The best places to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2023/2024 in Portugal
One of the most eagerly awaited times of the year is approaching: Christmas and New Year. The ideal time to take a break from the hustle and bustle and enjoy a mini-holiday with the whole family.
That’s why we’ve rounded up the best places to celebrate Christmas and New Year in Portugal and recharge your batteries for the New Year.
And the best part? You don’t have to worry about organising your Christmas or New Year celebrations. All the details are taken care of so you can just relax and enjoy the festive spirit.
Read on to discover these places in Portugal.
- Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Faro
- Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Tavira
- Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Portimão
- New Year’s Eve in Albufeira
- Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Viana do Castelo
- Choose the best place to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2023/2024 in Portugal
Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Faro
Faro is a city full of life and the festive season is no different.
The Algarve’s capital always throws a huge party on New Year’s Eve, with fireworks and musical performances by nationally renowned artists. In addition, throughout the month of December, Faro promotes various initiatives to celebrate Christmas, such as Santa’s House, street entertainment, shows, workshops and themed ateliers.
Everything takes place in the centre of Faro, where there is also a perfect hotel for your stay: the AP Eva Senses.
This hotel in Faro not only has the best location to enjoy all the city’s activities, but also the AP Eva Senses’ own activities.
On Christmas Eve, the hotel organises a festive dinner where you can enjoy typical Christmas Eve dishes such as cod loin, roast lamb shank and traditional French toast, dreams, king cake and much more. On Christmas Day, you can enjoy a lunch of cod with cornbread, seafood paella, roast lamb or pork tenderloin with clams, among other traditional dishes of the season.
New Year’s Eve has not been forgotten either and AP Eva Senses has prepared a special programme for you to enjoy New Year’s Eve 2023/2024 in the best possible way, with a New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner with live music, tasting menu and open bar until 2am, a New Year’s Eve Lunch and a special package with accommodation included. Everything has been thought out in detail to provide you with an excellent New Year’s Eve.
All the special programmes at AP Eva Senses and in the city of Faro are a great invitation to get the whole family together and enjoy a mini-holiday in the Algarve.
Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Tavira
Tavira is another ideal destination for making the most of the Christmas season and New Year’s Eve.
Throughout the month of December, the city is illuminated with special Christmas lights and organises various activities including street entertainment, performing arts, craft shows and workshops, gastronomic demonstrations, fireworks, nativity scenes and choral, jazz and gospel music shows.
It’s a huge variety of activities that you can enjoy during your winter mini-holidays if you decide to go to Tavira.
But, as in Faro, it’s not just in the city streets that you’ll find activities. In Tavira, there’s the AP Maria Nova Lounge hotel, where you’ll also find a special programme and where you can book your stay for your mini-holidays.
For example, on Christmas Eve, the AP Maria Nova Lounge organises a themed dinner with various traditional Christmas dishes and desserts.
On the last day of the year, the AP Maria Nova Lounge has prepared a big party to welcome 2024. That night, you can enjoy a gala dinner with open bar until 2am and party the night away on the NOMAD Rooftop, a rooftop with 360 views of the city of Tavira. The changeover from 2023 to 2024 at the AP Maria Nova Lounge will also include live music and fireworks, so you can celebrate in the best possible way without leaving the hotel.
In other words, if you choose Tavira as your winter destination, there will be no shortage of fun for the whole family during your mini-holiday.
Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Portimão
Along with Tavira and Faro, Portimão also has a strong Christmas programme with shows, life-size nativity scenes, decorative lighting, a themed train, a Christmas market and a natural ice rink.
To celebrate New Year’s Eve, Portimão also offers 3 days of concerts with nationally renowned artists and fireworks, spread over 3 areas of the town: the Alvor riverside area, the Portimão riverside area and the famous Praia da Rocha.
On 30th December, Portimão’s Zona Ribeirinha will host an RFM party that promises to bring back the best music from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. On the same day, there will also be an interactive concert, where the audience can choose the songs to be played, and a show by DJs Rich & Mendes.
And in Praia da Rocha, there’s the perfect hotel to book your mini-holiday if you choose Portimão.
The hotel also has various activities to celebrate both Christmas and New Year 2023/2024.
We’re talking about the AP Oriental Beach Hotel, with its privileged location opposite Praia da Rocha.
On the night of Christmas Eve, for example, a special festive menu will be prepared with dishes such as Pork in Garlic and Coriander Vineyard with Fresh Clams, Cataplana of Anglerfish Algarvian Style or Chickpea Stew with Pumpkin, Mint and Sweet Potatoes.
Best of all, you can enjoy these wonderful dishes while enjoying the fantastic views of Praia da Rocha.
For New Year’s Eve, this hotel in Portimão has prepared a package with the option of a 2 or 3 night stay, with a gala dinner on the night of 31 December, live music, fireworks and a bar open until 2.30am, so that you can celebrate the end of the year in a festive atmosphere and with all the comfort you deserve.
So get the whole family together and start planning your winter mini-holiday for these special dates. And if Portimão is your choice, it will be an excellent one.
New Year’s Eve in Albufeira
If you want to ring in the New Year with a smile on your face, Albufeira is the ideal destination for your New Year’s Eve.
For the New Year’s Eve 2023/2024, Albufeira will be hosting a Comedy Festival. This festival will take place at the Palácio de Congressos do Algarve and will feature renowned comedians from the national scene.
It’s an excellent choice for those who want to ring in the New Year in a good mood. As well as the Comedyr festival, Albufeira has a packed programme of musical performances by national artists and fireworks to welcome 2024.
On the 30th of December, the Praça dos Pescadores will host a concert by singer Richie Campbell, and on the 31st, The Gift will take to the stage with a special show that will include the presence of the Amália Hoje project.
In addition to the concerts and fireworks, Albufeira is preparing a New Year’s Eve show with laser projections in the sky and sea, aerial acrobatics with planes, street food and a pop art parade.
And the best part? The AP Victoria Sports & Beach Hotel has a special package for those who choose Albufeira as their New Year’s Eve destination.
The package offers the option of staying for 2 or 3 nights in a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment, ideal for bringing the whole family to the Algarve city and staying in the same place with all the comfort and space you need.
The package also includes a gala dinner with background music, a DJ party after midnight and an open bar throughout the party and dinner.
Another highlight of the AP Victoria Sports & Beach is that it is an all-inclusive hotel, which means that you can eat and drink during your New Year’s Eve stay without worrying about extra costs.
Both the city’s programme and the AP Victoria Sports & Beach’s programme and all-inclusive regime make Albufeira the ideal destination for those looking for something different.
Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Viana do Castelo
Our final suggestion for the best places to celebrate Christmas and New Year in Portugal is Viana do Castelo.
The city in Minho is one of the Portuguese cities with the most activities during the Christmas season and is home to one of the biggest Christmas light shows in the country.
Coaches even travel from Spain with hundreds of people to see Viana do Castelo’s Christmas lights in person. Not least because, in addition to the fantastic Christmas lights and multimedia shows from 18 November to 10 January, the city of Minho is also promoting a Christmas square with carousels for children, a Christmas market from 8 to 23 December, food fairs and a 3D Christmas tree.
The city’s special programme is rounded off by a New Year’s Eve party at the end of December, with a pyrotechnic show and a series of concerts to bring Viana do Castelo to life at the end of the year.
All this in the heart of the city and close to AP Dona Aninhas, the hotel that guarantees all the comforts and refinement for your Christmas mini-holiday.
It’s the ideal hotel to stay at if you want to take part in Viana do Castelo’s Christmas activities, because its location in the city centre puts it close to Viana’s main Christmas attractions. This also means that you can arrive, park your car and get around on foot during your winter mini-holiday, as the distance to the main Christmas attractions is short. A facility you will only find at AP Dona Aninhas.
This hotel in Viana also has a special Christmas and New Year programme.
On Christmas Eve, for example, there is a special dinner with the traditional dishes of this festive season, such as Codfish or Octopus à Lagareiro. On Christmas Day, a themed lunch is being prepared with a buffet menu that includes iconic dishes from Portuguese gastronomy, such as the traditional Roupa Velha, fillets of corvina and oven-roasted turkey leg with chestnuts.
And if you haven’t made any plans for New Year’s Eve 2023/2024 yet, AP Dona Aninhas has a great suggestion for you: a gala dinner accompanied by a piano and string duo and a party with an open bar until 2.30am on New Year’s Eve. The following day, there’s also a New Year’s lunch with a buffet menu that includes dishes such as oven-roasted red snapper, oven-roasted veal and vegetable cream with breadcrumbs. And to top it all off, you can choose a special package that includes a 2 or 3 night stay at AP Dona Aninhas.
Everything has been planned down to the last detail so that your celebrations will be tasty, fun and with all the comfort you deserve during your winter mini-holidays.
Choose the best place to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2023/2024 in Portugal
Faro, Tavira, Portimão, Albufeira and Viana do Castelo are among the best Portuguese destinations to celebrate Christmas and New Year 2023/2024.
That’s because of their special programmes, the attractions and activities on offer, and the hotels of the AP Hotels & Resorts group, which guarantee the comfort you need for a great stay in these cities.
Now that you know the best destinations and what each city and hotel has to offer at this special time of year, it’s time to get the whole family together and choose where to spend your next Christmas and New Year holidays.
To help you make your choice, the AP Hotels & Resorts Group has provided all the information on the Christmas and New Year programmes, where you can check all the details and make your booking.
