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Christmas 2024 in Porto

Posted by (Ithaca, NY) on

Hi,
I'm struggling to make reservations for dinner in Porto on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), and lunch and dinner on Christmas Day (Dec. 25).

I've tried using Open Table and The Fork to make reservations, but when I choose my dates often there are no available restaurants. I've looked at some hotels that have restaurants, but many are booked or cost $150 - $200 per person. While I'm happy to do a nice meal, that's a bit out of my price range for me and my son...under $100 per person would be best...and I hope I don't need to spend that much for each of the meals (Dinner Dec. 24, Lunch Dec. 25 and Dinner Dec. 25). Any recommendations?

Also, if you have any recommendations on how we should spend our time on Dec. 24 and Dec. 25, I've love to hear ideas about what to do on those days too.

thanks

Posted by
11553 posts

For others wanting reservations in European cities at Christmastime, booking three months in advance was what we were told to do. We were able to book dates for day and nights that we wanted, booking that far out. Hotels may be your only options at this late date.
We spent days walking in the beautiful parks.

Posted by
2 posts

Hi,
Thank you for the information - I appreciate it.

Fortunately, I have my lodging booked through AirBnB - but am concerned about finding places to eat! :-)

Posted by
343 posts

Christmas Eve is very important to Portuguese, that's actually when they have their family Christmas dinner and afterwards go to midnight mass ( Missa do Galo).
Restaurants are usually closed.
You may want to try non Portuguese restaurants ( Chinese , etc), they might be open.
When we are in Portugal at Christmas we either are with friends or pre - buy food from the supermarket since almost everything will be closed.

Many , many years ago it was similar in North America, we used to go the Chinese restaurant because all others were closed.

Posted by
23604 posts

Aulopone is accurate. Christmas eve and day in Porto is very different than US. We found that most bars and restaurants began closing around 3 pm or so on Christmas. By 1800 very little was open except for restaurants associated with large hotels and they were packed with tourists. Christmas eve is a big family event. Christmas day is no better with nearly everything closed. Again, the hotel restaurants were packed. On the advice of our tour guide earlier in the week we laid in a good supply of bread, wine, cheeses, dried meats, and fruits. Our b&b did serve breakfast and had a lovely roof top garden that serve as our dinning spot of Christmas eve and day. And a very similar pattern for New Years. Need to plan ahead. Good luck.

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