---
title: "Portugal's Total Solar Eclipse on 12 August: Glasses Are Selling Out"
description: "On 12 August 2026 the Moon covers 92–99% of the Sun over mainland Portugal, with totality only near Bragança. Where to watch, exact times per city, and how to still get certified ISO 12312-2 glasses."
url: "https://ultimateportugal.com/posts/portugal-total-eclipse-august-12"
author: "Rex McIntosh"
author_role: "Founder & Editor, Ultimate Portugal"
author_url: "https://ultimateportugal.com/authors/rex-mcintosh"
publisher: "Ultimate Portugal"
license: "Free to read and quote with attribution to Ultimate Portugal."
review_status: "dated-report"
type: "news"
published: 2026-08-06
updated: 2026-08-06
facts_last_verified: 2026-08-06
category: "Planning"
tags: ["eclipse", "braganca", "montesinho", "safety", "events"]
---

# Portugal's Total Solar Eclipse on 12 August: Glasses Are Selling Out

> Dated report. This article describes events and rules at the time reported. It is not maintained as current guidance. Review policy: https://ultimateportugal.com/corrections

## The short answer

On Wednesday 12 August 2026, between roughly 18:30 and 20:30 local time, the Moon will cover 92–99% of the Sun everywhere on mainland Portugal — and 100% only around the villages of Rio de Onor and Guadramil, near Bragança. Watching any of it needs glasses certified to ISO 12312-2, and they are running out: Bragança's pharmacies have sold more than 1,800 pairs and hit empty shelves. Order a free pair through Ciência Viva's Club da Visão scheme or buy certified ones (~€3) at a pharmacy today.

> Published 2026-08-06. News posts describe the rules as they stood on that date; the sources at the end are the primary record.

Next Wednesday, 12 August, in the early evening, the Moon will slide across the Sun over the whole of Portugal. On the mainland it covers between 92% and 99% of the solar disc; in one small corner of the northeast — the border villages of **Rio de Onor and Guadramil**, near Bragança — it covers all of it, for about 20 seconds. Portugal last saw a total solar eclipse in **1912**. The next one comes in **2144**.

Whether you live here or are visiting that week, you do not need to travel to see this. You do need certified eclipse glasses, and that is the part to sort today: Bragança's pharmacies have already sold more than **1,800 pairs** and keep running out, and the national free-glasses scheme hands them out only while stock lasts.

## What happens on 12 August?

Wherever you stand in Portugal, the eclipse is an early-evening event lasting close to two hours. These are the Planetário do Porto's figures, in local time:

| Location | Starts | Maximum | Ends | Sun covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Bragança** | 18:36 | 19:33 | 20:24 | 99.89% |
| **Porto** | 18:34 | 19:32 | 20:25 | 98.1% |
| **Coimbra** | 18:36 | 19:33 | 20:25 | 96.8% |
| **Lisbon** | 18:38 | 19:34 | 20:24 | 94.9% |
| **Faro** | 18:41 | 19:35 | 20:23 | 92.8% |
| **Funchal** | 18:42 | 19:32 | 20:17 | 77.6% |
| **Ponta Delgada** | 17:35 | 18:28 | 19:17 | 74.2% |

Times shift by a minute or two with your exact location. Pick a spot with an open view to the west, where the early-evening Sun will be.

Totality itself — the Sun fully covered, the sky going dark — happens only in a very restricted area in the extreme northeast of the **Parque Natural de Montesinho**, and lasts around **20 seconds** there. The band of totality then runs across northern Spain, where it stretches to roughly a minute and a half. For everyone else in Portugal this is a deep partial eclipse — and at 93–99% coverage, our view is it is well worth planning your evening around.

## Where can you see the total eclipse?

On paper: Rio de Onor and Guadramil, two villages in the Bragança municipality inside the Montesinho park. In practice, the door has mostly closed.

The public observation events planned for both villages were **cancelled over rural fire risk** on 31 July. Bragança's municipality moved the whole programme — scientific activities, workshops, guided observation — to the **municipal aerodrome**, where coverage is 99%. People who had registered keep their certified glasses, observation alongside professional and amateur astronomers, and water on site. The town is also running its eclipse festival from **10 to 12 August**.

Accommodation went first: hotels in **Bragança and Vinhais**, the two municipalities of the Montesinho park, are fully booked.

Our call: if you do not already have a bed and a plan in the northeast, do not chase totality on the day. The municipality moved its own event precisely to avoid thousands of people concentrating in a high-fire-risk forest area, and that logic applies to freelance eclipse-chasers too. The aerodrome event is the organised option, and the deep partial from wherever you already are is the honest one — at 93–99%, you will not feel short-changed.

## How do you watch it safely?

One rule, no exceptions: **the glasses stay on for the whole partial phase**. Even at 99% coverage, the remaining sliver of Sun burns the retina, and the burn is painless while it happens — Ciência Viva warns the damage can mean lasting distorted vision or permanent sight loss. The Planetário do Porto puts it bluntly: direct observation at anything up to 99.9% coverage needs certified protection, uninterrupted.

Certified means three markings on the glasses:

- **ISO 12312-2** — the standard for direct solar viewing;
- the **CE mark**;
- a reference to **Regulation (EU) 2016/425**, the EU rulebook for protective equipment.

Ordinary sunglasses do not protect you, however dark. Neither does a phone screen: Ciência Viva also advises against pointing phones or cameras at the Sun at all — sensors without solar filters can be damaged.

## Where can you still get eclipse glasses?

Not in Bragança, on current form. The city's pharmacies and opticians have sold more than **1,800 certified pairs**: Farmácia Bem Saúde alone has sold around 1,300 — half of those in the last month — and has repeatedly run out; Farmácia Cantarias has sold over 500 and is taking phone reservations for whole families; the Íris Visão optician saw the order it had placed cancelled for lack of stock. Staff report selling to people who came up from Lisbon for the eclipse.

Elsewhere, two routes remain open:

- **Free:** Ciência Viva's national scheme with the Club da Visão optician network. Register individually on the Club da Visão site and collect a certified pair at a participating optician — the network runs to more than 600 shops across the country. Stock was reinforced on Monday 3 August, and the scheme runs strictly while it lasts.
- **Paid:** certified glasses cost around **€3** at pharmacies, some online shops and supermarkets.

Either way, check the ISO 12312-2 marking before you rely on a pair. With six days to go and demand climbing, this is a today errand, not a weekend one.

## What should you do next?

- In Portugal this month anyway? Our guide to [the best time to visit Portugal](https://ultimateportugal.com/guides/best-time-to-visit-portugal) tells you what else August does well — and what it does badly.
- Thinking about watching from the northeast? [Getting around Portugal](https://ultimateportugal.com/guides/getting-around-portugal) covers the trains, coaches and driving realities of reaching places like Bragança.
- Want the next update as it happens? The [newsletter](https://ultimateportugal.com/newsletter) is where we flag time-sensitive news like this.

*Event arrangements and stock levels are moving daily — verify the current position on Ciência Viva's official eclipse site, [eclipse2026.pt](https://eclipse2026.pt/), before you travel.*

## Frequently asked questions

### What time is the eclipse in Lisbon and Porto?

In Lisbon the partial eclipse starts at 18:38, peaks at 19:34 and ends at 20:24 local time, with 94.9% of the Sun covered. In Porto it runs 18:34 to 20:25, peaking at 19:32 at 98.1% coverage. Figures are the Planetário do Porto's; times shift by a minute or two with location.

### Can I watch a 95% eclipse without eclipse glasses?

No. Even the sliver of Sun left at 99% coverage burns the retina, and the burn is painless while it happens — you only find out afterwards. Certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses stay on for the entire partial phase, everywhere in Portugal. Ordinary sunglasses do not protect you at any darkness.

### Can I still see the total eclipse from Rio de Onor?

Realistically, no — not without plans made long ago. The public observation events in Rio de Onor and Guadramil were cancelled over fire risk and moved to Bragança's municipal aerodrome, and hotels in Bragança and Vinhais are fully booked. The honest alternative is the 93–99% partial eclipse visible from wherever you already are.

### Where do I get eclipse glasses at this point?

Two routes: register individually on Ciência Viva's Club da Visão site for a free certified pair, collected at a network optician anywhere in the country while stock lasts, or buy certified glasses for around €3 at pharmacies, some online shops and supermarkets. Check for ISO 12312-2 and the CE mark before you pay.

## Sources

- [Lusa / Observador — Óculos para eclipse solar esgotam nas farmácias de Bragança](https://observador.pt/2026/08/05/oculos-para-eclipse-solar-esgotam-nas-farmacias-de-braganca-a-uma-semana-do-fenomeno-total-de-12-de-agosto/) — 5 August 2026. The sold-out pharmacies: 1,800+ certified pairs across Bem Saúde, Cantarias and the Íris Visão optician, buyers travelling from Lisbon, and the 1912 precedent.
- [Lusa / Observador — Óculos gratuitos para observação de eclipse solar podem ser reservados](https://observador.pt/2026/08/04/oculos-gratuitos-para-observacao-de-eclipse-solar-podem-ser-reservados-a-partir-desta-terca-feira/) — 4 August 2026. Ciência Viva's free-glasses scheme via Club da Visão, the ~€3 pharmacy price, the retina-burn and phone-camera warnings, and the 92–99% / 74–77% coverage figures.
- [Lusa / Observador — Risco de incêndio cancela evento em Rio de Onor e muda tudo para o aeródromo](https://observador.pt/2026/07/31/eclipse-solar-de-12-de-agosto-risco-de-incendio-cancela-evento-em-rio-de-onor-e-muda-tudo-para-o-aerodromo-de-braganca/) — 31 July 2026. The municipality's decision to move the observation events to Bragança's aerodrome, what registered participants keep, and the full hotels in Bragança and Vinhais.
- [Ciência Viva — Eclipse 2026, the official national eclipse site](https://eclipse2026.pt/) — Totality restricted to the Montesinho area; the four safety rules; the Club da Visão free-glasses network (600+ opticians); the Bragança festival on 10–12 August.
- [Planetário do Porto (Ciência Viva) — Eclipse Solar de 12 de agosto de 2026](https://www.planetario.up.pt/pt/evento/Eclipse2026) — The per-city timing and obscuration table, the ~20-second totality in the extreme northeast of Montesinho, and the uninterrupted-protection rule up to 99.9% coverage.

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