Held during the last few days before Lent, Carnaval livens up the country with outlandish costumes, parades and fun fairs. The biggest celebrations are in Lisbon, Loule, Nazare, Ovar and Viana do Castelo. The highpoint of the carnival, though, is entrudo, the final day. If you only have a day to spare, reserve it for entrudo and head to Lisbon’s Parque Nações (Metro Station Oriente) where there is street theatre, parades and other entertainment. The events are all free, start around 3pm and continue well into the evening. There are other parties along the coast in Estoril and Cascais.

Held annually in Rivoli Teatro Municipal, Porto since 1981, Fantasporto is a competitive film festival which screens around 200 films every year with the bulk of its programming coming from Europe and the USA. The festival is usually well-covered by the local media, and attracts audiences of more than 10,000 people each year.

From the end of March to the beginning of April, Portugal hosts a hot air balloon race, with numerous teams from various continents taking part. The balloons fly from Vila Pouca de Aguiar (25km northeast of Vila Real in Tras Os Montes) to Loulé in the Algarve, stopping at Braga and Guimarães in the Minho, Porto in the Douro, Santarém in the Ribatejo and Estremoz in the Alentejo. They generally take off at 7am each day and travel to the next town by 5pm. On the last day in Loulé, there is usually a big party to celebrate the end of a fabulous flight. If you're in Portugal at this time, look up for the balloons - it's a spectacular sight.