In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The city’s lights and market are on Avenida dos Aliados and in the Cordoaria. In 2025 the lights went on at 18:00 on Saturday 29 November, 94 streets were lit, and the Christmas market in the Cordoaria ran until 30 December. 25 December is the one day of the year the Gaia cable car shuts, and Livraria Lello and the Igreja de São Francisco shut too. Christmas Eve 2026 is a Thursday and Christmas Day a Friday. December is wet: 153.3 mm over 12.4 days. Or book a day out of the rain: the Porto: Douro Valley with Boat Tour, Wine Tasting & Lunchad is from €55 for 7 to 10 hours.
The lights and the programme
The Câmara Municipal do Porto announces each year’s programme. The 2025 programme, as the Câmara gave it to the press (24 Notícias), ran from 29 November 2025 to 3 January 2026, with Avenida dos Aliados and the Cordoaria as the main stages.
Christmas lights on the InterContinental hotel in Praça da Liberdade. Photo: Sergei Gussev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
- The opening, Saturday 29 November 2025 at 18:00. The lights were switched on, with a giant tree at Praça do General Humberto Delgado and a video-mapping show on the City Hall, “Missão Nutcrackers, O Natal Chega à Cidade”. Mariza played with the Orquestra Jovens do Porto at 18:30. In 2024 the lights went on on Saturday 30 November.
- Free concerts on Avenida dos Aliados through December 2025: Capitão Fausto on 7 December, Vizinhos on 14 December, Desporto no Bairro on 20 December and Rita Rocha on 21 December, each at 18:00 and each with Portuguese Sign Language.
- 94 streets lit, the same number as the year before, with a municipal investment of €700,000. The lights were on from 17:30 to 23:00 from Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and stayed up until the Dia de Reis, 6 January.
Sunrise and sunset on 21 December are about 07:56 and 17:08.
The Christmas market
Jardim de João Chagas, Cordoaria · until 30 December in 2025
In 2025 the market was open Monday to Thursday from 11:00 to 20:00, Friday and the days before holidays from 11:00 to 21:00, and Sundays and holidays from 10:00 to 20:00. Round it stood the Casa do Pai Natal, the house of Father Christmas, a Tenda de Cristal for children’s workshops and a Tenda de Natal with circus, dance and music.
What closes
| Place | 24 December | 25 December | 1 January |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torre dos Clérigos | 09:00 to 14:00 | 11:00 to 19:00 | 11:00 to 19:00 |
| Livraria Lello | Open | Closed | Closed |
| Igreja de São Francisco | Open | Closed | Open |
| Gaia cable car | Open | Closed | Open |
| Taylor’s port lodge | 10:00 to 17:00 | 12:00 to 18:00 | 12:00 to 18:00 |
| Cockburn’s port lodge | Open | Closed | Closed |
| Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis | Open | Closed | Closed |
| Museu do Porto sites | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| World of Discoveries | Open | Closed | Closed |
| FC Porto museum | 10:00 to 15:00 | Closed | Closed |
The Sé and its museum close at Christmas, according to the diocese. The Mercado do Bolhão is closed on Sundays and holidays: see where to eat in Porto. The Gaia cable car is closed on Christmas Day only. The tickets and the hours of each are in Livraria Lello tickets, the Torre dos Clérigos, the Igreja de São Francisco and Porto’s port wine cellars. The museums are in Porto’s museums. Many small restaurants close for days around Christmas, so ring ahead.
A fruit stall dressed for Christmas in the Mercado do Bolhão. Photo: Joseolgon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
The weather
December’s mean high at the airport station is 14.7 °C and the low 7.6 °C, with 153.3 mm of rain on 12.4 wet days, according to the Portuguese weather service IPMA’s averages for 1991 to 2020. The rain is the reason to plan indoor hours: the museums are in Porto’s museums, and the cellars and the Douro trips are in the Douro Valley day trip. The Douro flooded parts of Ribeira and Miragaia on 6 February 2026: see where to stay in Porto.
Where to stay
The lights are on the Avenida dos Aliados, so the hotels in Baixa and Aliados put you beside them: see where to stay in Porto. The New Year’s party is on the same avenue: see New Year’s Eve in Porto.
Plan the rest
For the rest of the year, see the best time to visit Porto, and for the summer night, São João in Porto. Porto in 2 days shows how to fit the sights round the closures. For Lisbon’s Christmas, see Christmas in Lisbon.
Common questions
When are the Christmas lights switched on in Porto?
On a Saturday in the last days of November. The lights were switched on at 18:00 on Saturday 29 November 2025, after Saturday 30 November in 2024. In 2025 the programme ran from 29 November 2025 to 3 January 2026, with a giant tree at Praça do General Humberto Delgado and a video-mapping show on the City Hall.
Where is the Christmas market in Porto?
In 2025 it stood in the Jardim de João Chagas, in the Cordoaria, until 30 December. It was open Monday to Thursday from 11:00 to 20:00, Friday and the days before holidays from 11:00 to 21:00, and Sundays and holidays from 10:00 to 20:00, with a Casa do Pai Natal and a children's workshop tent.
How many streets are lit for Christmas in Porto?
In 2025, 94 streets, the same as the year before, at a municipal cost of €700,000. The lights were on from 17:30 to 23:00 from Sunday to Thursday, until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and kept up until the Dia de Reis, 6 January.
What is closed on Christmas Day in Porto?
The Gaia cable car, which closes on no other day, the Igreja de São Francisco, Livraria Lello and Cockburn's port lodge. The Torre dos Clérigos opens only from 11:00 to 19:00, and the Sé and its museum close at Christmas, according to the diocese.
Is Christmas Day a holiday in Porto?
Yes, a national holiday. In 2026 Christmas Eve is a Thursday and Christmas Day a Friday.
What is the weather like in Porto in December?
A mean high of 14.7 °C and a low of 7.6 °C, with 153.3 mm of rain on 12.4 wet days, according to the Portuguese weather service IPMA's 1991 to 2020 averages for the airport station. Sunset on 21 December is about 17:08.
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