24 Best Places to Shop in Chiado and Bairro Alto, Lisbon

Lisbon’s smallest shop is one of its most charming, selling nothing but custom-made, finely crafted gloves since 1925. It’s the last place in Portugal where you can get these exclusive gloves, and it's recognized as one of the best stores of its kind in Europe. The well-preserved neoclassical interior fits two customers at a time, who go through the process of trying on the different sizes and colors by placing their elbows on a small cushion and letting the fitter make the perfect adjustments.

Inside this chic former department store are 50 national and international stores—including a branch of the Fnac chain, stocking a large range of books, music, and computers—offering everything you could need to look and feel fabulous, and there are 15 restaurants in the smart food court on the top floor, with views of Chiado. The building itself is worth a visit, having been painstakingly restored after a fire consumed much of the centuries-old building in 1988.

Founded in 1732, this is the world’s oldest operating bookstore—a certificate near the door from Guinness World Records attests to that—and nowadays the flagship of a nationwide chain. Here, current bestsellers welcome you to the first room, before you continue into the vaulted interior to find different sections divided by theme, finishing with a small café that is also accessible from Rua Serpa Pinto. In particular, the store has a small English-language selection of works by the major Portuguese authors and Lisbon-related books. You can also buy international newspapers and magazines.

The mountains of Serra da Estrela in central Portugal are in the one of the country’s coldest regions, so locals have a centuries-old tradition of using sheep’s fleece in a variety of ways. This store has taken that regional product and given it even more uses by creating modern design items, such as handbags, backpacks, blankets, and even chairs. The colorful products are mostly by young Portuguese designers, but all are recognized for their innovation, sustainability, and functionality. Next-door, a separate store stocks rolls of the fabric in a wide range of colors and patterns for you to make up at home, as well as ready-made cushions.

Fans of artisanal candles will be charmed by this historic place (founded in the year of the French Revolution and George Washington's election as U.S. president), with its selection of traditional and updated designs in a dazzling range of shapes and colors—every one unique and all made by hand. You can choose from purely decorative or aromatic, ecological, and rustic lines; they also specialize in baptismal and other religious candles.

This is the downtown showroom for a company established in 1741 that continues to use centuries-old techniques in its Ajuda workshop (uphill from Belém), including painting and glazing entirely by hand, to create contemporary designs and reproductions of antique azulejo tiles.

Founded in Porto more than two centuries ago, this shop moved to Lisbon after it was appointed jewellers to the Portuguese Crown in 1887. Its atelier in Bairro Alto (where it also has another, smaller store, at  Travessa da Espera 8–14) turns out traditional and contemporary pieces in silver, gold, and platinum, employing up-to-date design and manufacturing techniques along with traditional production processes. At this, its main showroom, you'll find everything from engagement rings to art deco cutlery, table centerpieces, and religious figures; they also do bespoke and customized items.

For some fairy-tale shopping, browse the racks here filled with fantastical frocks, capes, and more. Madonna is whispered to be among the celeb customers to have done so.

At this Bairro Alto favorite, you can sample wines and fine foods from around Portugal before buying. The knowledgeable staff will recommend the right bottle for you.

This stylish store stocks chic, limited-edition, Portuguese-made swimsuits, bikinis, and comfy but stylish clothing and accessories for women, men, and kids.

Just down the street from Convento do Carmo, this store offers sweets that originated in convents all over Portugal. Nuns used to make a living by selling their confections, invariably using lots of sugar and egg yolks (since the nuns used the whites to starch their collars and wimples). This store is named after the extra-sweet "soft eggs" in wafer-thin pastry from the city of Aveiro, but you can buy many other specialties from around the country.

This Portuguese brand dates back to 1887, but this is its first flagship store, opened as recently as 2016. It took over the space of a former pharmacy, meeting the increasing demand for its fragrances that are now available in more than 60 countries. There are luxurious soaps, colognes, and scented candles, all beautifully wrapped in retro art nouveau packages. Photographs on the walls tell the history of the brand. There's another branch in the lower part of Chiado, on Rua do Carmo 82.

Portugal’s abundance of cork oaks are the basis for all the products showcased here. Look for eye-catching designs for homeware, office supplies, handbags, jewelry, and accessories for men and women.

Portugal is the only western European country aside from Germany with a thriving cutlery-making industry (in and around the northern city of Guimarães), and Cutipol is one of its most prestigious representatives. It is known for its smart contemporary designs, which are showcased here along with tableware and other fine goods from top brands in Portugal and abroad.

The stylish proprietor of this funky hat store stocks a huge range of its own designs for men, women, and children and also makes exclusive items to order.

Overlooking the the busiest part of Chiado, above a Benetton store, this shop has a particularly Instagram-worthy view of the cobblestone pavement from above. The collection of bags, stationery, ceramics, and other products designed in Portugal and abroad are worth the trip up to the top floor for more than just a photograph.

This offshoot of a Porto-based retailer, housed in a minimalist former industrial bakery, The Feeting Room offers Portuguese-made and international independent fashion brands—both footwear and clothes—not otherwise available in the capital. It also stocks accessories, home design, and lifestyle pieces, mostly produced in Portugal.

Founded in Porto, this gallery moved to Lisbon and took over an old printing house. It presents works by Portuguese and Brazilian artists.

In business since 1924, this is one of Lisbon’s oldest and most beautiful shops. Behind its historic art nouveau facade, it displays museum-worthy gold and silver pieces, plus exclusive Portuguese jewelry. It’s also an excellent place to find the traditional handmade filigree from the north of the country.

From ornate azulejo tiles to kitsch designs (think dishes shaped like giant lettuce leaves), Portuguese ceramics are much sought after by visitors from around the world. Hidden slightly off the main shopping strip in upscale Chiado, Luza offers beautiful pieces at very affordable prices, with some items priced by weight. Smaller items, like Portuguese cockerel wine stoppers, make cute mementos and gifts.

In business since 1904, this charming old shoe store features an interior that hasn’t changed much since the 1950s. Customers still sit on velvet sofas to try on shoes that are stored in vintage boxes, and it still specializes in handmade Portuguese shoes, finished in the workshop next door. You can expect top quality at reasonable prices, with some classic and some trendy models, as well as a few exclusive pieces. There's another branch in the lower part of Chiado, at Rua do Carmo 89.

Laid out almost like a gallery, with the curated collections on color-coordinated display, this small minimalist concept store offers avant-garde clothes and accessories from lesser-known European designers. You might also find jewelry by designers like Valentim Quaresma, whose pieces have been featured in Lady Gaga videos.

Teresa Martins gave her brand a name with the same initials as her own, TM; she has been successful in placing her collections in different concept stores across the country, as well as selling them via her company's website. Her store in Lisbon is where you can find the latest creations, inspired by her native Portugal but also by India and Nepal, where the designer says she feels “at home.” The result is exclusive prints, textures, and styles using natural fabrics, in fashion and home decor.

Originally a royal factory founded in 1817, Vista Alegre is now one of Europe’s most prestigious porcelain manufacturers. Prestigious glassware and crystal maker Atlantis is also now part of the group. This flagship store presents the companies' ever-changing collections, which are often signed by national and international artists.