Conserveira de Lisboa
There's a feast for the eyes at this shop, whose walls are lined with colorful tins of sardines and other seafood combos like octopus stew or mackerel with curry.
6 Best Places to Shop in Lisbon, Portugal
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Shopping in Lisbon is less about multinational chains and more about locally owned shops. Instead of the same-old mass-produced goods, you’ll find ceramics and lace made by Portuguese craftspeople, foodstuffs and wine that impart the nation’s flavor, and clothes by established local designers.
Family-owned stores are still common in Lisbon, especially in Baixa, where a grid of streets from the Rossio to the Rio Tejo has many small shops selling jewelry, shoes, clothing, and foodstuffs. Trendy Bairro Alto is another district full of little crafts shops with stylish, contemporary ceramics, wooden sculpture, linen, and clothing; some open only in the afternoon and stay open—sometimes with their own resident DJ—until after the restaurants and bars around them have begun filling up.
Bairro Alto is also one of the shopping hubs of Lisbon’s flourishing fashion scene. The brightly lighted modern shops of local designers stand in stark contrast to the area's 16th-century layout and dark, narrow streets. The Principe Real area is home to one of the best spots in the city for boutique browsing at the grand Embaixada gallery. Many antiques stores can be found on a single long street that changes its name four times as it runs southward from Largo do Rato: Rua Escola Politécnica, Rua Dom Pedro V, Rua da Misericórdia, and Rua do Alecrim. Look on the nearby Rua de São Bento for more stores. There's also a cluster of antiques shops on Rua Augusto Rosa, between the Baixa and Alfama districts.
Chiado, Lisbon’s smartest shopping district, has a small shopping complex as well as many stores with considerable cachet, particularly on and around Rua Garrett. And Praça de Londres and Avenida de Roma—both in the Modern City—form one long run of haute-couture stores and fashion outlets. International luxury brands are also increasingly found on the city’s downtown axis, Avenida da Liberdade.
Several excellent shops in Baixa sell chocolates, marzipan, dried and crystallized fruits, pastries, and regional cheeses and wines—especially varieties of port, one of Portugal's major exports. Baixa is also a good place to look for jewelry. What is now called Rua Aurea was once Rua do Ouro (Gold Street), named for the goldsmiths' shops installed on it under Pombal's 18th-century city plan. The trade has flourished here ever since.
Gleba—Moagem e Padaria
Sourdough loaves made by talented and passionate young baker Diogo Amorim attract carb-craving Lisboetas from across the city. Amorim learned his trade in some of the world's top kitchens, and here he perfects the art, using flour prepared in an on-site stone mill. There are now several outposts of Gleba in and around Lisbon, but this is where it all began.
Prado Mercearia
With tiled floors and vintage fittings, this beautifully designed grocery store and wine bar is run by the team behind the acclaimed Prado restaurant. Its shelves are stocked with seasonal, often organic, locally sourced products including cheeses, tinned fish, bread, fruits and vegetables, and dry goods. The adjoining bistro serves delicious small plates and a range of Portuguese natural and organic wines.
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Casa dos Ovos Moles em Lisboa
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.
Conserveira de Lisboa
This tiny canned goods store is one of the few in Baixa with the fittings and layout typical of a century ago. A recent refurbishment saw the old glass advertisements lovingly brought back to life. Tuna may no longer be soaked in brine on the premises, but the vintage packaging of the store's own brands—Tricana, Prata do Mar, and Minor—mean their cans make for charming gifts.
Loja das Conservas
Shop and sample more than 300 beautifully packed varieties of canned fish at this store/museum. Maps and other artifacts illuminate the Portuguese craft of conserving fish in tins, and you can guess the star ingredient of the adjoining café.
