Porto Events by Season: Festivals and Confirmed Dates

Almost every guide agrees on the same year. São João on the night of 23 to 24 June comes first, then the Queima das Fitas student week, the Christmas lights, Primavera Sound, Fantasporto, Serralves em Festa and the wine fair Essência do Vinho. Roam Porto read 21 guides in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, from travel publishers and independent blogs, and ordered the picks below by how many name them.

Every date on this page comes from the organiser’s own page or the city’s. Where a 2027 date isn’t published yet, the text says so, so check the organiser before you book anything. The guides read are often a year or two out of date, which is why none of their dates are used here.

To see what’s on for your own dates, open the events page and live music, or the map to see events by place. Months have their own pages too, from June to December.

The short list

Summer: São João and the festival season

São João is recommended by 18 of 21 guides read, the only pick nearly all of them name.

São João is the patron saint night, and it’s the one date worth planning a trip around. Hotels fill, so read where to stay in Porto early. The city’s 2026 programme announced a fireworks show at midnight, lasting 12 minutes between the Luís I and Arrábida bridges (Porto city). The 2027 programme isn’t published. The night of 23 to 24 June is the usual date, not a confirmed one.

Across the river, Gaia runs its own. Its page for 2025 lists a midnight fireworks and music show on the same night, with a concert at Cais de Gaia from 22:00, and a Rabelo boat regatta on 24 June (Gaia). Three guides send you to that regatta.

Primavera Sound is recommended by 9 of 21 guides read.

Primavera Sound Porto is listed for 10 to 13 June 2027 at the Parque da Cidade (Primavera Sound).

Serralves em Festa is recommended by 7 of 21 guides read.

Serralves em Festa is a free arts weekend in the Serralves Park. The 2026 edition was its 20th and ran 29 to 31 May as 50 continuous hours of music, dance, theatre, circus, film and workshops (Serralves). The 2027 dates weren’t on the Serralves site on 7 November. Keep the end of May or the start of June open.

MEO Marés Vivas is recommended by 5 of 21 guides read.

The guides place this pop and rock festival in Gaia. News reports say it has moved to Matosinhos and dropped part of its name, so look for the organiser’s own page before you plan around it.

The Queima das Fitas is the university students’ week, named by 10 guides. Its dates change each year and the student federation sets them, so use the May page as the programme appears. The Noites Ritual concerts at the Palácio de Cristal gardens are named by 4 guides, and the July and August pages show what’s on.

Autumn: marathon and film

The marathon is recommended by 6 of 21 guides read, Porto/Post/Doc by 4.

The EDP Maratona do Porto is on Sunday 8 November 2026 with a 42 km marathon, a 10 km and a 6 km, starting at 08:00. The organiser says the 42 km and 10 km are sold out (Maratona do Porto).

Porto/Post/Doc is the documentary and cinema of the real festival. It runs 19 to 28 November 2026.

If it rains, the weather guide has the numbers. The November page lists the rest.

Winter: Christmas, New Year and the wine fair

Christmas is recommended by 10 of 21 guides read, New Year’s Eve by 5 and Essência do Vinho by 6.

Casa da Música runs a Christmas series from 12 to 22 December 2026. The Nutcracker is on 18 and 19 December (Casa da Música). Venue details are on the Casa da Música page. The city’s own Christmas lights and market programme for 2026 wasn’t on the pages read, so look at porto.pt in November.

New Year’s Eve is on Avenida dos Aliados. The city’s page for a recent New Year’s Eve lists a show from 22:00, fireworks as the year changes, and a New Year concert by the Banda Sinfónica Portuguesa on 1 January (Porto city). The programme for 31 December 2026 isn’t published yet.

Essência do Vinho runs 18 to 21 February 2027 at the Palácio da Bolsa, with 4,000 wines from 500 producers, according to the organiser (Essência do Vinho).

Fantasporto, the 47th Porto International Film Festival, is at the Batalha Centro de Cinema from 26 February to 7 March 2027 (Fantasporto). It’s named by 9 guides.

Epiphany on 6 January, the Dia de Reis, comes up in 4 guides. The December, January and February pages have the rest.

Spring

Fantasporto runs into the first week of March. After that, the picks are the Queima das Fitas and Serralves em Festa in May, and the March and April pages show the theatre, dance and exhibitions as venues publish them.

Less common picks

Smaller events named by three guides each include the FITEI Iberian theatre festival, the Rabelo boat regatta, the Feira do Livro do Porto, Simplesmente Vinho, Porto Blues Fest, Festival Ritmos do Mundo and the Festa do Senhor de Matosinhos. Dates change each year, so check the events page.

For what to do between events, see things to do in Porto, and for a day out of town, the day trips guide.

Places in this guide

Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.

Casa da Música Boavista Photo: Vitor Oliveira Palácio da Bolsa Ribeira Photo: Vitor Oliveira