Shopping Hours and Public Holidays
Practical Info
Understanding shopping hours and public holidays in the Algarve helps visitors plan their days and avoid the frustration of arriving at closed doors. While the Algarve's tourist-facing businesses tend to be flexible, the underlying Portuguese patterns of work and rest still shape the rhythm of daily life.
Traditional shopping hours in Portugal are Monday to Friday, 9:00 or 10:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 19:00, with a long lunch break in the middle of the day. Saturday hours are typically morning only, 9:00 to 13:00, and most traditional shops are closed on Sundays. However, this pattern has been significantly modified in the Algarve's tourist areas, where many shops, particularly those selling souvenirs, clothing and tourist goods, remain open throughout the day and into the evening during the summer season.
Supermarkets in the Algarve generally operate from 8:00 or 9:00 to 21:00 or 22:00, Monday to Saturday. Sunday opening is common for larger supermarkets, typically from 9:00 to 20:00. The major chains operating in the Algarve include Continente, Pingo Doce, Lidl, Aldi, Intermarche and Apolonia (a premium chain popular with the expatriate community).
Shopping centres, including Forum Algarve in Faro, Aqua Portimao, Mar Shopping Algarve near Loule and Algarve Shopping near Albufeira, are open daily from 10:00 to 23:00 or midnight, including Sundays and most public holidays. These centres contain a mix of international and Portuguese retail chains, food courts, cinemas and supermarkets.
Traditional markets operate on specific days in each town. Loule's covered market is open daily except Sundays, with Saturday being the busiest day. Olhao's waterfront markets operate daily. Weekly open-air markets (feiras) take place on set days across the region: Loule on Saturday, Lagos on Saturday, Quarteira on Wednesday, Tavira on Saturday and others.
Portugal has 13 official public holidays (feriados) per year. On these days, banks, government offices, post offices and many traditional shops close, though tourist-facing businesses, restaurants and shopping centres generally remain open. The public holidays are: New Year's Day (1 January), Carnival Tuesday (variable, February/March), Good Friday (variable), Liberty Day (25 April), Labour Day (1 May), Corpus Christi (variable, June), Portugal Day (10 June), Assumption of Mary (15 August), Republic Day (5 October), All Saints' Day (1 November), Restoration of Independence (1 December) and Christmas Day (25 December). Each municipality also has its own local holiday.
Banking hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 15:00. ATMs are available 24 hours.