Hi we are arriving 26 December as usual to spend a week in East Algarve area. As Christmas day falls on a Sunday will the shops be open on Dec 26 ?
It would be helpful to know if we are not able buy basic supplies!

Thanks

26th December is a normal working day in Portugal and when a public holiday falls on a weekend it is not commuted to the Monday as it would be in the UK.

So you should be OK as far as I'm aware.

Boxing day is a peculiarly English holiday, it's not even celebrated in Scotland, and shops are normally open across the UK as they are across the vast majority of Europe.

We also have a boxing day holiday in Scotland, it's a day of recovery from the previous days alcohol abuse and usually means eating tasty left overs from xmas day! It feel so wrong to go to work here in Portugal on Boxing day What's even more wrong is there is no holiday for those working here as Christmas lands on a Sunday so they'll work Friday and Monday.

In Ireland we have St.Stephen's Day on December 26th - also a public holiday, so only the name changes.......