Santo Antonio Festival in Lisbon 2024
12 June 2024
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13 June 2024
The Santo Antonio (Saint Anthony) Festival is the most important annual fiesta in Lisbon.
This historic event celebrates Saint Anthony, the patron saint of Lisbon, of marriages, and of lost things.
Saint Anthony is a highly respected religious figure in Lisbon’s culture, so it’s no surprise that locals go all out in preparation for this event.
The festivities start on June 12th; during the early afternoon, the irresistible, smoky aroma of grilled sardines starts wafting through the air, folk music wakes up the streets, and colorful décor liven up Lisbon’s already vibrant streets.
Considering that Saint Anthony is the patron saint of marriages, you’ll get a glimpse of newly married couples who are celebrated during the event too! If you’re single and ready to mingle, you might want to consider partaking in the Santo Antonio tradition of gifting a pot of some basil to your special someone. Hey, you never know if it might work! Basil is considered a symbol of good luck… well, romantic luck.
Your experience at the Santo Antonio Festival
The main highlight of the Santo Antonio Festival is the procession that takes place along Avenida da Liberdade. Locals wear mind-blowingly elaborate costumes much like during Rio's world-famous Carnaval.
Dancers, musicians all add to the electrifying atmosphere on the streets. There will be lots to indulge in: the delicious grilled sardines, Portuguese cabbage soup, sangria, wine, and beer will give you the energy to party until the sun comes up.
You won’t want to miss the parties. In fact, the entire month of June feels like one huge party; the festival is just one part of the Festas dos Santos Populares, a month-long celebration of pagan and religious beliefs. So get ready to party it up, Portugal style!
Grilled sardines, delicious local food and drinks
Best views of the Santo Antonio Festival: The Santo Antonio Festival takes place on the historic streets of Alfama, Bica, Bairro Alto, Castelo, and Madragoa. These are where most activities will be concentrated, as stalls selling grilled sardines, delicious local food, and drinks will be located. The processions and parades take place along Avenida da Liberdade. Get your pots of basil in the area across the Santo Antonio Church nearby Alfama. The streets of Lisbon will be filled with partygoers on June 12, so it isn’t possible to get around in ways other than walking. Before and after the festival, you can choose from Lisbon’s many efficient public transportation options: the tram, train, buses, metro, taxi, bicycle, ferry, and funicular are all great ways to see the city.
Learn more about the Santo Antonio Festival in Lisbon
Here are the steps to plan your trip
1. Go to the official website and double check the event dates, prices and regulations.
2. Book hotel rooms in Lisbon available during the event. ⤵︎
2.1. Pick a hotel room by location and by price.
2.2. The search is done for 1 guest and the entire duration of the event. Click on the 'Filter', 'Guests', and 'Dates' buttons to adjust the search.
🏨 In the 'Filters' section, you can tell if you are looking for hotels or vacation homes. Here, you can filter the results by stars, review ratings, and budget.
👨👩👧👦 In this section, you can specify the number of guests (adults and children) and the number of rooms you want to book.
📆 Finally, you can change the date of your stay.
2.3. Save more money! Some hotel rooms are provided by multiple hotel booking websites. You will see them on the top of the hotel room details when you hover the mouse over the room. Be it Booking.com, Expedia, Trivago, Opodo, or other providers, select the best price provider for the room during the chosen period.
2.4. If hotel rooms are not available around the event location, you can zoom out or search by a nearby city/town name. If you have a specific hotel in mind, you can even search the particular hotel name.
2.5. Bonus tip: Switch to Experiences search. Perhaps you will find great tours and activities!
2.6. Pro tip: The map of the experiences may help you find the most vibrant areas in the city and the best locations where you can look for accommodations for your stay.
3. If everything is fine you can buy all the tickets
