Shopping in Portugal
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Agência 117
No place for wallflowers, Agência revamps wardrobes with tartan wellies, candy-bright dresses and Miss Sixty garb. Marilyn Monroe, velvet crucifixes, a hair salon – it’s all at this eccentric Bairro boutique.
reviewed
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Manuel Tavares
For a lingering taste of Lisbon, nip into this wood-fronted store, tempting locals since 1860 with pata negra (cured ham), pungent cheeses, ginjinha, port and other Portuguese treats.
reviewed
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Cc Bombarda
Amid the galleries along Rua Miguel Bombarda, the small, unique CC Bombarda is well worth a peek. Inside this shopping gallery, you’ll find stores selling locally designed urban wear, bonsai trees, stylish home knick-knacks, Portuguese indie rock and other hipster-pleasing delights. There’s a shop (Frida) where you can order a doll made to your own likeness and a cafe (Pimenta Rosa) serving light fare on an inner courtyard.
reviewed
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Fabrico Infinito
Set in a former coach house, this virginal white gallery showcases avant-garde designs that give recycled items a luxury twist. Keep an eye out for pearl-studded toothpick necklaces, Marcela Brunken’s born-again chandeliers, Jorge Moita’s funky skirt-shaped La. Ga bags and Lidija Kolovrat’s zesty armbands. There’s a cafe at the back, where decadent desserts are served on golden crockery.
reviewed
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Chiado
The Chiado, a wedge of wide streets between Rua do Crucifixo and Rua da Misericórdia, is elegantly 18th century, with upmarket shops and cafés. It leads up to the contrastingly weblike Bairro Alto (upper district), a fashionable 17th-century residential quarter, now the Lisbon Soho with one-off designers, vintage boutiques, record shops, restaurants and boho bars and cafés.
reviewed
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Rua 5 de Outubro
Rua 5 de Outubro has rows of artesanatos (handicrafts shops) selling pottery, knick-knacks and cork products of every kind - postcards, wine bottles, hats, shoes, even umbrellas made of cork. The shady side of the mercado municipal is a good spot for finding cheaper pottery. There are more upmarket shops along Rua Cândido dos Reis, northwest of the centre.
reviewed
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Madeira House
Ignore the gaudy souvenirs and bizarre cork products. This is the best place to buy quality hand-embroidered Madeira lace and linen, including tablecloths, place mats and napkin sets. They also sell colourful Barcelos' roosters and beautifully glazed Hispano-Arab geometric patterned tiles - they make great 'features' for fans of minimalism.
reviewed
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The Wrong Shop
Sick of Barcelos cockerels and ‘I love Lisbon’ tees? This Chiado shop gets it right with tongue-in-cheek souvenirs. Our favourites: gay roosters emblazoned with the rainbow flag, ever-so-friendly fly-catchers (with an escape route), and the blank-paged books Pessoa never wrote.
reviewed
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Gourmet da Bolsa
Gourmet da Bolsa. This small, atmospheric, friendly shop is a good place for wine and provisions, selling a well-curated selection of port as well as olives, spreads, truffles and other gourmet picnic items. The shop hosts occasional tastings; English is spoken.
reviewed
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Feira da Ladra
Browse for back-of-the-lorry treasures at this lively flea market. You’ll find old records, coins, baggy pants, dog-eared poetry books and other attic junk. Haggle hard and watch your wallet – it isn’t called ‘thieves market’ for nothing.
reviewed
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Livraria Lello
Even if you’re not after books, don’t miss this 1906 neo-Gothic confection that’s stacked to the rafters with new, secondhand and antique books, including foreign-language guidebooks and some literature. Up the curving staircase is a pleasant cafe.
reviewed
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Bairro Alto
Bairro Alto has a concentration of cool boutiques selling retro-inspired clothes, unusual local design and Brazilian imports. Good places to start are Rua do Norte and Rua da Rosa. Many of the shops here open around 16:00 and stay open until midnight.
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Happy Days
Sadly no Fonz, but this boutique still rocks with its collection of glittering bauble necklaces, sequin clutch bags, FLY London footwear and shimmery gold pumps. Kids’ toys from toy cars to plastic fish give grown-up styles a wacky twist.
reviewed
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Bad Luck
Rock ’n’ roll is king at Bad Luck, where a gyrating Elvis greets you. Be whisked back to ’50s and ’60s America with cow-print boots, polka-dot rockabilly dresses, oversized shades and grease for super-slick hair.
reviewed
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Ponte Lisboa
Kids love Joana Areal’s bright, touchy-feely felt animals at this hole-in-the-wall workshop, presenting crafts by 15 Brazilian and Portuguese artists. Also look out for Sebastião Lobo’s glittering silver dragonflies.
reviewed
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A Vida Portuguesa
A flashback to the late 19th century with its high ceilings and polished cabinets, this store lures nostalgics with all-Portuguese products from retro-wrapped Tricona sardines to lime oil soap and Bordallo Pinheiro porcelain swallows.
reviewed
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Montes de Sabor
This is the go-to place for Alentejo specialities such as mountain honey, piri-piri sauce, olive oil and fig aguardiente. Planning a picnic? Stock up on pata negra (cured ham) and creamy goat’s cheese from the fresh counter.
reviewed
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Yron
This hip new gallery stages rotating exhibitions of mostly eco-friendly design by local creatives. On our last visit this meant a 21st-century take on Portuguese crafts with glam lacework, sculpted cork stools and bold cockerels.
reviewed
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Conserveira de Lisboa
In Rua dos Bacalhoeiros (cod-vessel street) lies a store dedicated wholly to tinned fish, whose walls are a mosaic of retro wrappings. An elderly lady and her son tot up on a monstrous old till and wrap purchases in brown paper.
reviewed
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Santos Ofícios
If you’ve always fancied a hand-embroidered fado shawl, check out this brick-vaulted store. It’s a must-shop for Portuguese folk art including Madeira lace, blingy Christmas decorations and glazed earthenware.
reviewed
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Story Tailors
Luís and João bewitch with floaty, feminine polka-dot, gingham and ruffle designs at their enchanted forest of fashion, bedecked with chandeliers and gnarled wood. Ask the mirror on the wall what it thinks.
reviewed
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Rossio de São Brás
On the second Tuesday of each month a vast open-air market, with everything from shoes to sheep's cheese, sprawls across the big Rossio de São Brás, just outside the walls on the road to the train station.
reviewed
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A Carioca
Little has changed since this old-world store opened in 1924: brass fittings still gleam, the coffee roaster is still in action and home blends, sugared almonds and toffees are still lovingly wrapped in green paper.
reviewed
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Olaria do Desterros
A family-run pottery factory, a few blocks west of Cerâmica Viúva Lamego. The factory (there's no obvious showroom) is at entry F in an alley, seemingly within the grounds of the Hospital do Desterro.
reviewed
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Porto Signs
A nice twist on the traditional tourist shop, Porto Signs has unique, locally designed graphic T-shirts, as well as Portuguese wine, tea, photography books, cork products and that ever-present Barcelos rooster.
reviewed