Portugal in April: When Easter Falls Moves the Crowds

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What does Easter change in April?

April is the month where the Easter date moves the crowd. The two questions below give the figures city by city: how full April is, and whether May is the better pick.

Is Portugal crowded in April?

Not by summer standards, but the Easter date matters. We measure crowds as overnight stays from Statistics Portugal (INE), as a share of each city’s busiest month, which is August in every city. In April that share runs from 55% in Lagos to 85% in Funchal, so every city is quieter than in August.

We compared INE overnight stays for April and May in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Easter fell on 9 April in 2023, on 31 March in 2024 and on 20 April in 2025. In 2024 the April-to-May ratio was the lowest of the three in 9 of the 10 cities. Faro is the exception, where 2023 is a hundredth lower.

In 2023 April was as busy as May or busier in three cities: 1.07 in Aveiro and 1.00 in Evora and Braga. In 2024 no city got above 0.95.

Read this as a pattern from three years, not a forecast. INE publishes monthly totals, so we cannot see which week was busy. Easter 2027 falls on 28 March, the same side of the month line as 2024, so by date 2027 is a 2024-type year. For that case, the 2024 column is the closest evidence we have.

Is it better to visit Portugal in April or May?

May scores higher than April in 9 of the 10 cities, and Funchal is tied at 0.33. By NASA POWER averages May is also drier in every city, with 0.5 to 0.7 times April’s rain. The price is more people: May is busier than April in all 10, by 1 point in Aveiro and 13 points in Coimbra.

• In Lagos, per INE and NASA POWER, the score rises from 0.28 to 0.41, the share of August rises from 55% to 65%, and rain falls from 2.35 mm to 1.22 mm a day.
• In Coimbra the score rises from 0.10 to 0.20, the share of August from 79% to 92%, and rain falls from 2.74 mm to 1.70 mm a day.

For March against April, see Portugal in March. For May against June, see Portugal in May. Both are ranked with the same rule.

What is the weather like in Portugal in April?

Highs sit between 17.4 °C (63 °F) and 21.9 °C (71 °F) in every city, and lows between 6.7 °C (44 °F) and 16.2 °C (61 °F). Rain runs from 0.96 mm a day in Funchal to 3.0 mm in Porto and Braga. The questions below take rain, heat and each city in turn.

Does it rain a lot in Portugal in April?

Yes in the north, much less in the south. By NASA POWER averages Porto and Braga get 3.0 mm a day and Aveiro 2.9 mm, against 0.96 mm in Funchal. April is wetter than May in all 10 cities. Rain is a monthly average, not a forecast for your dates.

Rain a day by month. The last column is May divided by April.

• The Algarve is drier than the north, but not dry: Lagos gets 2.35 mm a day and Faro 2.08 mm.

Which part of Portugal is the hottest in April?

Inland Evora is the hottest by day, with an afternoon high of 21.9 °C (71 °F), but its nights fall to 9.2 °C (49 °F). Over the whole day Funchal is warmest, with a mean of 16.9 °C (62 °F), then Faro and Lagos at 15.8 °C (60 °F). Braga is coldest, at 11.1 °C (52 °F).

What is the weather in Porto, the Algarve and Madeira in April?

Here is each city, north to south, with the typical high and low and the rain a day.

• Braga: highs of 17.4 °C (63 °F), lows of 6.7 °C (44 °F), 3.0 mm of rain a day. The coldest city of the 10.
• Porto: highs of 17.5 °C (64 °F), lows of 11.1 °C (52 °F), 3.0 mm of rain a day.
• Aveiro: highs of 18.5 °C (65 °F), lows of 10.7 °C (51 °F), 2.9 mm of rain a day.
• Coimbra: highs of 18.8 °C (66 °F), lows of 7.8 °C (46 °F), 2.7 mm of rain a day.

Lisbon area and Alentejo

• Sintra: highs of 18.5 °C (65 °F), lows of 12.1 °C (54 °F), 1.9 mm of rain a day.
• Cascais: highs of 17.5 °C (64 °F), lows of 13.5 °C (56 °F), 1.8 mm of rain a day.
• Evora: highs of 21.9 °C (71 °F), lows of 9.2 °C (49 °F), 1.9 mm of rain a day.

Algarve and Madeira

• Faro: highs of 19.1 °C (66 °F), lows of 13.4 °C (56 °F), 2.1 mm of rain a day.
• Lagos: highs of 17.9 °C (64 °F), lows of 14.2 °C (58 °F), 2.4 mm of rain a day.
• Funchal on Madeira: highs of 18.7 °C (66 °F), lows of 16.2 °C (61 °F), 0.96 mm of rain a day. The warmest city by mean, at 16.9 °C (62 °F).

Can you sunbathe in Portugal in April?

Not on air temperature alone. Afternoon highs reach 19.1 °C (66 °F) in Faro and 17.9 °C (64 °F) in Lagos, and 21.9 °C (71 °F) inland in Evora. That is mild, not hot. We cannot say how cold the sea is.

We cannot answer the sea question yet. We have no sourced sea-temperature data for these cities, and air temperature does not tell you the water temperature, so we do not guess.

Is April a good time to go, and what should you pack?

Is April a good time to visit Portugal?

On our figures April suits Funchal if you want mild and dry, and Lagos on the mainland. It is not a top month anywhere: April ranks between 4th and 9th of the 12 months in each city. Even Funchal, the best of the 10, scores only 0.33 on the 0 to 1 scale.

• Funchal: score 0.33, 4th of 12 months, highs of 18.7 °C (66 °F), lows of 16.2 °C (61 °F), 0.96 mm of rain a day, 85% of its busiest month.
• Lagos: score 0.28, 9th of 12 months, highs of 17.9 °C (64 °F), lows of 14.2 °C (58 °F), 2.35 mm of rain a day, 55% of its busiest month.
• Faro: score 0.26, 7th of 12 months, highs of 19.1 °C (66 °F), lows of 13.4 °C (56 °F), 2.08 mm of rain a day, 70% of its busiest month.
• Funchal is warmer and drier than Lagos on grid figures, but Lagos has fewer people: 55% of its busiest month against 85%. The Funchal best-time page and the Lagos best-time page show all 12 months for each.

What should you wear in Portugal in April?

Pack layers and a rain jacket. The gap between the daytime high and the night low is 12.7 °C in Evora, 11.0 °C in Coimbra and 10.7 °C in Braga, but only 2.5 °C in Funchal. Rain is likeliest in the north, so shoes that dry help there.

In the north, Porto and Braga get 3.0 mm of rain a day. In May, per NASA POWER, it is 0.6 and 0.7 times that. Inland, Evora has warm afternoons at 21.9 °C (71 °F), yet nights fall to 9.2 °C (49 °F), and Coimbra and Braga drop to 7.8 °C (46 °F) and 6.7 °C (44 °F), so bring a warm layer for the evening. In Funchal, Lagos and Cascais the swing is small, 2.5 °C, 3.7 °C and 4.0 °C, so one light layer is likely enough day and night.

How do the 10 cities rank for April?

We ranked the 10 cities with one rule: mild, dry and not too full scores best. Temperature fit is full marks at a mean of 17 to 24 °C and zero at 8 °C or 30 °C. Dryness is zero at 5 mm of rain a day. The crowd share counts at a weight of 0.7. In April the scores run from 0.07 in Braga to 0.33 in Funchal.

The table shows the high and the low, while the score uses a separate long-term mean of day and night, so it can read colder than sites that print only the high.

What we cannot tell you yet

Figures as of October 2026. Our climate figures are for a grid square of 0.5 by 0.625 degrees, about 56 by 54 km, not a city weather station. A square near the coast mixes in sea air, and Funchal’s square is mostly sea. Rain is a monthly average, not a forecast for your dates. Lisbon is not in our 10 cities.

Planning another month? See Portugal in March, Portugal in May, Portugal in November, Portugal in December, Portugal in January or Portugal in February, ranked with the same rule.

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