Christmas Shopping in Porto 2026: Markets, Malls, Gifts and Lights

Checked 13 November 2026. Christmas dates, hours and programmes change, so check with the organiser or the shop before you go.

Hello Porto lovers, Baris here. Every year around now the same question lands in my inbox: "When do the Christmas markets open?" This year the honest answer is "some of them already have, and some haven't been announced yet." So this guide only lists what the organisers have actually published for 2026, and it says "dates TBA" where they haven't. I'll update it as the dates come out.

It covers four things: the Christmas markets and fairs, the shopping streets and malls (with their holiday hours where they've published them), gifts that come from Porto itself, and the lights and free things that make December here so pleasant.

Christmas markets and fairs

Mercado de Natal at Mercado Ferreira Borges

The iron market building next to the Palácio da Bolsa, home of the Hard Club, holds its second Christmas market from 14 November 2026 to 6 January 2027. Expect stalls from Portuguese brands and makers, seasonal food and drink, and free activities for children: magic shows, theatre, face painting, workshops and live music. On the opening day kids can write a letter to Father Christmas and enter a draw for their present.

• Where: Mercado Ferreira Borges, Rua da Bolsa 19
• Entry: free
• Vibe: indoors and dry, which counts for a lot in a Porto December.

Vinhos no Mercado: Especial de Natal

Same building, one weekend only: 28 and 29 November, from 14:00. More than 30 wine producers from 10 Portuguese regions pour their wines, and you can buy the bottles you like. Tickets are €12.50 to €20 (one or two days) and include a glass.

• Vibe: the easiest way to find the Christmas dinner wine and the gift bottle in one afternoon.

MACS Christmas market

MACS, an art and craft space on Rua da Boavista, holds its annual Christmas market on Saturday 12 December, 11:00 to 19:00. The stalls sell jewellery, ceramics, illustration, painting, textiles and handmade objects, and there's a tombola where you can win pieces by its artists. Free entry.

• Where: Rua da Boavista 84
• Vibe: small and handmade, the place for a present nobody else will have.

Gaia Vila Natal: the Christmas market across the river

Vila Nova de Gaia's council has published the plan for its 2026 Christmas market: 28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, with 35 wooden chalets and one large Christmas house split between the Centro Cívico square and Largo de Aljubarrota on the riverside (Cais de Gaia). The planned hours are 13:00 to 20:00 Monday to Thursday, 13:00 to 22:00 on Fridays, 11:00 to 22:00 at weekends, 11:00 to 16:00 on 24 December, and closed on 25 December.

• Worth knowing: these dates and hours come from the council's call for an organiser, which closes on 14 November, so the full programme isn't out yet and the hours can still change.
• Vibe: chalets by the river with the Ribeira lit up on the other side.

WOW é Natal (Gaia)

WOW, the museum and restaurant quarter in the old port lodges in Gaia, runs its Christmas season from 21 November 2026 to 6 January 2027. Entry and the central square are free. A Christmas food market runs in the square on selected dates between 21 November and 3 January. The carousel, the food and the special dinners cost extra.

• Vibe: more food and lights than shopping, but a good stop if you're in Gaia for the port lodges.

Still to be announced

These have run in past years, but their organisers haven't published anything for 2026 yet. I won't guess the dates from last year.

• Mercado de Natal do Porto, Jardim da Cordoaria: dates TBA. The city has said the Largo Amor de Perdição, right beside the Cordoaria garden, will host its family programme with workshops and shows this year.
• Mercado da Alegria Christmas market, Praça da Batalha: dates TBA.
• Mercado das Artes, Avenida Dom Afonso Henriques: dates TBA.
• Christmas fair at the Mercado do Bolhão: the market has held one before; dates for 2026 TBA.
• Christmas events at Mercado Bom Sucesso: TBA. Its events page lists nothing for December yet.

And the Avenida dos Aliados? This year the city describes it as a stage for concerts and light shows rather than a market. More on that below.

Shopping streets and malls

Rua de Santa Catarina

Porto's main shopping street, pedestrian for most of its length, is where the chain stores are. The ViaCatarina shopping centre (Rua de Santa Catarina 312 to 350) publishes shop hours of 10:00 to 21:00 every day, with the centre itself open 9:00 to 22:00. It hasn't published any special December hours yet.

On Saturday 14 November at 18:00, Marcolino at Rua de Santa Catarina 84 switches on its Christmas lights with a free show of more than 200,000 lights and 20 performers, for the shop's 100th anniversary. The lights stay on until 6 January. The Mercado do Bolhão is around the corner: its stalls open Monday to Friday 8:00 to 19:00 and Saturday 8:00 to 18:00, and it's closed on Sundays.

Cedofeita and Miguel Bombarda

For independent shops, walk west to Rua de Cedofeita and the streets around Rua de Miguel Bombarda, with their galleries, design shops and vintage. There are no street-wide hours: each small shop sets its own, so check before you make the trip. My Porto shopping guide has the shops I'd start with, and Cork Matters (more below) is on Rua do Rosário, in the same quarter.

NorteShopping

The big mall, with about 250 shops, is open 10:00 to 23:00 every day. Its published holiday hours: 24 December 10:00 to 18:00, closed 25 December, 31 December 10:00 to 19:00, closed 1 January. For families, the "Fábrica Secreta" Christmas experience runs in the mall's Silo cultural space from 19 November to 10 January (tickets needed).

ArrábidaShopping

On the Gaia side of the Arrábida bridge (Praceta de Henrique Moreira 244). Shops open 10:00 to 23:00 every day and the centre 9:00 to 23:00. No Christmas Eve or Christmas Day hours are published yet, so check its website closer to the date.

Gifts from Porto

If you want presents that actually come from here, these are my starting points. For brands that ship abroad, see Made in Porto, Shop Online; for tiles, vintage and craft shops in the centre, the Porto shopping guide.

Tinned fish: Conservas Pinhais, Matosinhos

The factory behind NURI sardines has a shop and café at Avenida Menéres 700 in Matosinhos, a 6-minute walk from the Câmara de Matosinhos metro stop (line A). The shop is open until 18:00 on weekdays and 9:00 to 18:00 on Saturdays; from November to April it's closed on Sundays. In December it's also closed on the 1st, 8th and 25th, and on the 24th only the shop opens, in the morning. Factory tours start at €22 and end with a tasting.

Soap: Claus Porto, Rua das Flores

The soap brand founded in Porto in 1887 has its flagship in a three-storey townhouse at Rua das Flores 22, with a floor on the brand's history. It's open every day from 10:00 to 19:00. The wrapped soaps are about the most portable gift in the city.

Cork: Cork Matters, Rua do Rosário

Cork Matters was founded by two Porto designers and turns Portuguese cork into lamps, bowls, trays and notebooks, processed in factories in the north of Portugal. Its concept store is at Rua do Rosário 143 to 145, in the Bombarda creative quarter.

Port, ceramics and the rest

For port, the lodges in Gaia are the obvious place to taste before you buy: see my port wine cellars guide. Vinhos no Mercado (28 and 29 November, above) is the other option. For ceramics and illustration, go to the MACS market on 12 December, or see Ana Seixas and Gazete's hand-painted tiles in Made in Porto, Shop Online, which also covers filigree from Gondomar.

Lights, the tree and free things

• The city lights and tree, Saturday 28 November, 18:00: Porto switches on its Christmas lights on the Avenida dos Aliados and lights the tree in Praça do General Humberto Delgado, in front of the City Hall, with a free concert (line-up to be announced).
• Marcolino's light show, Saturday 14 November, 18:00: Rua de Santa Catarina, free, lights on until 6 January.
• WOW's tree, from 21 November: the giant tree in WOW's central square lights up at 18:30 on 21 November, and from then until 6 January there's a free video-mapping show every hour from 19:00 to 23:00.
• Ice rink, Praça da Fantasia and family programme: the city first announced its traditional ice rink for Praça D. João I, but it has since agreed to a smaller set-up there without the rink (a small carousel, a little Christmas train and a tree), so the square can be shared with a housing protest camp. The council says another ice rink will go up at the Boavista roundabout (Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque), which also gets the "Praça da Fantasia", and Largo Amor de Perdição will have a family space with workshops and shows. Dates, hours and prices TBA.
• São Silvestre run, Sunday 20 December: Porto's year-end race. Watching is free.

For everything on in the city week by week, see Porto events in November 2026, December 2026 and the Christmas in Porto events page. I'll add the market dates there as soon as they're announced.