Madeira festivals in August 2026: full calendar, from Câmara de Lobos to Machico

This calendar is not a dry list of dates: for each festival we tell you what is being celebrated, what there is to eat and how to get there. This is Madeira as the Madeirans live it, with food stalls, novenas, bailinho and open-air cinema, and it is also the best argument for choosing August to get to know the island.

August’s festivals at a glance

The month opens with the Peixe Espada Preto in Câmara de Lobos, 6th-9th August.

In the middle comes the Festa de Nossa Senhora do Monte, with novenas from 5th to 13th August and the pilgrimage on 14th and 15th August.

At the close, Machico celebrates the Santíssimo Sacramento on 29th and 30th August, and the Madeira Wine Festival starts on 27th August, running to 13th September.

Which festivals are on in Madeira in August 2026?

The essentials of the month fit into one table, so you can plan your stay around whatever interests you most: food, devotion, folk tradition or the grape harvest.

Why does the month open in Câmara de Lobos?

Because no product says “Madeira” quite like the black scabbardfish. From 6th to 9th August the town fills with food stalls, folklore and live cooking to celebrate a fish caught at depths of between 800 and 1,200 metres, in a centuries-old fishery that was among the first in the world to go after a deep-water species. Outside the island it is almost unknown; here, with banana or as a fillet, it is heritage on the table.

The setting counts too: this is the bay that Winston Churchill found so picturesque that he painted it, and the Pestana Churchill Bay keeps that memory alive right in front of the boats.

Why is the Festa do Monte the island’s biggest pilgrimage?

The Festa de Nossa Senhora do Monte is the religious heart of the Madeiran summer: novenas from 5th to 13th August, and on 14th and 15th the main feast and the arraial, with 15th August a public holiday across the region. In the churchyard and the squares around it, espetada on bay laurel skewers and bolo do caco feed thousands of pilgrims deep into the night.

The climb is part of the ritual: the cable car links the Zona Velha in Funchal, on Rua Dom Carlos I, to Largo das Babosas in Monte, every day from 08:45 to 17:45, for €22 return. Up at the top, the view over the bay is the photograph of the month.

What happens in the rest of the island during the month?

• Art´ Camacha, 7-13 August. The parish of wicker and embroidery celebrates its traditions with folklore and music, a showcase of the heritage that made Camacha’s name.
• SantaCurtas, on Fridays (7th, 14th, 21th and 28th). Short films in the open air in Santa Cruz: contemporary Madeira, beyond the folklore.
• A’NORTE, 13-16, and Caniço, 14-20. Music in Santana and a food festival in Caniço, for anyone willing to cross the island in search of stages and small plates.
• Dia da Cidade do Funchal, 21th August. The capital celebrates itself, with a programme of its own.
• Festas de São Vicente, 22-30 August. The north-coast town closes the month with a procession, music and local food.

How does August close: Machico and the Madeira Wine Festival?

Machico, where João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira came ashore in 1419 to begin the settlement of the island, celebrates the Santíssimo Sacramento on 29th and 30th August, with the noite dos Fachos, the traditional torches, lighting up the 29th.

And when August ends, the festivities do not: the Madeira Wine Festival starts on 27th August and runs to 13th September, between Câmara de Lobos and Funchal, in the middle of the grape harvest. In Estreito de Câmara de Lobos there is live grape-treading, one of the oldest traditions on the island and one that any visitor can join in. We have already given it an article of its own: Madeira Wine Festival.

Where to stay for the August festivals?

The geography helps: almost everything gravitates between Funchal and Câmara de Lobos, and Machico and Santa Cruz can be done on a late-afternoon outing. Pestana has no properties in those two towns, so the right plan is a base in Funchal or Câmara de Lobos, and a car (or a taxi) for the trips out.

• Pestana Fisherman Village, sleeping in the middle of the festival. A 42-room boutique hotel in the historic centre of Câmara de Lobos, with a panoramic pool on the terrace: in August, the Peixe Espada Preto and then the Madeira Wine Festival happen on the doorstep.
• Pestana Carlton Madeira, the Funchal classic. About 10 minutes on foot from the centre, with direct access to the sea and saltwater pools to recover from the arraiais.
• Pestana Casino Park, a Niemeyer signature. Next to the cruise port, some 5 minutes from the centre: a perfect base for the Monte cable car and for the Dia da Cidade.
• Pestana CR7 Funchal, for the more urban crowd. On Praça CR7, with an infinity pool on the terrace above the bay and the CR7 museum next door.

Is August the best month to get the feel of Madeira?

It is hard to argue with that: a single month holds the devotion of Monte, the deepest fish in the Atlantic, cinema by the sea and the first treading of the grapes. Pick your base, mark the dates from the table and let the month do the rest. And if the island’s festivals leave you wanting more, the year goes on: to plan your next trip, have a look at Discovering Madeira: the top 10.