Christmas in Lisbon 2026: markets, lights and what locals do

Christmas in Lisbon is a family holiday first and a street party second. From late November the Baixa and Chiado are covered in lights, there is a big free market on the hill above Marquês de Pombal, and every pastry shop window fills up with bolo-rei. Then on the evening of 24 December the city goes quiet for a few hours, because almost everyone is at home eating salt cod with their family.

This guide covers what happens on each date, what is open and closed, and what changed in 2026. The city has not announced the 2026 programme yet (it normally does in the first half of November), so where we give dates they are the 2025 ones, which have followed the same pattern for three years.

Christmas lights in Lisbon

The lights are switched on at a free show in Praça do Comércio, next to a 30 metre Christmas tree. In 2025 that was Saturday 22 November at 18:30, with an orchestra and the fado singer Sara Correia. In 2024 it was Saturday 23 November, also at 18:30. The 2026 date is not announced, but a Saturday in the second half of November is a safe guess.

After the switch-on the lights come on every evening at 17:30, which is right when it gets dark, and they stay up until 6 January. In 2025 they ran until midnight from Sunday to Thursday, until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and until 02:00 on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

In 2025 there were 182 km of lights in 46 locations. The walk most people do takes about an hour and goes like this:

• Praça do Comércio for the big tree, with the river behind it.
• Rua Augusta, which had glowing trees and clouds overhead. You enter it under the Rua Augusta Arch.
• Rua do Ouro, with golden clouds and stars.
• Rua do Carmo, a tunnel of light arches with music, and then Rua Garrett up into Chiado.
• Praça Luís de Camões, where the city puts its largest installation.

Rossio, Avenida da Liberdade, Campo Pequeno and Amoreiras are lit too. If you have seen photos of a video projection on the arch in Praça do Comércio, that was years ago. It was not in the 2025 programme and nobody has promised one for 2026.

Lisbon Christmas markets

Lisbon is not Vienna, and the markets here are newer and smaller than in central Europe. What you get instead is a Ferris wheel under a blue sky and roasted chestnuts sold from carts on every corner. These are the ones worth your time, with the dates they ran last season.

Wonderland Lisboa

Wonderland Lisboa is the main one. It sits at the bottom of Parque Eduardo VII, a short walk from Marquês de Pombal, and has a Ferris wheel, an ice rink, a house where children meet Father Christmas, a giant tree and rows of craft and food stalls. Entry is free and you pay per ride. The last published prices were €6 for the Ferris wheel and €5 for the ice rink, the bumper cars or the carousel. It gets very busy on weekend evenings, so go on a weekday afternoon if you can. The organisers say more than a million people visited in 2024.

Rossio Christmas Market

The Rossio market is the one you will walk into without planning to, because it fills the main square of the Baixa. In 2025 it doubled its number of wooden huts and ran a free little Christmas train through the downtown streets. Keep in mind that it closed on 21 December, so it is over before Christmas itself. A glass of ginjinha from one of the old bars on the corner of the square costs very little and goes well with the cold.

Campo Pequeno

This one is for shopping. About 80 Portuguese brands sell design, ceramics, toys, books and food over two long weekends, from 11:00 to 21:00. Entry was €2 in 2025, taken off your bill if you spent €10 or more.

Christmas day trips: Óbidos, Sintra and Cascais

The walled town of Óbidos, about an hour north, turns the area inside its castle into a Christmas village with an ice ramp, a carousel and a small train. In 2025 tickets were €10 for adults and €8 for children aged 3 to 11. It closed at 18:00 on 24 and 31 December and was shut on 25 December and 1 January.

Sintra runs a free programme called Sintra Mágica, based in Parque da Liberdade, with shows from Thursday to Sunday. If you plan to visit Pena Palace on the same day, book a timed ticket in advance (€20 for adults) and check the holiday hours first. In past years the Sintra palaces closed on 25 December and 1 January and shut at lunchtime on the 24th and 31st.

Cascais has the most complete Christmas village for children. In 2025 it opened on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and the days around Christmas from 11:00 to 21:30, and tickets cost €12 for children and over 65s and €14 for everyone else.

What locals do on 24 and 25 December

The big meal is on Christmas Eve and it is called the Consoada. The dish is bacalhau cozido com todos, which is boiled salt cod with potatoes, cabbage, carrot and a hard-boiled egg, all covered in olive oil and garlic. It is plain on purpose. The table then fills with fried sweets such as rabanadas (a kind of French toast) and filhós.

Many families then go to the Missa do Galo, the midnight mass. At the Sé Cathedral it is led by the Patriarch of Lisbon. Start times vary from church to church and not all of them begin at midnight any more, so check on the door a day or two before.

Lunch on the 25th is a second big family meal, these days usually roast turkey or roast kid. In the afternoon people go out for a walk to see the lights, and that is when the centre fills up again.

Bolo-rei and where to buy it

Bolo-rei is a ring of sweet bread with candied fruit and nuts, eaten from early December until 6 January (Dia de Reis). The place to try it is Confeitaria Nacional on Praça da Figueira, the shop that brought the recipe to Lisbon in the 1870s, where it cost €29 a kilo in 2025. Pastelaria Aloma in Campo de Ourique won the best bolo-rei award in 2024 and 2025 and sells it for less (€21.95 a kilo). Bénard in Chiado and Versailles in Saldanha are the other classic names. You can buy a small one or ask for a slice with your coffee. For more on local food, see our guide to what to eat in Lisbon.

What is open on 24 and 25 December

This is where most visitors get caught out. Christmas Eve is a normal morning and then everything winds down from mid afternoon. In 2026 the 24th is a Thursday and the 25th a Friday.

• Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower: closed on 25 December and 1 January, and every Monday. In 2024 the government also closed all state monuments and museums on 24 and 31 December. That is decided each December, so do not leave Belém for Christmas Eve.
• São Jorge Castle: closed on 24 and 25 December and on 1 January. On 31 December it closes at lunchtime.
• Oceanário: open every day of the year. On 24 December it opens from 10:00 to 19:00 and on 25 December from 11:00 to 20:00. It is the best plan for Christmas Day with children.
• Restaurants: most traditional places close on the evening of the 24th and many stay shut on the 25th. Hotel restaurants are the reliable option, and you need to book. Ask for the price when you reserve, because Christmas menus are fixed.
• Metro: in 2025 the metro ran until 01:00 on Christmas Eve for the first time and restarted at 06:30. The year before it had closed at 22:00. The operator confirms the timetable a few days before, so check around 22 December. Buses and trams run a reduced service on the night of the 24th and on the 25th.

Christmas concerts and the São Silvestre run

The city runs a programme of free concerts in churches and historic buildings in December. In 2025 it included baroque music at São Vicente de Fora, a fado night with Katia Guerreiro and Cristina Branco, and a gospel choir inside the National Pantheon. Tickets are free and are handed out at the venue 90 minutes before the start. The 2026 list should appear in November.

The CCB in Belém hosts the main classical Christmas concert, which in 2025 was on 21 December with tickets from €21 to €35.

The one date already confirmed for 2026 is the São Silvestre de Lisboa, a 10 km night run on Saturday 26 December at 21:30 that starts and finishes on Avenida da Liberdade. About 12,500 people ran it last year, and it is fun to watch even if you are not running.

What changed in 2026

• Belém Tower is open again. It reopened on 27 May 2026 after more than a year of works. Entry is now by timed slot with a limit of 900 visitors a day, and tickets cost €15. Book online before you go.
• The old funiculars and the Santa Justa lift are closed. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa lift have been out of service since September 2025, with no reopening date. Only the newer Graça funicular is running. You will have to walk up to Bairro Alto and Chiado, or take the metro to Baixa-Chiado.
• Jerónimos now opens at 09:30 and the ticket costs €18.

Lisbon weather in December

December is mild and wet. The long-term average is a high of 14.9 °C and a low of 8.7 °C, and it rains on about 10 days of the month, sometimes heavily. It almost never freezes. Sunrise is at about 07:50 and sunset at about 17:20, so you get nine and a half hours of daylight. Bring a waterproof jacket and shoes with grip, because the pavement stones are slippery when wet. We keep month by month detail on our Lisbon weather page, and a list of things to do when it rains.

Where to stay in Lisbon for Christmas

For a Christmas trip, stay where you can walk to the lights and still find somewhere to eat on the evening of the 24th. That means the Baixa, Chiado or Avenida da Liberdade. Our where to stay in Lisbon guide compares the areas, and the hotels page has our picks by budget.

A hotel with its own restaurant makes Christmas Eve much easier. Hotels such as the Altis Avenida on Restauradores, the Sofitel on Avenida da Liberdade and the Sheraton have served Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus in past years. Ask about the Christmas dinner when you book the room, since places are limited and it is often cheaper as a package.

Staying on for New Year

If your trip runs to the end of the month, the lights stay on and Wonderland keeps going into January. The night of the 31st is a different kind of evening, with a free concert and fireworks over the river. We cover it in our guide to New Year's Eve in Lisbon.

Last updated: October 2026