Portugal Carnival Mardi Gras Easter February March April- Carnival Fat Tuesday Portugal
Portugal and the Portuguese celebrate Carnival with gusto.
Celebrated before Lent begins, Carnival usually falls in February or sometimes early March, depending on the religious calendar.
February 17, 2026: Carnival Fat Tuesday, Portugal
FAT Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday or 47 days before Easter Sunday, is a national holiday and the main day of the annual festivities.
Portugal celebrates Carnival nationwide with parades, music, food, confetti, costumes, and fancy dress.
One of Portugal's most traditional and bizarre carnival celebrations takes place in the village of Podence in the Trás-os-Montes region of northeastern Portugal. Men in the area dress in colorful, homemade, woolen, hooded costumes in red, green, and yellow, with red masks made from wood/leather. Around their waists, on leather belts, they wear an assortment of metal rattles and bells
Carnival traveled with the Portuguese to their former colony of Brazil. The Rio Carnival and its dances are now one of the world's most famous carnival events, along with Mardi Gras
This is our 1st time in Portugal for Carnival. We're experiencing Carnival in Cabanas do Viriato in central Portugal. My husband's grandfather was born in this town.
My son spent many years here for carnival when he was small. Pictured below is my son and his Portuguese grandfather, Eduardo
Figueira do Foz has an annual Carnaval on Fat Tuesday. It costs € 4 per person to enter the blocked-off street. There were plenty of staff and police. The crowd was large but very peaceful. The audience consisted of families and seniors. The parade started with loud music.
Are stores open during Easter 2026 in Portugal?
Good Friday is a public holiday in Portugal. Easter Sunday is a family day and also a public holiday, so most shops will be closed. Easter Monday is not officially a public holiday, but people often take the day off so they can spend more time with family
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Portugal Carnival Mardi Gras Easter February March April
In 2026, Portugal will observe Daylight Saving Time (DST) by moving clocks forward one hour on March 29 and backward one hour on October 25. This means that Portugal is only 4 hours ahead of us in the US EST for 3 weeks.
Portugal Carnival Mardi Gras Easter February March April
Portugal Carnival Mardi Gras Easter February March April
Get ready for the 2027 Mardi Gras celebration in Portugal.
You don't want to miss it. The best parades are in Figueira do Foz beach.
Key Carnival Dates in 2027
Main Carnival Weekend: February 6 – 9, 2027
Carnival Tuesday (Mardi Gras): February 9, 2027 (observed locally as an optional or municipal holiday rather than a universal national public holiday)
Extended Regional Festivals: Destinations like Madeira Carnival host events running from February 3 through February 14, 2027. Figueira do Foz Praia is amazing.
The Samba Parades: Figueira da Foz has a deep-rooted connection to Brazilian-style samba. You can expect a major nighttime parade featuring professional samba schools (such as the local school A Rainha), alongside the grand daytime Grande Corso Carnavalesco parade featuring brightly colored floats, satirical masks, and thousands of dancers.
No Tickets Needed for the Streets: Like most traditional Portuguese street Carnivals,
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Figueira do Foz
Easter, or Holy Week as it is also known, is an important time for the Portuguese. It's the perfect time to visit and experience Portugal's unique cultural traditions. Several torchlight processions take place throughout villages across Portugal. Small villages host festivals, processions, and mass. Leave the big cities and enter a small village for Easter. You will have so much fun. Portugal Carnival Mardi Gras Easter February March April
Easter breaks in Portugal: top destinations for Holy Week...
Braga: Portugal's religious capital during Semana Santa.
Óbidos: medieval drama and candlelit processions.
Porto: reflective ceremonies by the Douro.
Lisbon: understated but deeply local.
Algarve: southern traditions with spring warmth.
northern Portugal
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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