For the first three weeks of June, Lisbon throws a street party. The old neighbourhoods — Alfama, Mouraria, Bica, Madragoa — string up bunting and paper lanterns, roll charcoal grills into the lanes, and the whole city eats grilled sardines on bread.
Santo António, 12–13 June
The high point is the night of the 12th into the 13th, the feast of Santo António, Lisbon’s patron saint. Alfama is packed shoulder to shoulder; there’s a parade down Avenida da Liberdade and mass weddings at the cathedral. If crowds aren’t your thing, pick a smaller arraial in another neighbourhood.
What you eat
Sardines — sardinhas assadas — grilled over charcoal, on a slice of bread that catches the fat, with a green pepper salad and boiled potatoes. Plus caldo verde, bifanas, and jugs of rough red wine or beer.
Good to know
- It runs most nights through June; the busiest are the weekends and the 12th
- Go after 9pm, when it gets going; wear shoes you don’t mind getting dirty
- Sardines are at their best from June onwards, which is the whole point of the timing
- It’s a short hop from our side of the river — ferry from Cacilhas, or over the bridge