Portugal keeps thirteen national holidays plus a municipal day for each city — Lisbon on 13 June, Porto on 24 June — and the municipal one is a genuine day off locally even though it appears on no national list.

How people take the days

Midweek holidays produce the classic ponte: one day of leave bridging to the weekend. When 25 April or 1 May lands on a Tuesday or Thursday, expect thin offices and busy motorways. August is the real shutdown month for small businesses, especially outside Lisbon and Porto.

If you're visiting

Cafés, restaurants and tourist sites stay open on almost every holiday; supermarkets often run shorter hours and banks close completely. Public transport drops to Sunday timetables, which matters most for regional buses.

If you live here

Four holidays suspended during the bailout years were restored in 2016, so older calendars are wrong. If a holiday falls on a weekend it is simply lost — there is no substitute day in Portuguese law.

What these days actually mean

Observance, business closures and transport impact for the next few dates.

Republic Day

5 Oct 2026

Public

Observance: Marks the 1910 revolution that deposed King Manuel II and established the Portuguese Republic. A quiet civic date rather than a street holiday.
Business: Banks and public offices close; most shops open.
Transport: Sunday timetables.

Written for this country

All Saints Day

1 Nov 2026

Public

Observance: Families visit cemeteries with flowers and candles. Quiet and reflective rather than festive.
Business: Banks and most shops closed in Catholic-majority countries; florists do their busiest day of the year.
Transport: Extra services to cemeteries; heavy intercity travel over the weekend.

Restoration of Independence

1 Dec 2026

Public

Observance: Commemorates 1 December 1640, when a Lisbon coup ended sixty years of Spanish rule and put the House of Braganza on the throne. Restored as a holiday in 2016 after being suspended during the bailout years.
Business: Banks and public services close; retail in the cities largely trades as normal.
Transport: Sunday services. Combined with 8 December it often produces a heavily travelled bridge week.

Written for this country

Immaculate Conception

8 Dec 2026

Public

Observance: Officially recognised as a public holiday, so most people have the day off work.
Business: Expect offices, banks and the majority of shops to be closed.
Transport: Public transport usually runs a Sunday or holiday timetable.

General guidance based on this day's official classification, not country-specific reporting.

PTPortugal · 2026

Bridge days worth booking

How the holiday year works in Portugal

The calendar

How people take the days

If you're visiting

If you live here

What these days actually mean

Republic Day

All Saints Day

Restoration of Independence

Immaculate Conception

Portugal · 2026