Porto introduces a night-time ban on alcohol sales in popular tourist areas

Authorities in the city of Porto, Portugal, have adopted stricter measures to restrict street drinking at night. From 25 June, the sale of alcoholic beverages in supermarkets, wine shops, mini-markets, and souvenir stores within the city's so-called "restricted zone" is banned from 9pm to 8am.

This is already the third amendment to the legislation, which first came into force on 1 March 2023. The new version, published in the official gazette Diário da República, provides for tougher fines for establishments that break the rules and expands the zone the restrictions apply to.

The practice of street gatherings involving alcohol has become especially popular among young people in Portugal, but local residents have reacted negatively to this trend. This has prompted city authorities to tighten the rules.

The ban does not apply to the entire city, only to central and historic districts, including the popular tourist street Rua da Galeria de Paris. Importantly, the ban only concerns buying alcohol in shops for street consumption and does not apply to cafés, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, where alcohol can be purchased at any time of night.

City councillor for economic activity Filipa Correia Pinto explained that the city administration considers street gatherings involving alcohol a threat to public safety. She assured that inspections would be thorough and penalties strict. In addition, authorities have been given the power to immediately close establishments that break the rules.

Some residents fear the new measures could negatively affect Porto's atmosphere, while others doubt their effectiveness. The city's mayor, Rui Moreira, said that previous fines had been ineffective, as establishments preferred to pay them and continue operating.

Representatives of the nightlife business have voiced their doubts about the new measures. Ricardo Tavares, president of Porto's Movida Association of Bars and Nightclubs, called the authorities' decision "short-sighted" and said it would not solve the problem of street drinking. In his view, people would simply start buying alcohol in advance, and it would be more sensible to ban drinking on the streets rather than restrict sales hours.

Porto is not the first city to adopt such measures. In 2024, Milan also introduced a ban on selling pizza, ice cream, and drinks after midnight in popular tourist areas, responding to numerous complaints from local residents about night-time noise.