Marvão's chestnut fair is back on 14-15 November, with five tonnes bought from 24 local growers
The 42nd Festa do Castanheiro – Feira da Castanha fills the hilltop village of Marvão on the weekend of 14 and 15 November. The council bought five tonnes of chestnuts from 24 local producers in a poor harvest year to supply three roasting stations. Expect a cookery demo, a pastry workshop, concerts at 4pm and a village closed to cars from 9am to 7pm.
Marvão went shopping before its fair. The council bought five tonnes of chestnuts from 24 growers in the municipality to feed the three roasting stations at the 42nd Festa do Castanheiro – Feira da Castanha, which takes over the walled village’s historic centre on Saturday and Sunday, 14 and 15 November.
There is a reason for the bulk buy. A dry year and high temperatures cut this season’s crop sharply, and the council wanted the fair’s money to reach the people who grow Castanha Marvão-Portalegre, a chestnut with EU Protected Designation of Origin status.
When is the Marvão Chestnut Fair in 2026?
Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November. The roasting stations open at 10am on both days and close at 6pm. It falls the weekend after St Martin’s Day, Portugal’s chestnut-and-new-wine feast, which lands on Wednesday 11 November this year.
What’s on the programme?
On Saturday, the official welcome is at 10am at the Portas de Ródão gate by the tourist office, followed by the opening and the blessing of the chestnuts in the marquee on Largo do Terreiro. At 2pm, chef Cristiano Louro of the Portalegre hotel and tourism school runs a chestnut pastry workshop in the town hall’s main chamber. At 4pm the band Descendentes plays the Largo do Terreiro stage.
On Sunday, a solemn Mass with an offering to the chestnut tree is at 10:30 in the Igreja de Santiago. From 11am to noon, chef Luís de Matos cooks “Manjares de Castanha”, a chestnut showcooking. The closing concert is at 4pm, with David Antunes and Emanuel Moura.
In between:
- Street entertainment from 10am to 6pm
- Children’s activities in the sports hall, 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm
- Lunchtime music on the food-stall stage (Bruno Pires on Saturday, João Tocha on Sunday)
Can you drive into Marvão during the fair?
Not into the village. On both days, from 9am to 7pm, traffic inside the walls is restricted in coordination with the GNR police. A shuttle runs between the old Parque de Máquinas and the Portas de Ródão from 10am to 6pm, but the council’s notice says it is for residents and guests of the village’s hotels. Everyone else should plan to park outside the walls and walk up, and arriving early makes that a lot easier.
Can’t make that weekend? From 14 to 29 November, 13 restaurants around the municipality put chestnuts at the centre of their menus, from old-style chestnut soup to rice with chestnuts and mushrooms, in the chestnut food fortnight announced by the council.
It joins a November of country fairs that opened with the horses at Golegã, running until the 15th, and the new wine in Arruda.
Image: Município de Marvão
