Best Time to Visit Portugal

Photo by Aayush Gupta on Unsplash

Go in September or May. September in Lisbon runs 26.8°C / 80.2°F by day with 14.9mm of rain spread over just 2 wet days — summer heat without summer crowds or summer prices. May is cooler at 23.5°C / 74.3°F with 40.3mm over 4 days, which is the last comfortable month before the thermometer jumps nearly five degrees into June. Skip March and November: March gets 168.3mm across 20 rainy days out of 31, and November gets 193.6mm — the wettest month of the year — while topping out at 17.6°C / 63.7°F.

All figures below are measured 2025 data for Lisbon. Portugal is small but not uniform: Porto and the north run cooler and considerably wetter, the Algarve runs hotter and drier. Lisbon sits in the middle and is where most first trips start, so it's the honest baseline.

The best months: May, September, October

These three months share one thing — they deliver warmth without the two things that ruin a Portugal trip, which are August heat and winter rain.

September (26.8°C / 80.2°F high, 17.1°C / 62.8°F low, 14.9mm over 2 days) is the strongest month in the entire table. Two rainy days in thirty means you can plan outdoor things — a day trip to Sintra, an afternoon in Cascais, dinner outside in Alfama — and expect them to happen. Nights at 17.1°C / 62.8°F are the useful part: you can sit outside after dark in a T-shirt, which you cannot do in May. The 14.9mm total across those 2 days works out to roughly 7mm per wet day, so when it does rain it's a real shower, not drizzle. Bring one layer for the evening and you're set.

May (23.5°C / 74.3°F high, 14.4°C / 57.9°F low, 40.3mm over 4 days) is the better month if you plan to walk a lot. Lisbon is built on hills and its streets are polished limestone; 23.5°C is the temperature at which climbing to a miradouro is pleasant rather than a chore. The catch is the gap between day and night — 23.5°C down to 14.4°C / 57.9°F is a nine-degree drop, so the same day that has you in short sleeves at 3pm has you wanting a jacket at 10pm. Four rainy days out of 31 is genuinely low; you might get one washed-out afternoon in a week-long trip.

October (24.8°C / 76.6°F high, 17.1°C / 62.8°F low, 48.6mm over 8 days) is warmer by day than May and holds September's mild 17.1°C nights, but the rain has started returning — 8 wet days, more than double September's. That's still five days in six staying dry. October is the last month where the summer pattern holds; November collapses it entirely.

The months to avoid: November, March, December, January

Portugal's bad months aren't cold — the coldest month is December at 14.8°C / 58.6°F, which is a mild spring day in most of northern Europe. They're bad because of rain, and they're bad in two different ways.

November (17.6°C / 63.7°F high, 12.1°C / 53.8°F low, 193.6mm over 13 days) is the wettest month by volume, and the way that volume arrives matters. 193.6mm across 13 days is about 15mm per rainy day — the heaviest per-day rate in the year. That's not weather you walk through. Lisbon's steep cobbled streets turn into drainage channels, and 15mm in a day usually means a few violent hours rather than steady rain. You get roughly 17 dry days too, so November is a gamble: you may get a run of clear mild weather, or you may lose half your trip.

March (16.5°C / 61.7°F high, 10.4°C / 50.7°F low, 168.3mm over 20 days) is worse for a short trip. 20 rainy days out of 31 means roughly two days in three see rain — a five-day trip statistically gets one dry day. And at 168.3mm over 20 days, that's about 8mm per wet day: not the November downpour, but persistent, grey, hood-up rain. Combined with a 16.5°C / 61.7°F ceiling, March is the month people describe as "we barely left the café." Don't book March expecting spring.

December (14.8°C / 58.6°F high, 9.8°C / 49.6°F low, 134.7mm over 18 days) is the coldest and the second-wettest by frequency. Nights at 9.8°C / 49.6°F combined with rain and Atlantic wind feel far worse than the number suggests, particularly because Portuguese apartments and older guesthouses are often poorly heated.

January (15.9°C / 60.6°F high, 10.6°C / 51.1°F low, 160.7mm over 14 days) is an odd case: it's slightly warmer than December and has four fewer rainy days, but a larger total — 160.7mm over 14 days, about 11mm per wet day. So January rains less often but harder. If you're forced into winter, January beats December and March.

Shoulder season: April, June, and the edges of the good months

April (19.6°C / 67.3°F high, 12.8°C / 55.0°F low, 116.2mm over 19 days) is where people get caught out. The temperature looks like spring — nearly 20°C — and flights and hotels are still cheap. But 19 rainy days is only one fewer than March. The difference is intensity: 116.2mm over 19 days is about 6mm per wet day, the lightest per-day rate of any wet month. April rain is showers and drizzle that pass. If you're flexible, willing to duck into a tasca for an hour, and want low prices, April is defensible. If you have a fixed itinerary of outdoor day trips, it isn't.

June (28.7°C / 83.7°F high, 17.9°C / 64.2°F low, 2.5mm over 0 days) is effectively rainless — 2.5mm fell across the whole month, and not one day recorded enough to count as a rainy day. But June is when the jump happens: from May's 23.5°C to 28.7°C is a 5.2-degree step, and 28.7°C on a treeless hillside in Sintra is a different trip than 23.5°C. June is peak-price territory too, since Lisbon's Santo António festivals fall mid-month.

The real bargain windows are the first half of May and the second half of October — same climate as the peak of those months, before or after the crowd curve.

What each season actually means on the ground

Summer (June–August). August peaks at 30.6°C / 87.1°F with 0.4mm of rain and zero rainy days. That is functionally a rainless month. Practically: you sightsee before 11am and after 6pm, and the middle of the day goes to lunch, a museum, or the beach. Nights don't cool off — July and August both bottom out at 19.1°C / 66.4°F — so an apartment without air conditioning is a genuine problem, not a minor inconvenience. Pack a hat, sunglasses, a refillable bottle, and shoes you can walk hills in; you will not need a rain jacket, and you will barely need a sweater.

Autumn (September–November). September and October are the sweet spot: warm days, 17.1°C / 62.8°F nights, few showers. Then November drops the daytime high by 7.2 degrees from October and triples the rain to 193.6mm. Pack for two seasons in November — you'll get 17.6°C / 63.7°F afternoons and drenched evenings in the same week.

Winter (December–February). Highs of 14.8–16.3°C / 58.6–61.3°F, lows of 9.8–10.6°C / 49.6–51.1°F. Nothing freezes, nothing snows. This is café-and-museum weather with occasional beautiful clear days. Waterproof shoes matter more than a heavy coat — you'll be on wet stone for hours. February is the surprise: 92.1mm over just 9 days is the driest of the six cool months, and 16.3°C / 61.3°F is the warmest winter high. If winter is your only option, book February.

Spring (March–May). Spring in Lisbon runs backwards from what the calendar suggests. March is the wettest-by-frequency month of the entire year at 20 days. April improves only slightly to 19 days. Then May collapses the rain to 4 days and lifts the high 3.9 degrees. The season is essentially two bad months followed by one excellent one.

Month-by-month

• January — 15.9°C / 60.6°F, 160.7mm over 14 days. Mild but heavy rain when it comes; the best of the three deep-winter months.
• February — 16.3°C / 61.3°F, 92.1mm over 9 days. The driest and warmest winter month. The only cool month worth planning around.
• March — 16.5°C / 61.7°F, 168.3mm over 20 days. Rain two days in three. Avoid for a short trip.
• April — 19.6°C / 67.3°F, 116.2mm over 19 days. Warming, still wet, but the rain is light and passing. Cheap.
• May — 23.5°C / 74.3°F, 40.3mm over 4 days. Best month for walking and day trips. Nights drop to 14.4°C / 57.9°F.
• June — 28.7°C / 83.7°F, 2.5mm over 0 days. Rainless, hot, expensive, festival season.
• July — 29.6°C / 85.3°F, 2.8mm over 1 day. Peak crowds. Nights stay at 19.1°C / 66.4°F.
• August — 30.6°C / 87.1°F, 0.4mm over 0 days. Hottest and driest. Plan around the midday heat or don't come.
• September — 26.8°C / 80.2°F, 14.9mm over 2 days. The best month overall. Summer warmth, autumn calm.
• October — 24.8°C / 76.6°F, 48.6mm over 8 days. Still warm, still mostly dry, noticeably cheaper.
• November — 17.6°C / 63.7°F, 193.6mm over 13 days. Wettest month, heaviest downpours. Avoid.
• December — 14.8°C / 58.6°F, 134.7mm over 18 days. Coldest and frequently wet.

FAQ

What is the single best month to visit Portugal?

September. Lisbon hits 26.8°C / 80.2°F by day and 17.1°C / 62.8°F at night with only 2 rainy days and 14.9mm of rain in the whole month. That combination — warm enough to swim and eat outside, dry enough to plan around, past the August price peak — doesn't appear anywhere else in the year. May is the runner-up if you prefer 23.5°C / 74.3°F for long days on foot.

Does it rain all day in Lisbon in winter?

Not usually, but the pattern differs by month and it's worth knowing which one you're booking. March has 20 rainy days but only 168.3mm total, roughly 8mm per wet day — that's light, grey, on-and-off rain over most of the month. November has fewer rainy days (13) but more water (193.6mm), about 15mm per wet day, meaning short violent downpours with dry spells between them. So March is the one where you're damp constantly; November is the one where you get soaked for two hours and then it's fine. Either way, waterproof shoes beat an umbrella on Lisbon's hills, where wind funnels up the streets.

Is August too hot to sightsee in Lisbon?

It's manageable if you restructure your day. 30.6°C / 87.1°F is hot but not extreme, and the real issue is that it comes with 0.4mm of rain and no cloud relief for the entire month, plus overnight lows that only fall to 19.1°C / 66.4°F. Walking uphill in direct sun between noon and 5pm is unpleasant; the same walk at 9am is fine. Book accommodation with air conditioning — 19.1°C nights with no breeze make unairconditioned rooms hard to sleep in.

Is April a good time to visit Portugal on a budget?

It's a real trade-off, not a free win. April gives you 19.6°C / 67.3°F days at shoulder-season prices, but 19 of its 30 days see rain. The saving grace is that the rain is thin — 116.2mm spread over those 19 days, about 6mm each, which is showers rather than storms. If your plan is Lisbon and Porto with museums, markets, and food, April works. If your plan is the Algarve coast or hiking, wait for May, when rainy days drop from 19 to 4 and the high climbs to 23.5°C / 74.3°F.