We suggest that you verify dates with a tourist office because festival dates can vary greatly from year to year. Sometimes last minute adjustments are made because of scheduling problems.

January
Festa de São Gonçalo e São Cristovão, Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Porto. These resemble fertility rites and are two of the most attended religious festivals in Portugal. An image of São Gonçalo is paraded through the narrow streets as merrymakers beat drums. Boatmen along the Douro ferry a figure of São Cristovão with a huge head down the river. Much port wine is drunk, and cakes baked into phallic shapes are consumed byall. Early January.

February/March
Carnaval (Mardi Gras),throughout the country, notably in Nazaré, Ovar, Loulé, and Funchal (Madeira). Each town has its unique way of celebrating. Masked marchers, flowerbedecked floats, and satirically decorated vehicles mark the occasion. Food and wine are consumed in abundance. This is the final festival before Lent. For more details, check with the Portuguese National Tourist Office (see “Visitor Information,” earlier). February or March.
Easter, all over Portugal. Some of the most noteworthy festivities take place at Póvoa de Varzim, Ovar, and especially the town of Braga, where Holy Week processions feature masked marchers and bejeweled floats along with fireworks, folk dancing, and torch parades. For more details, check with a Portuguese national tourist office (see “Visitor Information,” earlier).

May
Festas das Cruzes, Barcelos on the river Cávado, near Braga. Since 1504, this festival has been celebrated with a Miracle of the Cross procession centered on a carpet made of millions of flower petals. Women in colorful regional dress adorn themselves with large gold chains. A giant fireworks display on the river signals the festival’s end.
First pilgrimage of the year to Fátima.In 1930, the bishop of Leiria authorized pilgrimages to this site. Today people from all over the world flock here to commemorate the first apparition of the Virgin to the little shepherd children in 1917. The year’s last pilgrimage is in October (see below). Make hotel reservations months in advance, or plan to stay in a neighboring town. For more information, call the Fátima tourist office. Mid-May.

June
Feira Nacional da Agricultura (also known as the Feira do Ribatejo), Santarém, north of Lisbon on the river Tagus. This is the most important agricultural fair in Portugal. The best horses and cattle from all provinces are on display, and horse shows and bullfights enliven the festival. Food pavilions feature various regional cuisines. June 7 to 15.
Feast of St. John, Porto, home of the famous port wine. Honoring São João (St. John), this colorful festival features bonfires, all-night singing and dancing, and processions of locals in colorful costumes.
Festas dos Santos Populares, throughout Lisbon. Celebrations begin on June 13 and 14 in the Alfama, with feasts honoring Saint Anthony. Parades commemorating the city’s patron saint feature marchas (parading groups of singers and musicians) along Avenida da Liberdade, and there is plenty of singing, dancing, drinking wine, and eating grilled sardines. On June 23 and 24, for the Feast of St. John the Baptist, bonfires brighten the night and participants jump over them. The night of the final celebration is the Feast of St. Peter on June 29. The Lisbon.
Festas do São Pedro, Mintijo,near Lisbon. This festival honoring St. Peter has been held since medieval times. On the final day there’s a blessing of the boats and a colorful procession. Grilled sardines are the main item on the menu. Bull breeders bring their beasts into town and release them through the streets to chase foolish young men, who are often permanently injured or killed. There are also bullfights. On the final night, participants observe the pagan rite of setting a skiff afire and offering it as a sacrifice to the river Tagus.

July
Colete Encarnado (Red Waistcoat), Vila Franca de Xira, north of Lisbon on the river Tagus. Like the more famous feria in Pamplona, Spain, this festival involves bulls running through narrow streets, followed by sensational bullfights in what aficionados consider the best bullring in Portugal. Fandango dancing and rodeo-style competition among the Ribatejo campinos (cowboys) mark the event. First or second Sunday in July.
Estoril Festival. Outside Lisbon at the seaside resort of Estoril, this festival of classical music occupies two concert halls that were built for the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s first voyage to the New World. For information, write Associação Internacional de Música da Costa do Estoril, Casa Museu Verdades de Faria, Av. de Saboia, 2765–277 21/468-51-99; Monte Estoril ( fax 21/468-56-07; www.estorilfestival.net). Mid-July to first week in August (dates vary).

August
Feast of Our Lady of Monte, Madeira. On Assumption Eve and Day (Aug 14–15), the island’s most important religious festival begins with devout worship and climaxes in an outburst of fun. There’s music, dancing, eating, and general drinking and carousing until dawn.
Festas da Senhora da Agonia, Viana do Castelo, at the mouth of the river Lima, north of Porto. The most spectacular festival in the north honors Our Lady of Suffering. A replica of the Virgin is carried through the streets over carpets of flowers. The bishop directs a procession of fishers to the sea to bless the boats. Float-filled parades mark the 5-day-and-night event as a time of revelry and celebration. A blaze of fireworks ends the festival.

September
Romaria da Nossa Senhora de Nazaré, Nazaré, Portugal’s most famed fishing village. The event (Our Lady of Nazaré Festival) includes folk dancing, singing, and bullfights. The big attraction is the procession carrying the image of Nossa Senhora de Nazaré down to the sea. Early to Mid-September.

October
Last Pilgrimage of the Year to Fátima. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world descend on Fátima to mark the occasion of the last apparition of the Virgin, which is said to have occurred on October 12, 1917.