At a Glance
Compared to this destination's peak season October is genuinely quiet outside a few windows. The Republic Day long weekend (3-5 October) and the EDP Lisbon Marathon weekend (8-11 October) firm up hotel rates; DocLisboa and the Amadora BD comics festival fill venues 15-25 October; and the WSL surf contest at Peniche runs 22 October to 1 November. The one to plan around is Web Summit (9-12 November): October is when hotel rates for that November week start tripling. Budget €4 per person per night for the tourist tax (first 7 nights, under-13s exempt), and note the clocks fall back on Sunday 25 October.
Lisbon in October — Travel Guide
By Harry Nara · Last updated
Lisbon in October offers some of the best conditions of the year, ideal for marathon, doclisboa & golden light. Expect temperatures of 14–23°C, around 9 days of rain, and low-medium crowds across the city. Daily budgets typically land around €70–400+ for mid-range travellers. Rooms are easy to find last-minute and hotel prices stay noticeably softer through the season.
Contents14 sections
#Weather in Lisbon in October
Lisbon in October averages 14–23°C (57–73°F) with around 9 days of rain, and crowds are low-medium.
| Measure | October in Lisbon |
|---|---|
| Daytime high | 21–23°C / 70–73°F in the first fortnight, 14–23°C / 57–73°F across the month |
| Overnight low | 14–16°C / 57–61°F |
| Rain | About 80mm across 9 wet days, most of it saved for the final week |
| Sea at Cascais | Holds 19–20°C / 66–68°F until mid-month, then slides |
| Clocks | Fall back Sunday 25 October 2026 (WEST to WET) |
| Sunset | About 6:50pm at the start, roughly 5:30pm after the change |
Figures are IPMA Geofísico 1991–2020 normals.
What that actually means for your trip:
- The first two weeks are the prize. Typically dry and bright, afternoons at 21–23°C, under a sky that has lost August's white glare and gained the soft, low, honey-coloured light photographers travel here for.
- You can still swim, but only early in the month. The sea holds 19–20°C to mid-October, which is a genuine late swim on a sunny afternoon. After that it goes.
- The last week changes character. The first proper Atlantic fronts arrive: a day or two of heavy rain, then three or four of scrubbed-clean clearing.
- The clock change lands hard. An hour comes off the evening overnight, so golden hour arrives with dinner rather than after it. Plan outdoor sightseeing earlier from the 26th.
Early or late October? Lisboetas quietly rate this the best of the shoulder season, and they mean the first fortnight. Go before the 25th and you get summer light, swimmable sea and thin crowds together. Go after and you trade that for genuine rain risk and dark evenings, though you also get the lowest prices and the quietest Sintra of the warm half of the year.
#Getting Around
Arriving: Lisbon Airport is 20 minutes from the centre.
The Metro red line is €1.85 (the 2026 rate, up from €1.65) plus a one-time €0.50 for the reloadable Viva Viagem card.
The Aerobus is €4, and a taxi or Uber runs €15-20. October traffic is a fraction of the summer crush, so airport transfers are quick and predictable except on the two festival-and-marathon weekends noted below.
In the city: the Lisboa Card (24h €22, 48h €37, 72h €46) bundles unlimited transport with entry to a long list of museums, and it makes even more sense than in summer.
Tram 28 is finally rideable at midday, the shoulder-season crowds a fraction of July's crush, though it still fills on weekends.
The Cais do Sodré train to Cascais (€2.40, 30-35 min) is at its most atmospheric now, dramatic Atlantic skies over half-empty carriages.
Rossio to Sintra (€2.40, 40 min) stays busy at weekends but calms sharply midweek.
Costa da Caparica is bus 161 from Praça de Espanha (€3.35, 25 min).
#What to Do in Lisbon in October
Republic Day and the 5 October long weekend
Lisbon opens the month with a national holiday most visitors have never heard of.
5 October is Implantação da República (Republic Day), marking the 1910 revolution that ended the monarchy and founded the First Portuguese Republic.
In 2026 it falls on a Monday, so Portugal gets a three-day long weekend from Saturday 3 to Monday 5 October, and the city fills with domestic travellers rather than emptying out.
The practical reality is mixed.
Government offices, banks, most schools and many smaller shops close on the Monday, and public transport runs a Sunday timetable (thinner, but running).
But museums, restaurants, cafés and the major sights stay open, and the mood is festive rather than shuttered. There is a formal flag-raising and civic ceremony at the Câmara Municipal on Praça do Município, but for most people the day is simply a good excuse for a long lunch and a walk in the autumn light.
The EDP Lisbon Marathon: Saturday 10 October
One of the most scenic marathons in the world runs straight through your trip.
The EDP Lisbon Marathon starts at 8am on Saturday 10 October in Carcavelos and finishes at Praça do Comércio, hugging the sea and the Tagus for the entire 42km, an Elite Label course by World Athletics.
The Hyundai Half Marathon and the EDP 8K follow on Sunday 11 October, and the bib-and-kit Expo runs Thursday and Friday, 8-9 October, at the FIL exhibition centre in Parque das Nações.
You do not need to run to enjoy it.
The finish at Praça do Comércio is a genuine spectacle, and the riverside promenade from Belém into the centre gives you miles of free, uncrowded viewing.
What it does mean is road closures along the coast road and the riverfront on Saturday morning, so if you had planned to drive or taxi west towards Cascais early on the 10th, move it to the afternoon.
DocLisboa: 15-25 October
DocLisboa, Portugal's most important documentary film festival, returns for its 24th edition from 15 to 25 October 2026.
It takes over Cinema São Jorge, Culturgest and the Cinemateca Portuguesa, and the programming is heavily international with English subtitles on most non-English films. Past editions have premiered work from Frederick Wiseman, Werner Herzog and Kirsten Johnson, and the festival mixes competition strands with retrospectives and debates.
Individual tickets are €4-5, among the cheapest serious cinema in Europe, with festival passes running higher.
Amadora BD: Europe's great comics festival, 15-25 October
Overlapping DocLisboa to the day, the 37th Amadora BD runs 15 to 25 October 2026 in Amadora, a 20-minute train ride from Rossio on the Sintra line. It is one of Europe's largest comics (banda desenhada) festivals, second on the continent only to Angoulême, spread across the Parque da Liberdade, the Bedeteca da Amadora and the Galeria Municipal Artur Bual.
The 2026 edition marks the 80th anniversaries of both Lucky Luke and Blake & Mortimer, with original-artwork exhibitions, international guests and a stack of the medium's biggest awards. Much of it is free.
The world's best surfers at Peniche: 22 October to 1 November
The MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, a stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour, runs at the legendary Supertubos beach in Peniche from 22 October to 1 November 2026, putting the planet's best surfers in the water an hour and a half north of Lisbon.
It is free to watch from the dunes, the waves are the fast, hollow, sand-bottomed barrels that give Supertubos its name, and the competition runs on the best forecast days inside the window, so check the WSL "will it run today" call before committing the trip.
Golden-hour Lisbon and the miradouros
October is the photographers' month, and the city is built for it.
Ride Tram 28 in the early light from Martim Moniz through Alfama, hopping off at Largo das Portas do Sol for the rooftop view.
Climb Castelo de São Jorge (€15) for the best 360-degree panorama, then spend a slow afternoon at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum (€10), where the garden trees begin turning by mid-month. For sunset the free miradouros do the rest: Senhora do Monte for the widest sweep, Santa Catarina for the river, and São Pedro de Alcântara for the castle across the valley.
Sintra in the autumn mist
Sintra is at its atmospheric best in October, when Atlantic mist wraps the hilltop palaces and the summer coach crowds thin.
Pena Palace is €20 for the palace and park combined; the €14 ticket you will still see quoted in older guides is now the park-only price and does not get you inside.
Entry is timed and booked in advance at parquesdesintra.pt, choosing a date and a time slot.
Quinta da Regaleira (€15), with its famous initiation well, does not run on rigid slots and is arguably the better October choice.
Web Summit is coming, and October is when the rates jump
The world's biggest tech conference, Web Summit, runs 9-12 November 2026 at the Altice Arena and FIL in Parque das Nações, drawing more than 70,000 people. If you are here in October you will miss the conference itself, but you will feel its shadow: hotel rates for the 6-13 November window climb sharply through October and treble in Baixa, Chiado and Príncipe Real. If you are booking a return trip for the conference, do it now; if you are not, avoid that one week and visit either side of it for a fraction of the price.
The late beach and the last of the vindima
Early October still delivers a beach day: Cascais (Cais do Sodré train, €2.40) with the sea at 19-20°C, or the long open sands of Costa da Caparica.
Inland, the vindima (grape harvest) is finishing across the Setúbal Peninsula, and a half-day tour to José Maria da Fonseca (moscatel tasting from €15-25pp) or the small Colares vineyards near Sintra catches the cellars at their most alive.
#Food & Dining
October is when Lisbon's cooking turns to autumn.
Roast chestnut vendors (castanhas assadas) set up their coal drums around Rossio, Cais do Sodré and Chiado from late in the month, €3-5 a paper cone, and game starts appearing on traditional menus: perdiz (partridge), javali (wild boar), lebre (hare).
Hearty dishes like cozido à portuguesa (boiled meat-and-vegetable stew) and arroz de pato (duck rice) come back into season.
The reliable tables hold their crowns year-round.
Cervejaria Ramiro for shellfish (€25-40pp), still worth the queue or a 6pm arrival.
Solar dos Presuntos near Restauradores for old-school Portuguese (€18-28): bacalhau à brás, polvo à lagareiro, arroz de marisco.
Time Out Market thins out from September and is genuinely pleasant again at lunch, 30-plus chef stalls under one roof (€8-18 a dish).
Sea Me in Chiado for upscale fish (€35-60pp), and Belcanto for the two-Michelin-star tasting menu (€185+, book weeks ahead).
For pastel de nata the argument never settles: Pastéis de Belém (€1.40) has the 1837 recipe and a 15-20 minute queue in October, half its summer length; Manteigaria (€1.30) has a hot tray every few minutes and, in a blind test, would win more often than the Belém faithful will admit.
#Nightlife
October nightlife is busy without being mobbed.
Bairro Alto still spills onto the cobbles on Friday and Saturday, the drinking done in the street with €2-4 beers, but weeknights turn local again.
Cais do Sodré is the grown-up version: Pensão Amor, Sol e Pesca, Musicbox and the neon strip of Pink Street.
Lux Frágil at Santa Apolónia remains the serious club, an international DJ programme that does not get going until 2am (cover €15-20).
The rooftops are on borrowed time.
Park Bar, built on a car-park roof in Bairro Alto, and Topo Chiado are glorious in the warm early-October evenings and switch to their indoor focus once the fronts arrive.
For fado, Tasca do Chico in Bairro Alto (no cover, just buy drinks) and Mesa de Frades in Alfama (dinner and show from €45pp) are at their most atmospheric in the softer autumn light. During Web Summit week in November, every fashionable bar books out for client dinners, so if you are here for that, reserve.
#Shopping
The autumn-winter collections fill Chiado, Avenida da Liberdade and Príncipe Real.
Independent picks: A Vida Portuguesa for beautifully packaged Portuguese goods, Embaixada in Príncipe Real for local designers inside a Moorish-revival palace, and Cortiço & Netos in Intendente for genuine discontinued azulejos.
Feira da Ladra, the city flea market, runs Tuesday and Saturday mornings at Campo de Santa Clara, and the LX Factory Sunday market under the 25 de Abril bridge is reliably worth the trip.
Garrafeira Nacional in Baixa is the place for the new-vintage Portuguese wines coming through in October, and Manteigaria will box pastéis de nata to travel.
#Culture & Etiquette
- October is the most genuinely Lisboeta month after the August closures: the locals are back, the festivals run, and the city feels lived-in rather than performed.
- The clocks fall back on Sunday 25 October, so double-check any tour, train or restaurant time booked across that night.
- Greetings are a handshake, or one kiss on each cheek between friends.
- Lunch is the main meal (1-3pm); dinner runs 8-10pm.
- Couvert (bread, olives, cheese) is not free. It runs €2-6pp and you may decline it with a polite "sem couvert, obrigado".
- Tipping: round up, or 5-10% for good service.
- Speaking Spanish to a Portuguese person lands badly. A few words of Portuguese go a very long way.
#Essential Local Phrases
| Portuguese | English | When you'll use it |
|---|---|---|
| Bom dia / Boa tarde | Good morning / afternoon | Standard greetings |
| Obrigado / Obrigada | Thank you (m/f) | Standard thank you |
| Por favor | Please | Asking for anything |
| Faz favor | Excuse me / waiter | Getting a waiter's attention |
| Quanto custa? | How much? | Markets, taxis, shops |
| Está a chover | It's raining | Small talk in the last week of October |
| Sem couvert, obrigado | No couvert, thank you | Declining the bread and olives |
| A conta, por favor | The bill, please | Restaurants |
#Packing List
- Light layers for 14-23°C days: a t-shirt afternoon, a jacket morning and evening.
- A light waterproof jacket. October averages about 9 wet days, most bunched in the final week.
- Walking shoes with real grip. The calçada cobbles are polished smooth and genuinely dangerous once the autumn rain starts.
- Sunglasses. October's low golden light is bright and straight in your eyes.
- One warm layer for evenings after the clocks change.
- A compact umbrella for the late-month fronts.
- Smart-casual for fado houses and fine dining.
- A reusable bottle. Lisbon tap water is safe and free.
- Type F two-pin European adapter.
- A camera, or a phone you trust: October is the light photographers come for.
#Backup Plans (Rainy Days)
The rain mostly holds off until the final week, so wet-day options are excellent when you need them.
The Calouste Gulbenkian (€10) is the best indoor hour in the city; the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (€8), MAAT in Belém (€11), the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (€6) and the Coach Museum (€8) are all cool, quiet and half-empty in October.
DocLisboa screenings at Cinema São Jorge and the Cinemateca are €4-5 and the cheapest way to sit out a shower.
Time Out Market and LX Factory are covered.
The Estufa Fria greenhouse (€3.10) is a warm tropical escape, and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (€12) and Torre de Belém (€8) are far more pleasant now that there is actual space inside.
#Budget & Costs
| Travel style | Per day | Per night |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | €65-100 | Hostel €20-38 |
| Mid-range | €120-180 | 3-star €90-145 |
| Comfortable | €230-360 | 4-star €150-270 |
October is one of Lisbon's best-value months: mild weather, the year's best light, and shoulder-season rates 30-40% below the summer peak.
Sample costs:
| What | Price |
|---|---|
| Lisboa Card 48h | €37 |
| Sintra day, all in | €40-55 |
| Mid-range dinner with wine | €25-45 |
| Pena Palace | €20 |
| Castelo | €15 |
| Jerónimos | €12 |
| Time Out Market dish | €8-18 |
| DocLisboa ticket | €4-5 |
| Bifana | €2.50-4 |
| Pastel de nata | €1.30-1.40 |
| Bica | €0.80-1.20 |
Where the money actually goes:
- One fortnight firms up, one is in a different universe. The Marathon-and-Republic-Day stretch of roughly 3-11 October lifts rates; any night in Web Summit week (6-13 November) is beyond the normal scale entirely.
- The tax is charged at check-out. €4 per person per night to a €28 cap, under-13s exempt, not included in the online rate.
- DocLisboa is the cheapest culture in the calendar. A ticket is €4-5, roughly the price of two coffees.
- The light is the free attraction. October has the best light of the Lisbon year, and the miradouros that show it off cost nothing.
October is the photographer's month and, conveniently, one of the cheapest. The low autumn sun does something to the tiled facades and the river that no other month manages, and it arrives just as rates fall 30-40% off summer. The only planning required is a glance at two dates: the marathon fortnight early in the month, and, if you are extending into November, the Web Summit week that follows. Neither should change your mind about October, but both should change which nights you book.
#Safety & Health
October is one of Lisbon's calmer, safer months, but the pickpocket hot spots do not change: Tram 28, the Santa Justa lift queue, Rossio and the airport metro. Bags across the front, phone out of the back pocket.
The friendship-bracelet and sprig-of-rosemary approaches at the miradouros both end in a demand for money; a firm "não, obrigado" and keep walking.
The real seasonal hazard is underfoot: the calçada cobbles turn treacherous with the first autumn rains, so proper grip matters more than in dry summer. Late-month Atlantic fronts can be intense, so check IPMA for amber or red warnings before a beach or Sintra day. Cold-and-flu season is starting; hand sanitiser is sensible on packed metro trains. Tap water is safe everywhere.
Emergency: 112, and operators speak English. Pharmacies (green cross) run a 24-hour rota, with the on-duty one posted on the door of every closed pharmacy.
#What's Changed for 2026/2027 Travellers
- The EDP Lisbon Marathon is Saturday 10 October 2026 (half marathon and 8K on Sunday 11), finishing at Praça do Comércio, with road closures along the riverfront that morning.
- The MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal has moved to the autumn, running 22 October to 1 November 2026 at Supertubos in Peniche, rather than the spring slot the 2025 edition held.
- DocLisboa is 15-25 October, its 24th edition, overlapping the 37th Amadora BD comics festival on exactly the same dates.
- Pena Palace is €20, not €14. The €14 ticket is now park-only, and palace entry is a pre-booked timed slot.
- The metro is €1.85, up from €1.65.
- The Lisbon tourist tax is €4 per person per night, capped at seven nights; under-13s are exempt.
- The clocks fall back on Sunday 25 October 2026, shifting sunset to about 5:30pm and the golden hour to dinner time.
- Web Summit is 9-12 November 2026; October is when the hotel rates for that November week start to climb.
#About This Guide
Written in July 2026, ahead of the October travel window, and checked against primary sources rather than other travel guides.
Climate figures come from IPMA, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere, whose Geofísico station holds the Lisbon 1991-2020 normals. Event dates are taken from the organisers directly: the EDP Lisbon Marathon, DocLisboa, Amadora BD, the World Surf League and Web Summit. Republic Day is a fixed national holiday on 5 October; Sintra prices and the timed-entry rules come from Parques de Sintra.
Prices change. Where a number here disagrees with the ticket page in front of you, believe the ticket page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's on in Lisbon in October 2026?
The EDP Lisbon Marathon runs Saturday 10 October, starting in Carcavelos and finishing at Praça do Comércio, with the Hyundai Half Marathon and 8K on Sunday 11 October. DocLisboa, Portugal's most important documentary film festival, holds its 24th edition 15-25 October at Cinema São Jorge, Culturgest and the Cinemateca. On exactly the same dates, the 37th Amadora BD comics festival runs in Amadora, a 20-minute train ride away, marking 80 years of both Lucky Luke and Blake & Mortimer. The MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, a World Surf League Championship Tour event, runs 22 October to 1 November at Supertubos in Peniche. And 5 October is Republic Day, a national holiday that creates a three-day long weekend.
Is October a good time to visit Lisbon?
Yes, it is one of the best-value months. IPMA normals put October at 14-23°C with around 9 wet days, most of them saved for the final week, so the first two weeks are usually dry and bright with the year's best golden light. The sea at Cascais holds 19-20°C until mid-month for a genuine late swim, restaurants are back to normal after the August closures, and hotel rates run 30-40% below the summer peak. Note that the clocks fall back on Sunday 25 October, moving sunset to about 5:30pm.
Can I still go to the beach, and where is the surfing?
Early October, yes: sea temperatures stay at 19-20°C until mid-month and sunny afternoons at Cascais or Costa da Caparica still feel warm, though the beach season wraps up by late month. The big surf event is the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, a World Surf League Championship Tour stop at Supertubos in Peniche, 22 October to 1 November, free to watch from the dunes. That is Peniche, not Ericeira, which is a common mix-up: Ericeira is a World Surfing Reserve, excellent for watching everyday surf or taking a lesson, but it does not host the CT contest. Closer to Lisbon, Carcavelos and Guincho have Atlantic surf.
What price changes and holidays should I know for October 2026?
Pena Palace in Sintra is now €20 for the palace and park combined; the €14 figure in older guides is the park-only ticket, and palace entry is a pre-booked timed slot at parquesdesintra.pt. The metro is €1.85, up from €1.65, and the Lisbon City Tourist Tax is €4 per person per night for the first seven nights (under-13s exempt), collected at your hotel. Republic Day on Monday 5 October is a national holiday and a three-day long weekend: banks, government offices and many small shops close, though museums, restaurants and the main sights stay open, so draw cash before the Monday.
What’s the weather like in Lisbon in October?
Lisbon in October typically sees temperatures of 14–23°C with around 9 days of rain across the period. Pack lightweight layers that suit both cooler mornings and warmer afternoons.