Portugal Day

Portugal Day

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  1. 1143Portugal recognised as independent kingdom — Treaty of Zamora
  2. 1498Vasco da Gama reaches India — the age of Portuguese exploration peaks
  3. 1974Carnation Revolution — peaceful end to 48 years of authoritarian rule

Why Portugal celebrates 10 June

Portugal celebrates Portugal Day on 10 June — the death anniversary of Luís de Camões, the great national poet who died on this date in 1580. Camões wrote Os Lusíadas — the epic poem about Vasco da Gama's voyage to India — and is considered the greatest poet in the Portuguese language. His death date was chosen as a cultural and national day that encompasses the entire Portuguese-speaking world.

Portugal's national history is defined by the Age of Discovery — the 15th and 16th century voyages of Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Pedro Álvares Cabral and Ferdinand Magellan that opened sea routes to Africa, India, Brazil and eventually around the world. Portugal was the first global maritime empire.

Portugal Day is celebrated not only in Portugal but in former colonies and the diaspora across Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and communities worldwide. Official ceremonies are held in Lisbon, attended by the president. The day also honours communities of Portuguese emigration around the world — the diaspora has shaped Portuguese identity as much as the homeland.

  1. 202610 June 2026 · Wednesday
  2. 202710 June 2027 · Thursday
  3. 202810 June 2028 · Saturday
The Portuguese flag
Portugal flag

The Portuguese flag has two unequal vertical bands — a green stripe on the hoist side and a red field on the fly — with the Portuguese coat of arms on the dividing line. The green represents hope and the red symbolises the blood of those who died for the country. The coat of arms contains an armillary sphere representing the Age of Discovery and a shield with the crosses of Afonso Henriques.

Portuguese cuisine is shaped by the Atlantic — salt cod (bacalhau), seafood, olive oil, wine and bread are its foundations. The cuisine is honest, generous and deeply connected to the land and sea.

What to eat

Bacalhau à BrásShredded salt cod with thinly fried potatoes, egg and parsley — one of 365 ways to cook bacalhau.
Pastel de nataFlaky pastry custard tart from the Jerónimos monastery in Belém — the most famous pastry in the world.
Caldo verdeKale soup with chorizo slices and potato — the definitive Portuguese winter comfort dish.
Grilled sardinesFresh sardines grilled over charcoal — the centrepiece of the Lisbon June festivals of Santo António.
FrancesinhaPorto's indulgent sandwich — meat, sausage and cheese buried under a spicy beer-and-tomato sauce.
Arroz de mariscoRich seafood rice with clams, mussels and shrimp — cooked wet and loose, not dry like paella.

What to drink

Vinho VerdeYoung, slightly sparkling white wine from northwest Portugal — light, refreshing and mineral.
Port wineFortified wine from the Douro Valley — the world's most famous dessert wine, from Tawny to Vintage.
GinjinhaSour cherry liqueur — drunk in tiny cups at street kiosks in Lisbon and Óbidos.
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Portugal culture

Portuguese culture is shaped by saudade — a melancholic longing for what is past or absent — expressed most purely in fado music. The Manueline architecture, the Age of Discovery azulejo tiles and the world's longest-surviving language empire define Portugal's cultural inheritance.

Fado musicUNESCO-listed Lisbon soul music — mournful, beautiful songs of loss sung in small fado houses in Alfama.
Jerónimos MonasteryThe Manueline masterpiece in Belém — built to celebrate Vasco da Gama's voyage to India.
Sintra palacesFairytale palaces in the hills above Lisbon — the Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira draw millions of visitors.
June festivalsLisbon's Festas de Lisboa in June — sardines grilling on every street corner, paper flowers and folk music.