Christmas and New Year in Porto

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A December trip to Porto raises two practical questions: what the city puts on for Christmas, and where to be when the year turns. Porto answers both in the centre. For five weeks the city runs a free programme of lights, markets, concerts and street entertainment, and on 31 December it holds a free party on the Avenida dos Aliados, with concerts and fireworks at midnight.

The 2025-26 season ran from 29 November to 3 January, and the lights stayed up until 6 January. The 2026-27 programme is published by the city closer to the season, and last season's is the pattern to plan with: a switching-on with a big concert at the end of November, a Christmas market with a free ice rink through December, a street race between Christmas and New Year, and a final day of folk songs in early January.

The season has five parts: the lights and their hours, the market and the rink, the concerts, New Year's Eve with its access rules, and the weather a winter visitor has to dress for.

The lights and the switching-on

The common mistake is to arrive on a weekday evening at nine and find the lights off by eleven, or to expect them all night. The lights run on set hours.

In 2025-26 the city's Christmas lights were on from 29 November to 6 January. From Sunday to Thursday they were lit from 17:30 to 23:00, and on Friday and Saturday from 17:30 until midnight.

The season opened on Saturday 29 November on the Avenida dos Aliados. At 18:00 a video-mapping show with light and fireworks, "Missão Nutcrackers", was projected onto the facade of the City Hall, telling the story of a clockmaker of the Clérigos tower whose toys come to life to bring the light of Christmas back to the city. At 18:30 the fado singer Mariza gave a concert with the Orquestra Jovens do Porto.

Further concerts followed on the Aliados at 18:00 through December, with Portuguese acts such as Capitão Fausto and Vizinhos. Every show on the Aliados had Portuguese Sign Language interpretation.

For a visitor, the switching-on weekend is the most festive time to arrive, and any evening from late November to early January shows the lights.

The market, the ice rink and the carousel

Families often plan to pay for a rink and a ride. In Porto both were free in 2025-26, with a few rules worth knowing before arriving with children.

The Christmas Market filled the Jardim de João Chagas, the Cordoaria garden, from 29 November to 30 December, with traders and craftspeople selling Christmas gifts. It opened Monday to Thursday from 11:00 to 20:00, on Friday and the eve of a holiday from 11:00 to 21:00, on Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00, and on Sunday and holidays from 10:00 to 20:00. It closed on 24 and 25 December.

Santa's house stood inside the market, where children could meet him on set afternoons from 15:00 to 18:00.

On the Largo do Amor de Perdição, beside the garden, a natural ice rink was free to use. Each session was individual and limited to 30 minutes, and a voucher had to be collected on the same day at the information point. The rink kept the market's hours and closed on 24 and 25 December too.

A Parisian carousel next to it was free for children aged 3 to 12, first come, first served, and a Christmas tent on the same square held concerts through the season.

The practical advice is to collect the rink voucher early on a busy day, then walk the market while waiting.

Beyond the centre: markets and street shows

The mistake is to think the season lives only on the Aliados. The city's programme spreads through the neighbourhoods, and much of it happens in the streets.

In 2025-26 street bands, circus and theatre played in squares and markets across Porto, from Campanhã to Foz. Brass bands, dixieland groups and street theatre inspired by the Nutcracker appeared on set dates at places such as the Praça de Carlos Alberto, the Praça da Batalha and the Sé.

Seasonal markets added their own reasons to wander: the craft market in the Praça da Batalha, the Mercadinho da Ribeira by the river, the Mercado das Artes on the Avenida de D. Afonso Henriques and the Mercado da Foz. The Mercado do Bolhão took part in the programme as well.

Folk groups and choirs of the city sang in the Christmas Market on weekday evenings in early December.

For a visitor with a free afternoon, the city's printed programme lists each show by date, time and place, and the Ágora site, the city's culture company, publishes it along with the New Year's Eve plan.

Between Christmas and New Year

Travellers arriving after Christmas sometimes expect the season to be over. The week between the two holidays has its own events.

The São Silvestre Cidade do Porto, a street race, reached its 31st edition on 28 December 2025 at 18:00, starting and finishing on the Avenida dos Aliados. Alongside the 10 km race runs a 5 km walk without competition.

The Christmas Market stayed open until 30 December, and the ice rink with it, so the days between the holidays are still a good time for families.

The season closes after New Year. On Saturday 3 January 2026, from 15:00 to 18:00, folk groups of the city went out to sing the Janeiras, the traditional New Year songs, on set routes through the streets, one of them from the Terreiro da Sé down to the Aliados.

The lights stayed on until 6 January, the feast of the Epiphany.

The last days of December are also the time to decide how to spend New Year's Eve, because the centre changes shape that evening.

The week between the holidays has its own events.

New Year's Eve on the Aliados

The mistake is to plan the night like an ordinary evening out, with a taxi to the door. The centre is closed to traffic, and the party has rules of access.

For the arrival of 2026, the city's party returned to the Avenida dos Aliados. It began at 22:00 with a concert by Clã. At midnight a multimedia show and fireworks, designed by Grandpa's Studio, ran for 11 minutes. At 00:30 Nininho Vaz Maia took the stage, followed by a DJ set by Beatbombers. All of it was free.

Traffic in the Baixa was closed from 19:00 on 31 December until 07:00 on 1 January. Access to the Aliados and the concert area was on foot only, through six marked entry points with security searches, to keep out objects such as glass and fireworks. Around the City Hall no one was allowed from 21:30 to 01:00, because the fireworks were launched there.

The city asked everyone to come early and use public transport, and the metro and the buses ran extra services. Fares and zones are on Metro do Porto.

The advice that follows is simple: leave glass behind, arrive before the 22:00 concert, walk the last part, and agree a meeting point in case a group is separated in the crowd.

The centre closes to traffic, and the party has rules of access.

Winter weather and what to pack

The mistake is to trust the mild daytime figures and forget the rain. December is the wettest month in Porto.

December averages a high of 14.4 °C (58 °F) and a low of 6.9 °C (44 °F), with 181.0 mm of rain and 124 hours of sunshine across the month. January is a little colder, with a high of 13.8 °C (57 °F), a low of 5.2 °C (41 °F) and 147.1 mm of rain.

A night outdoors on 31 December means hours near the low, so a warm coat, a hat and a waterproof layer belong in the plan.

The lights, the market and the concerts are all outdoors, so the wettest days are the ones to fill with the city's museums, a Port lodge across the river in Gaia or an evening of fado.

The weather pages for December and January have the rest of each month.

Planning a December trip

Choose the dates first. The switching-on weekend at the end of November, the market days in December and New Year's Eve are three different trips.

Check the new programme. The 2026-27 season will have its own dates and names, and the city publishes them closer to the season.

For families, plan around 24 and 25 December, when the market, the rink and the carousel closed in 2025-26.

For New Year's Eve, book a room within walking distance of the Baixa if the party is the reason for the trip, since the centre is closed to traffic from the early evening.

Porto charges a tourist tax of 3 euros per person per night, for at most seven nights, collected by the accommodation.

Bring layers and rain gear, and keep a museum or a lodge visit in reserve for a wet day.

For the rest of the year's events, the festivals of Porto page lists them month by month.

Common questions

When are the Christmas lights on in Porto?

In 2025-26 from 29 November to 6 January, Sunday to Thursday 17:30-23:00 and Friday and Saturday 17:30 to midnight.

Is the ice rink in Porto free?

Yes. The natural ice rink on the Largo do Amor de Perdição was free, 30 minutes per person, with a voucher collected on the day at the information point.

What happens in Porto on New Year's Eve?

A free party on the Avenida dos Aliados: a concert from 22:00, a multimedia show and 11 minutes of fireworks at midnight, then more music after 00:30.

Can I drive to the Aliados on New Year's Eve?

No. Traffic in the Baixa was closed from 19:00 on 31 December to 07:00 on 1 January, and access to the Aliados was on foot through six points with security searches.