Events & Festivals
The year in Viana do Castelo is lived festival by festival. Here is the complete calendar, with our local take on each one.
St Martin's Day - chestnut roast, jeropiga, and the Roman soldier story
11 November. All over Minho, magusto. Roasted chestnuts, water-pé, jeropiga, and the legend of the soldier who shared his cloak.
Read the guideChristmas in Viana - Cantares ao Menino and Minho's Consoada
December in Viana is intimate. Cantares ao Menino in parishes, Christmas market in Praça da República, boiled cod for the Eve dinner.
Read the guideMinho Carnival - masks, caretos and a tradition older than Brazil
Forget samba and feathers. Minho's carnival has tin-masked caretos, village parades, and a pagan intensity that stays with you.
Read the guideEaster in Viana - folar bread, the compasso, and the Senhor dos Passos procession
Easter in Viana is lived with rare intensity: night processions through granite streets, homemade folar bread, and the compasso entering each home.
Read the guideSantos Populares - São João, São Pedro, and the year's warmest night
In June, all of Northern Portugal smells of sardines and basil. Guide to surviving Porto's São João and Viana's São Pedro.
Read the guideSenhora da Agonia Festival - the heart of summer in Viana
Procession to the sea, mordomas in full regalia, fireworks over the Lima. Four days when the city belongs to the festival.
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