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Where to go in January / Portugal in January / Lisbon / January

Portugal · City

Lisbon
in January.

Illustration of Terracotta rooftops above the Tagus in Lisbon; representative Alfama panorama, no church or exact lookout claimed.
Lisbon rooftops above the TagusDestination view, not month-specific.

Is January a good time?

Temperature unit

Mild days.
A steady visitor season.

January averages 60°F afternoons and 59°F seas, with about 9 rain days.

Afternoons
60°F
Sea
59°F
Visitor demand
50%of August peak

Historical Grande Lisboa regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais; conditions vary within the region.

Overall match

7.2/10 · scores & priorities

What matters most?

Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%

#12 of 12 months here · Balanced mix

Weather7.1/10Very good
CrowdsSteady all yearsimilar all year; overnight stays do not measure queues
CostModeratefor Europe

Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.

Plan your January

What to expect.

What should I pack?

Afternoons around 60°F (16°C): light layers; nights around 47°F (9°C): a warm coat. Bring rain gear: about 9 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 10 hours of daylight.

Can I swim in January?

The sea averages 59°F. Our swimming guide: cold: short dips, or a wetsuit. Your comfort will vary. This is open water near the coast, not a beach-specific reading.

Monthly coastal averages from NOAA, 2011–2025. Sea temperature is separate from the weather and Overall scores.

A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights, sea temperature & daylight Show detailsHide details

About 10 hours of daylight.

Sunrise 07:54Sunset 17:3747°F60°F00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00

The sun rises about 07:54 and sets about 17:37 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 47°F (9°C); afternoons reach about 60°F (16°C). Expect rain on about 9 days in a typical January.

Typical afternoon
60°F (16°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Januarys
Night low
47°F (9°C)
average daily minimum
Sea
59°F (15°C)
cold; open water near the coast, NOAA satellite record 2011–2025
Daylight
9h 43m
on the 15th, computed from latitude

Early, middle or late?

Early or late January?

Early and late January have similar afternoon averages. The afternoon high averages 61°F on the 1st, versus 60°F on the 31st.

Early January 1 January

61°F

Typical afternoon high

25% historical wet-day frequency

Mid January 15 January

60°F

Typical afternoon high

29% historical wet-day frequency

Late January 31 January

60°F

Typical afternoon high

24% historical wet-day frequency

Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.

Public holidays · 2027: 1 Jan New Year's Day.

Daily calendar & holiday datesJanuary 2027 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar

January 2027 calendar

Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2027.

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
161°261°360°
460°560°660°760°860°960°1060°
1160°1260°1360°1460°1560°1660°1760°
1860°1960°2060°2160°2260°2360°2460°
2560°2660°2760°2860°2960°3060°3160°

Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event

Afternoons hold at about 60°F (16°C) all month. The chance of a wet day runs 23–31%.

No school holidays here in January 2027. Public holidays: 1 Jan New Year's Day. Elsewhere in January 2027, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: Germany 21%, Spain 24%, Italy 20%, Poland 17%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)

Crowds, cost and getting there

Visitor season

Will it be busy?

Steady all year. January averages 50% of August's overnight stays per day. Overnight demand varies little across the year.

Overnight stays across Grande Lisboa do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights.

Hotel price season

Will it be cheaper?

Well below usual. Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €69 per guest-night. An average, not a booking quote.

Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.

Historical hotel average
€69
2024–2025 monthly average; hotel revenue per guest-night; not a current booking quote. −22% vs this region's usual month.
Portugal as a whole
Well below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 76 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
Recorded US nonstop flights · 2024
Recorded this month
from Newark, New York JFK, Boston and Miami and 4 more; 2024 schedule, Eurostat

The historical regional amount comes from INE Portugal, Inquérito à Permanência de Hóspedes: hotel room revenue per guest-night; the country price level is national. Hotel averages are not live booking quotes.

Year-to-year variation

How much does January vary?

Across the recorded years

In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 57°F (14°C) and 63°F (17°C); in 13 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 60°F (16°C). Rain days ranged from 2 to 17; half the years had 5–12.

Rain days in each January

Historical rain days; exact figures in the table below. 2011: 11 rain days1120112012: 2 rain days22013: 12 rain days122014: 17 rain days172015: 9 rain days92016: 15 rain days152017: 6 rain days62018: 5 rain days52019: 5 rain days52020: 10 rain days102021: 6 rain days62022: 2 rain days22023: 7 rain days72024: 12 rain days122025: 12 rain days122025
Rain days
9
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 14 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
9 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no January in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
20 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded JanuaryHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
Historical monthly averages, not daily extremes.
YearAfternoon highRain days
201159°F11
201260°F2
201359°F12
201460°F17
201558°F9
201662°F15
201759°F6
201860°F5
201959°F5
202060°F10
202157°F6
202262°F2
202360°F7
202463°F12
202562°F12

Checked against official climate averages for Lisboa (Instituto Geofisico). How we check

Compare dates

December, January
or February?

Historical regional averages. Overnight demand vs August peak, measured as average stays per day.
Typical conditionsDecJanFeb
Afternoons62°F60°F61°F
Sea61°F59°F58°F
Rain days798
Overnight demand58%50%63%

December: Fewer rain days than January. December guide →

February: Similar monthly conditions to January. February guide →

Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues. Sea temperatures are monthly coastal averages.

Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with January Show comparisonHide comparison

Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. January stays as your reference.

Hotel stays vary little through the year. April to November have a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than January.

Your comparison

January or December?

Overnight stays vary little through the year.

Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €72 per guest-night. An average, not a booking quote.

Read the December guide →
January compared with another month
Typical conditionsJanuaryDecember
Afternoons60°F62°F
Nights47°F49°F
Sea59°F61°F
Rain days97
Visitor seasonSteady all yearSteady all year
Overall / 107.27.3
Month rank#12#10
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
All 12 months. Scores and ranks follow your priorities. Explore the whole year.
MonthOverallRankHighLowSeaRain daysWeatherVisitor season
January7.2#1260°F47°F59°F97.1Steady all year
February7.3#1161°F48°F58°F87.3Steady all year
March7.4#964°F49°F58°F77.8Steady all year
April7.8#767°F52°F60°F88.8Steady all year
May8.2#372°F55°F62°F210.0Steady all year
June8.2#476°F58°F64°F110.0Steady all year
July8.4#180°F59°F65°F010.0Steady all year
August8.4#281°F60°F65°F010.0Steady all year
September8.1#578°F60°F66°F210.0Steady all year
October8.0#673°F59°F65°F89.6Steady all year
November7.4#865°F53°F63°F118.1Steady all year
December7.3#1062°F49°F61°F77.4Steady all year

Near here

Nearby places in January

Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.

Elsewhere in Europe

Same dates, elsewhere in Europe

Lisbon's weather ranks 2 of 41 city regions this month. We found no city regions outside Portugal with a weather score at least 1.0 point higher on these dates.

All of Portugal in January · Everywhere in January

How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details

Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 50% of the busiest and 37% below average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are.The figures cover the whole Grande Lisboa region, suburbs included. That means about 34,000 overnight visitors on a typical January night across the region, 23% of them from Portugal itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 17,000 more: 51 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.

Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100)70
How our weather was checkedOfficial climate averages for Lisboa (Instituto Geofisico) from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 3°F (1.7°C), night lows within 2°F (1.3°C).
Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day16
Busiest month hereAugust · 32
Visitors as share of people present1.6%
Rank among Europe's regions this month88th percentile
Domestic share of nights23%
Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights51
Visitor share if every platform night were extra2.3%
Population used2.2 million
Statistical regionPT1A · Grande Lisboa

Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national; the first figure is regional (INE Portugal, Inquérito à Permanência de Hóspedes: hotel room revenue per guest-night). Full method · this region's data.