What's on in Lisbon (Lisboa), Portugal through the year

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Christmas and New Year

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Christmas and New Year (24 Dec – 1 Jan)

Busy — between the peaks, Carnival

• Festival

  Carnival

  14–17 FebCrowded

  A long weekend here rather than a spectacle, and Shrove Tuesday is a de facto holiday. The parades worth travelling for are in Torres Vedras and Loule, not the capital. Source ↗

Busy — between the peaks, Easter week

• Holiday

  Easter week

  29 Mar – 5 AprEaster & Holy Week

  Families leave for the villages for the week, so the city is quieter than the hotel prices suggest and the neighbourhood restaurants thin out. Source ↗

Still on: Carnival (14–17 Feb)

Busy — between the peaks, Easter week

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Easter week (29 Mar – 5 Apr)

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Jacaranda bloom

  15 May – 20 Jun · usually

  The avenues around Praca do Principe Real and Avenida Dom Carlos I go purple for a few weeks, usually from the second half of May. Source ↗

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Santos Populares

• Festival

  Santos Populares

  1–30 JunMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Street parties through Alfama, Graca and Madragoa all month, peaking on the night of 12 June for Santo Antonio: charcoal sardines, paper garlands and marches down Avenida da Liberdade. Source ↗

• Season

  The nortada

  15 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyWind seasonRisk

  The Atlantic north wind gets up most summer afternoons, which is why the city works early and why the beach at Guincho is for kitesurfers rather than sunbathing. Source ↗

Still on: Jacaranda bloom (15 May – 20 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Summer holidays in Portugal

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: The nortada (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Residents' holiday month

• Season

  Residents' holiday month

  1–31 AugSchool holidaysClosuresCrowded

  Family restaurants close for a fortnight and residents leave, at exactly the point visitor numbers are highest. Check that the place you were told about is actually open. Source ↗

• Season

  Sea at its warmest

  15 Aug – 10 Oct · usuallySea warm enough

  The Atlantic here is never warm, but it holds what heat it has into early autumn, and the Costa da Caparica beaches empty out after the first week of September. Source ↗

Still on: The nortada (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Summer holidays in Portugal

• Nature

  Grape harvest

  1 Sep – 15 Oct · usually

  The vintage runs in the estates up the Tagus and out towards Setubal, close enough to Lisbon to be a day out rather than a trip. Source ↗

Still on: The nortada (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Sea at its warmest (15 Aug – 10 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Sea at its warmest (15 Aug – 10 Oct (usually)), Grape harvest (1 Sep – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Web Summit

• Festival

  Web Summit

  9–12 NovMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Seventy thousand people arrive at Parque das Nacoes for four days and the whole city's hotel stock reprices around it. Avoid the week or book it months out. Source ↗

• Festival

  Sao Martinho

  11 NovMajor festival

  Roast chestnut braziers on the corners and the year's new wine, on the wettest stretch of the calendar and with nobody queueing for the tram. Source ↗

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Christmas and New Year

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year

  24 Dec – 1 JanChristmas & New YearClosures

  Salt cod on Christmas Eve and a centre that closes down between the holidays. Rua Augusta stays lit and most of the kitchens behind it do not. Source ↗