We are planning a trip to Portugal, first time visitors thinking of retirement in Porto based on what we've read. It's time to experience it! The first available chance for us to go would probably be around Christmas, if air fare is reasonable. What would that experience be like in Lisbon and Porto? We love cold winter weather (live in Phoenix) and realize that won't be the case of course. But does it typically rain a lot in December? Are many things still open? The other concern would be crowds, how crazy is it at the time of year? Our other option is to wait until next May. Thanks for any advice or suggestions.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1665 posts
Christmas is lovely in the Lisbon area but I haven’t experienced Porto at that time of year. It will be cool with chances of rain but with lovely sunny days in between (usually). Porto is usually a bit colder than in the Lisbon area, so if you want cold, you might want to spend at least some of your time there.
Everything is still open except for Christmas and New Year’s Day.
The crowds aren’t bad, IMO. A lot of the cities have Christmas ‘fairs’ with vendors selling things and it’s quite nice. The Christmas decorations in Lisbon are different every year and it’s lovely and festive.
And, lastly, retirement in Portugal is wonderful! It’s the best decision I ever made! It has gotten more expensive in the last three years, but is still much more reasonable than the States. There are also a lot of resources to help you. If you would like some of them, feel free to PM me and I will share what I used, and some of the activities that occur where you can meet other expats while you are here.
Posted by
Porto, Portugal
80 posts
Hello mbheart,
I live in Porto area and you'll get cold weather here (but not below 0 ºC temperature and it won't snow)... it's the beginning of winter so you can get sunny days and a few rainy days as well...
In my opinion, people are friendlier here than in the capital. Concerning crowds, shopping centres will be opened until late hours but it will get crazy, especially the closer you get to Christmas.
Many of the streets will be decorated with Christmas motives, and Christmas spirit will be present all around - you'll love it ;)
You should use public transportation; moving around by car may be difficult and parking will definitely be a problem...
About the air fares, the sooner you buy your tickets the better since there are a lot of emigrants returning to Portugal at this time of the year...
Enjoy Portugal ;)
Posted by
OP
150 posts
Thank you both for all the valuable information-it sounds like we would love Porto all year round actually. Coming from very hot weather at least 7 months of every year we are searching for more " normal" climate- rain and cloudy cool days are far and few between in Phoenix. In the states Porto seems to compare to the Northwest. We just have to decide the best time for us to come see your beautiful city. The end of this year or spring of 2019. i am not sure we can wait that long so I wouldn't be surprised if we will be spending Christmas or New Year's in Portugal!