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Short answer
- Best overall
- FunchalMadeira: warmest day and night, least rain
- Best on the mainland
- LagosAlgarve: warmest mainland mean, quietest of the 10
- Cold nights inland
- Evora15.2 °C (59 °F) by day, 4.5 °C (40 °F) at night
- Coldest and wettest
- Braga4.4 mm of rain a day
Portugal in January is mild in the south and on Madeira, cold and wet in the north, and quiet. January is the best month of the year in one of our cities, Funchal, and the worst month in four others.
Is January a good time to visit Portugal?
| City | January in its own year | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Funchal | 1st of 12 months | 0.38 |
| Lagos | 4th of 12 | 0.37 |
| Faro | 6th of 12 | 0.27 |
| Cascais | 8th of 12 | 0.24 |
| Braga | 9th of 12 | 0.00 |
| Coimbra | 10th of 12 | 0.00 |
| Sintra | 12th of 12 | 0.15 |
| Evora | 12th of 12 | 0.04 |
| Aveiro | 12th of 12 | 0.04 |
| Porto | 12th of 12 | 0.02 |
How the 10 cities rank for January
| # | City | High | Low | Rain a day | How busy | Score | January in its year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Funchal | 17.9 °C 64 °F | 16.1 °C 61 °F | 1.2 mm | 69% | 0.38 | 1 of 12 |
| 2 | Lagos | 15.7 °C 60 °F | 12.6 °C 55 °F | 1.8 mm | 17% | 0.37 | 4 of 12 |
| 3 | Faro | 15.7 °C 60 °F | 11.0 °C 52 °F | 1.6 mm | 38% | 0.27 | 6 of 12 |
| 4 | Cascais | 15.0 °C 59 °F | 11.3 °C 52 °F | 2.1 mm | 34% | 0.24 | 8 of 12 |
| 5 | Sintra | 14.9 °C 59 °F | 9.0 °C 48 °F | 2.3 mm | 41% | 0.15 | 12 of 12 |
| 6 | Evora | 15.2 °C 59 °F | 4.5 °C 40 °F | 1.9 mm | 39% | 0.04 | 12 of 12 |
| 7 | Aveiro | 14.0 °C 57 °F | 7.4 °C 45 °F | 4.1 mm | 34% | 0.04 | 12 of 12 |
| 8 | Porto | 13.5 °C 56 °F | 8.1 °C 47 °F | 4.4 mm | 43% | 0.02 | 12 of 12 |
| 9 | Coimbra | 12.3 °C 54 °F | 3.3 °C 38 °F | 3.5 mm | 47% | 0.00 | 10 of 12 |
| 10 | Braga | 10.9 °C 52 °F | 2.6 °C 37 °F | 4.4 mm | 43% | 0.00 | 9 of 12 |
The weather
Typical daytime highs run from 10.9 °C (52 °F) in Braga to 17.9 °C (64 °F) in Funchal. Rain is heaviest in the north: Braga and Porto get 4.4 mm a day, Aveiro 4.1 mm. Funchal gets 1.2 mm. We ranked the 10 cities with one rule: mild, dry and not too full scores best. The score runs from 0 to 1, and in January no city gets above 0.38. 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 a little colder than sites that print only the high.
The crowds
- Quietest, per INE (Statistics Portugal): Lagos, at 17% of its busiest month.
- Fullest: Funchal, at 69%, the same city that scores best.
- Fullest on the mainland: Coimbra, at 47%, even though its nights fall to 3.3 °C (38 °F).
The cold nights
| City | High | Low | Rain a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braga | 10.9 °C (52 °F) | 2.6 °C (37 °F) | 4.4 mm |
| Coimbra | 12.3 °C (54 °F) | 3.3 °C (38 °F) | 3.5 mm |
| Evora | 15.2 °C (59 °F) | 4.5 °C (40 °F) | 1.9 mm |
Where is the warmest place in Portugal in January?
Funchal on Madeira is warmest by day and across the whole day, with a mean of 16.6 °C (62 °F). On the mainland, Lagos is warmest, with a mean of 13.8 °C (57 °F). Is it worth visiting Portugal in winter? For mild weather, yes in the south and on Madeira. The Funchal best-time page and the Lagos best-time page show every month for those two cities.
The Algarve and the Lisbon area
- Lagos: highs of 15.7 °C (60 °F), lows of 12.6 °C (55 °F), 1.8 mm of rain a day.
- Faro: the same high, 15.7 °C (60 °F), a cooler night at 11.0 °C (52 °F), and 1.6 mm of rain. See the Faro best-time page.
- Cascais: highs of 15.0 °C (59 °F), lows of 11.3 °C (52 °F), 2.1 mm of rain. See the Cascais guide.
- Sintra: highs of 14.9 °C (59 °F), lows of 9.0 °C (48 °F), 2.3 mm of rain. See the Sintra guide.
Porto and the north
Porto has highs of 13.5 °C (56 °F) and lows of 8.1 °C (47 °F), gets 4.4 mm of rain a day, and ranks 8th of the 10 cities. January is its 12th-best month out of 12. The Porto best-time page shows the rest of the year.
Is it better to visit Portugal in January or February?
| City | Score, January | Score, February | Busy, January | Busy, February |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funchal | 0.38 | 0.31 | 69% | 71% |
| Lagos | 0.37 | 0.32 | 17% | 23% |
| Faro | 0.27 | 0.23 | 38% | 46% |
| Cascais | 0.24 | 0.24 | 34% | 41% |
| Sintra | 0.15 | 0.18 | 41% | 45% |
| Evora | 0.04 | 0.08 | 39% | 46% |
| Aveiro | 0.04 | 0.08 | 34% | 38% |
| Porto | 0.02 | 0.06 | 43% | 50% |
| Coimbra | 0.00 | 0.00 | 47% | 47% |
| Braga | 0.00 | 0.00 | 43% | 47% |
The weather
- We compared the two months city by city. January scores higher in 3 cities: Funchal, Lagos and Faro.
- February scores higher in 4: Sintra, Evora, Aveiro and Porto.
- The other 3 tie: Cascais, Coimbra and Braga.
The crowds
We compared overnight stays from INE, Statistics Portugal, for January and February in 2023, 2024 and 2025. February is busier than January in 9 of the 10 cities, and Coimbra is level at 47% in both months. In Lagos the share of the busiest month rises from 17% in January to 23% in February.
What we cannot tell you yet
- Can you swim in Portugal in January? We have no sea-temperature data for these cities, and air temperature does not tell you the water temperature, so we do not guess.
- What is the cheapest month to visit Portugal? INE counts overnight stays, not prices. Demand in January runs from 17% of the busiest month in Lagos to 69% in Funchal, but we have no monthly price data. For one city’s costs, see what a trip to Porto costs.
- Is there anything on? We have no sourced event data, so this page does not cover festivals or holiday opening hours.
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. Near the coast that square mixes in sea air, so day and night are closer together than in town. Lisbon is not in our 10 cities.
What to pack for Portugal in January
- A warm layer for evenings and a rain jacket if you go north. Braga drops to 2.6 °C (37 °F) and gets 4.4 mm of rain a day.
- Mild days and cold nights inland: Evora reaches 15.2 °C (59 °F) by day and 4.5 °C (40 °F) at night.
- Phone data: our page on eSIM options for Portugal compares two brands on what their own pages say.
- Another season: see Portugal in November, Portugal in December, Portugal in February, Portugal in March, Portugal in April or Portugal in May, ranked with the same rule.
How we made this page
Our script read two open sources for each of the 10 cities and ranked them on the same best-time score as each city's own page. Highs and lows are averages of every January day from 2015 to 2024. The crowd figure is January overnight stays as a share of the city's busiest month, from INE data for 2023 to 2025. We have not visited these cities for this page.
Research and first drafts are AI-assisted. Every figure comes from open data listed on the page with its source and date, and a person reviews each page before it goes live.
- NASA POWER, monthly climatology (mean temperature, rain)NASA POWER data use policy (open, attribution required). Fetched .
- NASA POWER, daily data 2015-2024 (daytime high, night low)NASA POWER data use policy (open, attribution required). Fetched .
- NASA POWER methodology page (grid size)NASA POWER data use policy (open, attribution required). Fetched .
- INE, Statistics Portugal, overnight stays (indicator 0010735)CC BY 4.0. Fetched .