From motorsports to gastronomic festivals, there are many events in Portimão from the beginning to the end of the year! Formula 1, GT Open, Superbike World Championship, Algarve Classic Festival, sardine and cockle festival, summer concerts, fairs, markets, traditional festivals, and much more!
Do you enjoy watching the cars on the starting grid? Letting the adrenaline rush take over while you wait for the race to start, for the overtaking, for the crashes in the corners, for the tire changes? Great, because if you visit Portimão, you may be lucky enough to watch the GT Open (one of the supporting events for the Portuguese Grand Prix) or even a Formula 1 race at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, a racing circuit located in the parish of Mexilhoeira Grande, in the municipality of Portimão, about 16 km from the city center.
This year's International GT Open championship was won by the Portuguese Henrique Chaves and Miguel Ramos with a McLaren 720S GT3 from Teo Martín Motorsport. And it was also the second year in a row that Formula 1 raced in Portimão, at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
Singing, jumping, cheering! The summer months are par excellence of music festivals in Portimão, with one of the most beautiful stages in the Algarve, Praia da Rocha, hosting EDC Portugal, Afro Nation, and Rolling Loud Portugal, among other shows that bring together various artists and styles.
The Sardine Festival is one of the best-known events in Portimão that celebrates every year its main gastronomic icon: the sardine. On bread or the plate with boiled potatoes and salad Algarve style, in more than two thousand seats, spread over eight restaurants during five days of celebration in the city! Days that will work up an appetite for residents and the thousands of visitors who participate in the Sardine Festival every year. And if you don't like sardines, come anyway because this event also has several regional delicacies, such as bread with cheeses, and sausages, besides sweets and ice cream. And after the meal, enjoy some moments of fun among the craft stalls and street entertainment with attractions for children and lots of sounds: from folklore to traditional Portuguese music!
Faith, devotion, and a lot of animation! This is how you can characterize the festivities in honor of St. Andrew in the Church of Penina in Alvor. These bring together hundreds of people, from locals to national and international tourists, who enjoy the religious aspect and/or entertainment aspect, since there are stalls for food and drink and popular music bands on the premises.
Organized by O2 (Portimão's Sports and Cultural Association), the Alvor Sea Race, part of Algarve's Sea Circuit, takes place at Alvor Beach and includes the principal race with a 1500 meter course for federated athletes and a 700-meter long disclosure race for any swimmer who wishes to participate. Is this your case? If so, don't miss the opportunity if you visit Portimão!
The sardine is the most appreciated fish in Portimão, yes, but the cockle is also entitled to its own festival held at the Polidesportivo da Figueira! If you live or are visiting Algarve during the month of September, delight yourself with the best dish of the event, made in various ways: from the cockles au naturel to cockle rice, through the cockle pasta, cockle porridge, and cockle rissoles, and always based on a drizzle of olive oil, a sprig of parsley/coriander and a clove of garlic.
The bikes that participate in the World Superbike Championship are improved versions of bikes available for sale to the public, unlike in MotoGP, where purpose-built prototypes are used.
Your preferences are more for classic cars and not so much for racing cars? Visit Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in October, when the Algarve Classic Festival is held, with more than 300 teams and over 500 drivers every year. Besides the races, racing cars and other antique and classic cars owned by private persons willing to share the elegance of historic car models are paraded on the circuit track.
Never participated in the oldest popular event in Portimão that takes place every year on November 11th, S. Martinho's Day? Next time you have the opportunity, come and celebrate the season of roasted chestnuts at the Fairgrounds and try other regional gastronomic delicacies, such as bread with chorizo, steaks, and roasted octopus. And take the opportunity to buy some products (from toys to textiles and shoes) and take a ride on the bumper car tracks, among other entertainment that delights kids and adults alike.
On the first Mondays of every month, Portimão organizes a big monthly market at Parque de Feiras e Exposições de Portimão, with all kinds of products for sale: clothing, shoes, jewelry, food products such as cheese and sausages, and much more!
Collectibles, antiques, vintage items with historical content: you can find everything except new items at Portimão's Flea Market, held at Parque de Feiras e Exposições on the first and third Sundays of every month.
As everywhere else, many of the main annual events in Portimão that we have mentioned throughout this article, had to be canceled in 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic situation. But all indications are that in the year 2022, and notwithstanding the maintenance of some hygiene and safety rules, events in Portimão in particular, and Portugal in general, will resume!
Has this list with the main annual events in Portimão made you want to visit, vacation, or even live in Algarve? Contact Engel & Völkers Portimão! We have a wide range of residential properties on offer: luxury villas, vacation homes, townhouses, apartments, rural houses, building plots, and much more!