Portugal public holidays 2026: the 13 dates and the history behind them

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title: "Portugal public holidays 2026: the 13 dates and the history behind them"
description: "Portugal public holidays 2026: the 13 dates and the history behind them"
tags: []

canonical_url: https://public-holidays.shop/en/blog/guide/portugal-public-holidays

canonical_url: https://public-holidays.shop/en/blog/guide/portugal-public-holidays

If you are planning a trip to Portugal, or you work with a remote Portuguese team, the holiday calendar matters more than people expect. Here is the full 2026 list, plus why four of the dates are straight-up history lessons.

Portugal observes 13 nationwide public holidays in 2026. From New Year's Day to Christmas, with two extra municipal days that only apply in Lisbon and Porto. The full table:

Date	English	Portuguese
Jan 1	New Year's Day	Ano Novo
Apr 3	Good Friday	Sexta-Feira Santa
Apr 5	Easter Sunday	Domingo de Pascoa
Apr 25	Freedom Day	Dia da Liberdade
May 1	Labour Day	Dia do Trabalhador
Jun 4	Corpus Christi	Corpo de Deus
Jun 10	Portugal Day	Dia de Portugal
Aug 15	Assumption	Assuncao de Nossa Senhora
Oct 5	Republic Day	Implantacao da Republica
Nov 1	All Saints' Day	Todos os Santos
Dec 1	Restoration of Independence	Restauracao da Independencia
Dec 8	Immaculate Conception	Imaculada Conceicao
Dec 25	Christmas Day	Natal

What I find interesting is how many of these remember a specific moment. Four are commemorations:

• April 25, Freedom Day (Dia da Liberdade), marks the 1974 Carnation Revolution that ended the dictatorship, mostly without bloodshed.
• June 10, Portugal Day (Dia de Portugal), honors the poet Luis de Camoes, who died on that date in 1580, and Portuguese communities worldwide.
• October 5, Republic Day, marks the 1910 proclamation of the First Portuguese Republic.
• December 1, Restoration of Independence, remembers 1640, when Portugal broke from Spanish rule.

For planning, May 1 lands on a Friday, so you get a free three-day weekend. Good Friday (April 3) and Corpus Christi (June 4) both sit well for a bridge day. December 1 and 8 are Wednesdays, which makes them classic bridge-day candidates if you can spare a vacation day.

Lisbon and Porto add their own patron days: Santo Antonio on June 13, Sao Joao on June 24. These are local only, so the rest of the country stays open. If you are in either city on those nights, the street parties are the highlight of the year.

I keep a live version of this on public-holidays.shop, where you can open the Portugal page, compare with other countries, or jump to Brazil's holidays to see the Portuguese-speaking neighbor.