Lisboa Festivals

Those who love to mingle with locals will want to visit Lisboa in June. Open-air feiras —festivals of eating, drinking, live music, and dancing—fill the streets. After savoring farturas (huge Portuguese pastries whose name means “abundance”) and Sagres beer, join in traditional Portuguese dancing. On the night of June 12, the streets explode into song and dance in honor of St. Anthony during the Festa de Santo António. Banners are strung between streetlights and confetti falls in buckets during a parade along Av. da Liberdade. Young crowds pack the streets of Alfama and the neighborhood of Santa Catarina, and grilled sardinhas (sardines) and ginja (wild cherry liqueur) are sold everywhere. Lisboa also has a number of commercial feiras. From late May to early June, bookworms burrow for three weeks in the outdoor Feira do Livro in Parque Eduardo VII, behind Pr. Marquês de Pombal. The Feira Internacional de Lisboa occurs every few months in the Parque das Nações; in July and August, the Feira de Mar de Cascais and Feira de Artesanato de Estoril (celebrating famous Portuguese pottery) take place near the casino. Year-round feiras include the Feira de Oeiras (sells antiques on the fourth Sunday of each month) and the Feira de Carcanelos (sells clothes Th 8am-2pm) in Rato. Packrats should catch the Feira da Ladra, a large flea market, whose name literally means “thieves’ fair” (don’t be surprised if your stolen watch turns up there). It’s held behind Igreja de São Vicente de Fora in Graça (Tu 7am-1pm and Sa 7am-3pm; take tram #28, €1.30).

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