima.

The Festival Internacional de Teatro de Expressão Ibérica (International Iberian Language Theatre Festival) in Porto in late May/early June dates from 1978.

The Festa do Senhor de Matosinhos in Matosinhos near Porto is a religious festival in the town running for around 3 weeks.

Braga Roman is a celebration of Braga's Roman past when the city was known as Bracara Augusta. Held over 5 days in late May the festival recreates the daily life of Bracara Augusta with circus arts, dances, triumphal processions, dramatic performances, and guided visits to various museums and the city's Roman sights. For further information visit: bragaromana.cm-braga.pt

Alfama Lisbon Saints Party Decorations, Portugal.
Festas dos Santos Populares in the Alfama district of Lisbon

June

June in Portugal is a fun time to visit. There are the Corpus Christi festivals as well as the more lively Festa de Santo Antonio in Lisbon and Festa de São João in Porto.

The Corpo de Deus (Corpus Christi) festival with processions is celebrated all over the country.

The Festa de Santo Antonio in Lisbon celebrates the 'saint of love' with newly-wed couples giving thanks and singles praying for a match made in heaven - usually around June 13.

The Feira Afonsina, a Medieval fair in Guimarães, will be held June 18 to 21 in 2020. There are participants in Medieval costume, processions and lots of local products on sale.

The Festa de São João (John the Baptist) is big in Porto, Aveiro and Braga on June 23-24. In Porto there are large parties with people being hit on the head with harmless plastic hammers; in Braga expect to see dancing, illuminations, folk dramas, poems to loved ones in pots of basil, music and processions.

In Santarem a 10-day Feira Nacional da Agricultura in the first week of June has horse-racing, bullfights and bull-running in the streets.

Rock in Rio-Lisbon is a huge rock festival, touted as the world's largest music festival, held annually at the Parque the Bela Vista in Lisbon attracting some of the biggest names in popular music.

The Festa de São Gonçalo in Amarante witnesses a large procession with single people exchanging phallic-shaped cakes as love tokens.

Setubal hosts an international film festival - Festroia - in June.

The Festa de Sao Pedro (Saint Peter) is celebrated in Porto on June 29 with music, dancing and processions.

Porto hosts a beer festival at the Jardim do Passeio Alegre, Foz do Douro. The city is also host to the Serralves em Festa (Serralves Festival) an arts festival of dance, music and theater at the Fundação Serralves. The Porto Book Fair takes place in June at the Rosa Mota Pavilion at the Palácio De Cristal. The Regata dos Rabelos (Rabelo Boat Races) take place on the River Douro and are sponsored by the city's port wine producers.

Fundao, famous for its cherries, holds a "cherry festival" in June with guided tours to cherry orchards and local restaurants showcasing cherry recipes.

Arraial Pride is Portugal's largest gay pride festival held in June in Lisbon.

Umbrella Sky Project, Águeda, Portugal.
Umbrella Sky Project, Águeda

July

July is often a time for enjoying life on Portugal's great beaches in the Algarve or on the coast at Caparica, south of Lisbon. There are a lot of great art and music festivals to enjoy, too.

NOS Alive is an annual music and arts festival in Oeiras, west of Lisbon. First held in 2007, the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but returns in 2022. The festival has featured such performers as Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Muse, and Radiohead.

Also in Oeiras, the new Jardins do Marquês festival of classical music and cuisine hopes to debut in 2022.

The Festa do Colete Encanado held in Vila Franca de Xira has bull-running in the streets similar to the more famous festival in Spain's Pamplona with drunken youth running the bulls through the town's narrow streets.

Estoril's world famous classical music festival runs through July and August and is simultaneous with the town's Handicrafts Fair.

Held every four years in Tomar (during the first week of the month - next in 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 etc) the pagan-inspired Festa dos tabuleiros sees a procession of young girls, dressed in white, balancing large trays of bread and wheat on their heads.

The third weekend of July is time for the Rallye Biker in Faro - one of Europe's biggest biker meets with rock music and a parade of motorbikes through the streets of Faro.

Aveiro celebrates its historic heritage of painted boats - moliceiros - mid-July to mid-August with races and general merrymaking.

The Vilar de Mouros music festival in Caminha hosts top-notch rock bands from around the world at the end of the month.

Barcelos hosts the Festival de Folclore on the last Saturday of the month with traditional singing and dancing.

Sintra hosts its annual Sintra Music Festival in July with events in Sintra, Cascais and Estoril.

The FMM Sines - Festival Músicas do Mundo is a world music event in July in the towns of Sines and Porto Covo on the Atlantic Coast.

EDP Cool Jazz in Cascais at the Hipódromo Manuel Possolo attracts a loyal following with jazz performers from around the world such as John Legend and Herbie Hancock.

MEO Marés Vivas is a music concert featuring both international and Portuguese performers in mid-July held in Vila Nova de Gaia, the port wine district south of the River Douro across the Ponte Luis I Bridge from Ribeira in Porto. The Porto Wine Fest is also held in Gaia in July.

Also in Porto in July is the Festival Internacional de Folclore Cidade do Porto (Porto International Folklore Festival) with folk music acts from Portugal and overseas.

Festival ao Largo is held in the open air outside the Teatro Nacional São Carlos in Lisbon. There are free performances of classical music, opera, ballet and choral singing from the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, the National Ballet Company, the Teatro Nacional São Carlos Choir, and the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II.

The Vilar de Mouros Festival (EDP Vilar de Mouros) is the oldest rock festival on the Iberian Peninsula. The event began as a local folk music festival in the 1960s. In 1971 it expanded to include rock music and the first edition featured Elton John and Manfred Mann. Due to financial difficulties, the festival was only held intermittently over the following years until revived in 2014. The festival is now usually held in late-August.

Paratissima is an international arts festival held in various locations throughout Lisbon during July. It began in 2016 but when it will return is now somewhat uncertain.

The town of Águeda welcomes the Umbrella Sky Project. The colorful event began in 2012 as part of the Ágitagueda Art Festival. The umbrellas and parasols help to create shade and pleasing shadows in the hot summer months. The practice has spread to other cities in Portugal including the capital and Bragança in the north.

August

August in Portugal has several music festivals as well as traditional religious festivals to enjoy.

The Romaria da Nossa Senhora da Agonía (Our Lady of Sorrows) held in Viana do Castelo around August 20 includes an impressive parade of floats, displays of local crafts, carnival giants (gigantones), local music, nightly fireworks and lots of drinking.

The Festas Gualterianas (St Walter) has been held in Guimaraes on the first weekend of August since 1452.

The Festa Sao Bartolomeu held in Porto (Sunday after August 24) sees a procession of puppets and a healthy plunge in the sea at Foz do Douro.

The Ocean Festival (Festival dos Oceanos) held intermittently at Parque das Nações in Lisbon celebrates the city's links with the high seas with boat races and numerous special events.

The Week of the Sea Festival in Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores is a 7-day festa of marine sports and traditional whaling boat regattas held in mid-month.

The Rio Formosa Festival in the cathedral square of Faro is a latter-day, civic seafood and beer festival focused on the need to preserve the area's Rio Formosa lagoon.

The 10-day Silves Medieval Fair (Silves Feira Medieval) takes place in Silves with historical re-enactments, horse tournaments, period costume and lots of food and drink.

The Festa Nossa Senhora da Orada occurs on 14th August in Albufeira when an image of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus is paraded around town and transported on a boat.

The festival of Our Lady of Seafarers in Cascais sees images of saints carried through the town's streets and then on to fishing boats - also bull running, music, fireworks and lots of food.

The Feira de Sao Mateus in Viseu takes place from mid-August to its climax on September 21 (Dia do Sao Mateus). There are bullfights, fado and folk dancing at this agricultural fair.

The Festas de N.S. dos Remedios takes place in Lamego from the end of August to mid-September.

The Neopop Festival, Portugal's most respected electronic music festival takes place in Viana do Castelo. The main event area is near the Castelo de Santiago da Barra at the mouth of the river.

The Festival Sudoeste is a 5-day rock, indie and electro music festival at Zambujeira do Mar with acts from Portugal and overseas.

The Festa do Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem at Peniche with land and sea processions.

Ritual Rock Nights (Noites Ritual Rock) at the Palácio De Cristal in Porto is a rock festival for up-and-coming bands.

The Festival do Marisco in Olhão is part seafood festival, part music festival continuing over six days. It takes place on the seafront in Jardim Pescador Olhanense.

Paredes de Coura, presently the Vodafone Paredes de Coura, dates back to 1993 and has featured such big names as Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Kasabian, Morrissey, and Nine Inch Nails. It was last held in 2019 and hopes to start again in 2022 after the Covid-19 pandemic. The venue is Praia do Taboão in Paredes de Coura, a small town about 50 km northeast of Viana do Castelo or 20 km south of Valença on the Spanish border.

September

The Festas do Sao Paio in early September in Aveiro features a traditional boat race on the northern lagoon.

NoiteBrancaBraga (White Nights Braga) where people dress in white clothes and party until dawn in the first week of September. The festival includes pop concerts, a contemporary circus, performances, street food and special exhibitions. For further information visit: noitebrancabraga.com

The last Sunday of the month sees Porto's Nossa Senhora do Ó - a procession in honor of the pregnant Virgin beginning at the church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade do Cais.

Ponte de Lima's Feiras Novas (New Fairs) is an ancient 3-day affair dating from 1125 with music, dancing, processions and general merry-making.

Held in on the first Sunday of the month in Tomar the Nossa Senhora de Piedade sees a candle-lit procession of decorated floats.

The festival of Nossa Senhora da Nazare Romaria (September 8) is the biggest festival in Nazare. Expect to see a serious religious procession, bullfights and folk dancing in the evenings.

Leiria hosts a Festival de Gastronomia in early September with food stalls and folk dancing.

The Festival Internacional De Marionetas Do Porto is an international puppet festival in Porto. Also in Porto in September is the Vinho Verde Wine Fest at the Customs House (Alfândega Do Porto) and Porto Blue Jazz in the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal.

Elvas hosts the Festas do Senhor da Piedade and the Feira de Sao Mateus in late September.

October

Early October in Vila Franca de Xira sees the Feira de Outubro. There is bull-running and a series of bull-fights in the Praça de Touros Palha Blanco.

October 12-13 sees the second large annual pilgrimage to Fatima to celebrate the 'Miracle of the Sun' of 1913.

The Feira de Santa Iria in Faro is the town's largest traditional festa held in the middle of the month.

Lagos celebrates its connection with Portugal's maritime past with the Festa dos Descobrimentos (Festival of the Discoveries) with processions (late October/early November) in period costume through the town's streets.

Late October to early November The National Gastronomic Festival in Santarem. The festival began in 1980 and each day of the event is dedicated to a region and its food culture.

The Festival da Francesinha in Porto pays homage to the city's signature Francesinha - a dish of bread, grilled steak, ham and cheese in a beer and tomato sauce, often topped with a fried egg.

November

All Soul's Day (All Saints' Day) is a national holiday and celebrated often with processions across the country on November 1.

Golega Ribatejo hosts the Feira de Sao Martinho with bullfighting, horse parades and general bonhomie.

Feira Nacional do Cavalo (National Horse Fair) in Golega.

The Porto Marathon takes place in November beginning and ending at the Parque da Cidade do Porto.

Christmas (Natal) in Portugal.
Christmas (Natal) in Portugal

December

Independence Day, a public holiday on December 1, is usually celebrated with fireworks and joyous parties.

Dia do Natal (Christmas Day) on December 25 is a family festival with a tradition of burning an Xmas oak log to ensure good fortune.

Vespera de Ano Novo (New Year's Eve) is celebrated nationwide with fireworks, music and, as in Spain, the eating of 12 grapes as the clocks strike midnight. Lisbon's noted party is out near the tower in Belem.

The Festa dos Rapazes (Festival of the Boys) is now a rite of passage for adolescent boys who wear rattles and pigs' bladders as symbols of a prescient fertility.

These pagan festivals were incorporated into Christianity becoming the Carnival celebrations of much of southern Europe.

The festival takes place in several villages in the district of Bragança in the Trás-os-Montes region of north eastern Portugal from December 24-26. Participants are in traditional costume wearing the highly ornate folk masks of the area.

If you know of a festival not listed here, please contact Portugal Visitor with the details.

Iberian Museum of the Mask and the Costume.
Iberian Museum of the Mask and the Costume, Bragança

National Holidays

New Years Day - January 1
Carnaval Tuesday (February or March) - the day before Ash Wednesday
Easter Good Friday (March or April)
Liberty Day - April 25 to celebrate the 1974 revolution
Labor Day - May 1
Corpus Christi (May or June) - the ninth Thursday after Easter
Portugal Day (Camoes/Community Day) - June 10
Assumption - August 15
Republic Day - October 5 commemorates the declaration of the Portuguese republic in 1910
All Saints' Day - November 1
Independence Day - December 1 celebrates the 1640 restoration of independence from Spain
Immaculate conception - December 8
Christmas Day - December 25

Festival Decorations, Viana do Castelo, Portugal.
Festival Decorations, Viana do Castelo, Portugal


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