A WORLD FOR SHOPPING
The temptation of shopping is an irresistible temptation for most visitors to Portugal.
Best buys include locally-made leather goods, jewellery, fine porcelain and high-quality clothes ranging from thick hand-knitted sweaters to the latest fashion garments.
Thankfully, traditional arts and crafts have not been lost as a result of Portugal's rapid modernisation since the 1974 revolution. Pottery, ceramics and tiles are produced to high standards all over the country, with styles differing from region to region and town to town. Lace and embroidery are particularly good from Madeira.
Lisbon’s most popular shopping area is the Baixa, a compact downtown district comprising several parallel streets including the traffic-free Rua Augusta. A short walk up Rua do Carmo brings you to the fashionable Chiado district, which has almost totally recovered from a devastating fire in 1988. The Colombo Centre just off the city center at Benfica is the largest shopping mall in the Iberian Peninsula.
Visitors to Oporto should head for Rua de Santa Catarina in the main downtown area of the city. There are several upmarket boutiques and and fashion stores along Avenida da Boavista around the Meridien Park Atlantic Hotel.
Normal business hours for shops are from 9 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 7 pm from Monday to Friday.
Shops close at 1 p.m. on Saturdays from January to November, but are open from 9 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 7 pm from Monday to Saturday in December.
Portugal's many shopping centres (centros comerciais) are open for much longer periods, generally from 10 am until midnight.
The small antiques shops tucked away in the backstreets of the larger cities such as Lisbon and Oporto offer a fine assortment of items dating back hundreds of years.