PORTUGAL Central Portugal Busaco Luso Cruz Alta What to do between Lisbon and Porto
Updated: Sep 10
What to do between Lisbon and Porto?
September: Montemor-o-Velho Festa Fair of the Year
August 29, 2026 - September 8, 2026
FAMILY FRIENDLY
https://www.feiradoano.pt/ Schedule Agenda
What to expect at the Fair
Vendors selling fresh fruit, handmade goods, cork items, leather pieces
Restaurants set up to sell menu items
Fresh bakery choices
Family-friendly activities
expositions
Animals on display- Horse Fair
Fado music - check schedule
DJs - check schedule
Want to see and do something Family Friendly?
The fair runs for 31 days of concerts, entertainment, carnival-style rides, games to play, fun, food, and culture. From August 6th, 2026 to September 6th, 2026,
This is the festival's 634th year.
There are so many stops you can make between Lisbon and Porto. You can make a few on the way.
We prefer Fatima and Tomar, or
Obidos and Nazare, or
Óbidos and Coimbra
Coimbra and Luso
Bussaco (or Buçaco) is a treasure located in the country's central region, only 30 minutes away from Coimbra!
Luso Portugal mountain water Luso Portugal Luso
The small town of Luso
What to do between Lisbon and Porto
Way of the Cross. As you follow the stations of the cross up the hillside, you'll pass a series of large shrines containing life-size terracotta figures of Christ, his disciples, and other characters in the Crucifixion story. This is if you enter the hillside from the hotel. We enjoy going to Cruz Alta by car and walking down the mountainside to view each of the replica houses and crosses. The hike terminates in the Cruz Alta, or High Cross, which offers views of the forested mountains and the Palace Hotel. There is a lot of graffiti along the path and at the top of Cruz Alta. If you go to the high point by car, it may feel as though you are lost but keep driving along the windy road passing boulders in a field and eucalyptus trees. The roads do not have shoulders or areas to pull over. Use caution. You will end up in a circle parking area. Parking is free. Walk up the steps to the top and be ready to take lots of pictures. You can see hilltops with trees and mountainsides with homes (Stations of the Cross). You can see for miles in each direction. Be prepared to hike on uneven paths and dirt. Bring water with you. After more than an hour of walking and hiking, you will arrive at Busaco. To view the homes, walk down the dirt and cobblestone steps. Carmelite Monastery. Most of the monastery was torn down during the construction of the royal summer palace, but a few portions remain--among them, a chapel and several of the old monks' cells, which are lined with cork for insulation against the winter cold. Bussaco's National Forest is a Protected Area planted by the Order of the “Carmelitas Descalços”, to whom these lands had been granted, at the beginning of the 17th Century, for them to build a spiritual retreat that included a convent. We have never stayed at the hotel, but I have viewed the rooms and entrance area. The hotel's rates are a bargain compared to hotels in the U.S. The rooms are huge, with plenty of dark wood, chandeliers, old-fashioned bathroom fixtures, and balconies to make you feel like a weekend guest at a stately home during the Edwardian era. A few miles away is Luso. You can stay there, get fresh water, walk the cobblestone streets, shop, eat, and relax.
What to do between Lisbon and Porto
There are many things to see and do in central Portugal. You can visit Busaco, Luso to get fresh water or go to a day spa.
Coimbra
Visit the Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro, not for the religious art, but for the amazing Roman arches underneath, which were built to create a platform for storing grain. Visiting the large University is a must. Stop by the Joanina Library and the lovely Science labs in the oldest University in Portugal (Laboratório Químico). Walk down through the old, cobblestone streets to the river, stopping on the way for lunch. Also, there is a café in the Museu Nacional Machado with a beautiful view.
Portugal Thoughts
Things I am glad I did on our first trip to Portugal
Visited Pena Palace
Prayed in Fatima
Swam in Faro, Algarve
Walked the southernmost part of Portugal, Sagres
Toured the port cellar of the Sandman
Saw big waves in Nazare
Sipped coffee in Chiado, Lisbon late at night
Ate a Pasteis de Nata
Walked across the bridges in Porto
Ate chocolate in Obidos at the Chocolate Festival
Strolled the Feira de São Mateus festival at night
Bought slippers at the top of Serra de Estrela mountain
Filled water jugs with fresh water from the Luso mountain
Sintra, Belém, Quinta da Regaleira, Cascais
Window shopped in Alfama, Lisbon at night
Bairro Alto street walk
Tram #28
Coimbra- toured the University and old Library
Luso, Bucaco Forest
Visited a local Cemetery after a Mass in a village town
Ate rotisserie chicken at a feira with Caldo verde soup
Things I am glad we did on our trips to Portugal
Exploring lesser-known places in Portugal
Benagil cave in Portimao, Algarve
Piedao
Train of scenic Porto and Douro
Albufeira
Porto overnight
Braga for a friendly soccer game: Portugal vs Spain
Tomar Tour, Alcobaça, Batalha
Praia São Martinho do Porto
1998 Expo Waterfront
Aquarium in Lisbon, Nations Park
Fado music in Chiado
Drive the old road EN2
Viseu mall Palacio de Gelo
Paiva Walkways and Suspension Bridge 516 Arouca
Evora
Visited the procession for the Lady of the Navigators in Viana da Castela
Berlengas near Peniche
Buddha Gardens
Dom Jesus
Lello Library near Porto
Penacova fluvial
Monte more o velho
See real storks near Fatima
Stayed in Quarteira, Algarve
See XXXL waves in Nazare
Praia da Rocha
Aveiro
Peniche
Chapel of Bones - Alcantarilha
Convent of Mafra
Things I want to do in Portugal
Azores
Madeira
Galicia
See a Benfica soccer Game
Stay in a castle
tuktuk
Take a boat tour to Morocco
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Our Facebook group
Month by Month in Portugal
September
Picking grapes, making wine, vindemas
8 Saint Eufemia
Caramulo Motorfest https://www.caramulo-motorfestival.com/pt/homepage/
13th Fatima
8th Ficabeira Arganil Summer Festa
Ficton Viseu Festa https://ficton.pt/
The Festas do São Paio in early September in Aveiro features a traditional boat race on the northern lagoon. (Murtosa) https://www.cm-murtosa.pt/p/saopaiodatorreira
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. noitebrancabraga.com
On the 8th, the festival of Nossa Senhora da Nazaré Romaria is Nazaré's biggest festival. Religious procession, bullfights, and folk dancing in the evenings.
On the last Sunday of the month, Porto's Nossa Senhora do Ó is a procession in honor of the pregnant Virgin, beginning at the church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade do Cais.
12th Ponte de Lima's Feiras Novas (New Fairs) is an ancient 3-day affair dating from 1125, with music, dancing, and processions
Held on the first Sunday of the month in Tomar, Nossa Senhora de Piedade features a candlelit procession of decorated floats. https://omirante.pt/cultura-e-lazer/2026-08-30-cirio-de-nossa-senhora-da-piedade-regressa-as-ruas-de-tomar-2688d49a
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. https://2026.fimp.pt/
In September, Porto hosts the Vinho Verde Wine Fest at the Customs House (Alfândega Do Porto) and Porto Blue Jazz in the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal. https://www.portobluesfest.pt/
Elvas hosts the Festas do Senhor da Piedade and the Feira de São Mateus in late September 18-22, 2026
October
In early October, Vila Franca de Xira hosts the Feira de Outubro. There is bull-running and a series of bullfights in the Praça de Touros Palha Blanco.
October 12-13: 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.
Harvest Chestnuts
November
Pick Olives: Harvest Olive oil
1st All Souls' Day (All Saints' Day) is a national holiday and is often celebrated with processions across the country on November 1. It commemorates Christian saints.
11th St. Martin's Day (Dia de São Martinho) in Portugal is celebrated on November 11th and marks the feast of Saint Martin of Tours
Porto Marathon
December
1st Independence Day
8th Immaculate Conception
25 Christmas
In Lisbon, Wonderland in Eduardo VII Park runs from November 28th to January 4th, 2026, with a huge Ferris wheel and an ecological ice rink.
Baixa, the Rossio Christmas Market runs until December 22nd, promising lots of fun for the whole family, plus traditional handicraft and gastronomy stalls.
Agueda, central Portugal, lights up for the holidays- great photos
Setúbal Natal, from November 29th to January 6th, 2026, features as its main highlight the market on Avenida Luísa Todi, offering regional products, handicrafts, gastronomy, Casa do Pai Natal (Father Christmas), a food court, and a program full of activities for the whole family
Viseu, central Portugal: Christmas Market, workshops, shows, and concerts for both kids and adults.
Obidos Christmas Village
January
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.
February
Carnival, depending on Easter, Mardi Gras
Portugal celebrates carnival nationwide, but large processions with floats, music, and feathered costumes are more famous in Lisbon, Loulé, Nazaré, and Viana do Castelo.
The Fantasporto International Film Festival is one of Portugal's oldest and longest-running film festivals. Porto
11th Lady of Lourdes
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 a historic festival now featuring folk and rock concerts.
Porto Interceltic Festival celebrates Celtic music from across Europe.
In Porto, on Passion Sunday (the second Sunday before Easter), a procession takes place near the church of Nossa Senhora da Esperança. 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.
8th St. John of God
17 St Patrick
19th St Joseph Father's Day
April
In Obidos, the Semana Santa celebrations are some of the most vivid in Portugal and last for two weeks. At night, torchlight processions take place, 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 blends Catholic and Jewish traditions in its unique Easter rites, while Portalegre ceremoniously burns straw figures of Judas.
Easter
13 th Fatima
Ascension Thursday (Quinta-feira da Ascensão / Dia da Espiga): A regional or traditional day occurring 40 days after Easter where people gather lucky field plants like wheat ears and olive branches
May
13th The Fatima romarias (pilgrimage) is held in Fatima to commemorate the anniversary of the Virgin Mary's apparition.
Festas das Cruzes runs for a week in Barcelos, with a procession and handicraft fair.
Faro International Music Festival runs through May/June.
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 beer and wine festival in Coimbra with parades, fado, and the burning of college gowns.
Porto too has its own version - the Queima das Fitas do Porto college festa
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 back to 1978.
31st Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Festa do Senhor de Matosinhos in Matosinhos, near Porto, is a religious festival that runs for around 3 weeks.
Braga Roman is a celebration of Braga's Roman past, when the city was known as Bracara Augusta
June
June in Portugal is a fun time to visit. Corpus Christi festivals, as well as the livelier Festa de Santo António in Lisbon and Festa de São João in Porto, take place.
The Corpo de Deus (Corpus Christi) festival, with processions, is celebrated across the country.
13th The Festa de Santo António in Lisbon celebrates the 'saint of love '
The Feira Afonsina, a Medieval fair in Guimarães, is in mid-June.
13th St Anthony of Padua
13th Lady of Fatima
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 (humorous)
23-24 Braga: 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 features 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 Parque da Bela Vista in Lisbon and 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
29 The Festa de São Pedro (Saint Peter) is celebrated in Porto
Porto hosts a beer festival at the Jardim do Passeio Alegre, Foz do Douro. The city also hosts the Serralves em Festa (Serralves Festival), an arts festival of dance, music, and theater at the Fundação Serralves.
The Porto Book Fair is held at the Rosa Mota Pavilion at the Palácio De Cristal.
Outdoor book Fair
The Regata dos Rabelos (Rabelo Boat Races) takes place on the River Douro, sponsored by the city's port wine producers.
29th Saint Peter and Paul
July
Aveiro celebrates its historic heritage of painted boats - moliceiros - mid-July to mid-August with races and general merrymaking.
Barcelos hosts the Festival de Folclore on the last Saturday of the month with traditional singing and dancing.
Porto Festival Internacional de Folclore Cidade do Porto (Porto International Folklore Festival)
13th Fatima
August
August in Portugal also offers several music and traditional religious festivals.
15-22, 2027: 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), and local music.
The Festas Gualterianas (St Walter) have been held in Guimarães on the first weekend of August since 1452.
The Festa São 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 Faro's cathedral square is a later-day civic seafood and beer festival focused on preserving the area's Rio Formosa lagoon. Free
The 10-day Silves Medieval Fair (Silves Feira Medieval) takes place in Silves, Algarve, with historical re-enactments, horse tournaments, period costumes, and lots of food and drink. https://feiramedievaldesilves.pt/
13th Fatima
14th: The Festa Nossa Senhora da Orada in Albufeira, when an image of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus is paraded around town and transported by boat. https://www.cm-albufeira.pt/evento/festa-em-honra-de-nossa-senhora-da-orada
20th, 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. https://www.quovadislisboa.com/en/liturgy/procissao-do-mar-cascais
The Feira de São Mateus in Viseu takes place from mid-August to its climax on September 21 (Dia do São Mateus). https://feirasaomateus.pt/
15th Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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