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One of the Baixa district's busiest and most attractive plazas is Praça do Comércio, once the site of the circus in Roman times. Today it's ringed with fashionable shops in 17th- and 18th-century town houses, and street vendors sell everything from combs to carpets on its corners. The Rua Eduardo Coelho, which fans out from the square, is lined with shoe stores and was once known as the Street of the Shoemakers.
In addition to the ubiquitous lace and cockerels, numerous stores in the city sell delicate blue-and-white Coimbra ceramics, most of them reproductions of 17th- and 18th-century patterns. This style is very distinct from the jolly earthenware associated with Portugal and can be difficult to find in other regions.
Around the corner from the Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro you'll find this family-run floral art house, selling a delightful collection of handmade products alongside fresh flowers and plants. Black-and-white photography on the walls shows reveals the historic side of the business.
