There’s still time to plan your trip with us to Lisbon or Porto to celebrate Santos Populares!

These lively festivities, in which people go out to eat, drink and have fun in the streets decorated with arches, colorful balloons and majericos, begin on Saint Anthony’s Day, continue through Saint John’s Day and end on Saint Peter’s Day.

It’s impossible to be moody on those days. The streets get filled with animation, music, and color. In Lisbon, popular marches from each neighborhood parade along Avenida da Liberdade towards Rossio. But the flood and excitement are no less in Alfama, Graça, Bica, Mouraria, or Madragoa. In the squares and medieval alleys, people eat “Caldo Verde” (cabbage soup) and grilled sardines, sing, and dance into the night. Another highlight is the procession of Santo António, which leaves his church, in Alfama; and the brides of Santo António, who have become an unavoidable reference in Lisbon’s popular tradition.

The city of Porto has a special celebration for São João, which includes concerts by several popular singers, roast goatling, and, more recently, grilled meat and sardines. The party lasts into the night with the most resistant, usually the youngest, who walk along the riverside, from Ribeira to Foz do Douro, where they end the night on the beach, waiting for sunrise.

One of the most peculiar traditions of São João do Porto is leeks and plastic hammers used to hit passers-by directly on the head.

Fly with us and have fun! As they say: “On these days, all the saints help!”