Where to shop in Porto for everything from salted cod to stylish soaps
These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest travel guidance before making your journey. Note that our writer visited pre-pandemic.
Porto has its trendsetters, for sure, but to make the most of shopping in the city, it’s best to take a step back in time. Porto is a city of old-fashioned family businesses, with third- and fourth-generation retailers commonplace. Specialist shops are often grouped together, frequently with the production workshop and retail area sharing the same space. Whether you’re after cork, textiles, ceramics, art, cheese or port, you’ll find artisanal products coming out of your ears. Porto’s shopkeepers are typically a friendly, fraternal bunch. If they don’t have what you’re after, they’ll point you down the street to someone who has. Old-style antics like this make shopping feel as much a cultural experience as a commercial one.
Mercerias
One of the most enjoyable and different shopping experiences to be had in Porto comes courtesy of the city’s mercerias. These old-style grocery stores are jam-packed with tasty, traditional fare, from tinned sardines and Portuguese patés to port wines and dried fruits. The most authentic examples can be found around Bolh?o Market. One of the oldest (founded in 1912 and most wittily named is Comer e Chorar por Mais (‘Eat and Cry for More’), a veritable Aladdin's Cave of deli-tastic deliciousness. If flowery teas and health foods are more your thing, then walk around the corner to Casa Chinesa (Rua Sá da Bandeira 343). As for that staple of all Porto kitchens, salted cod, you’re best taking yourself and your shopping bag to nearby Casa Natal (Rua Fernandes Tomás, 833).
Opening times: Note all three are closed on Sundays
Claus Porto
Founded in 1887, Claus Porto has built up an enviable reputation for quality and class over the decades. Their stylish soaps, always wrapped in illustrated packaging with a wax seal, have won fans far beyond Porto’s city walls. A visit to its flagship store is a must, however. Housed in a classic three-storey townhouse on Rua das Flores, one of Porto’s most popular pedestrianised shopping streets, it is home to a splendid display of soaps, as well as candles, perfumes and other products designed to meet your pampering needs. Upstairs, there is a small museum celebrating the brand’s heritage.
Contact: 00 351 914 290 359; clausporto.com
Prices: ￡￡￡
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A Vida Portuguesa
Housed on the first floor of a grand building (the ground floor belongs to a different company), La Vida Portuguesa brings together some of the best Portuguese designs and products under one roof. A perfect one-stop shop for tasteful souvenirs including ceramic swallows (Portugal’s national bird), illustrated books, hand-printed stationery, clothing, food, homeware, and toys. There is even some comfy seating if your travel partner lacks your shopping stamina.
Contact: 00 351 22 202 2105; avidaportuguesa.com
Prices: ￡￡
Centro Comercial Bombarda
It may sound like a ghastly mall, but it certainly isn't. Set slightly back from the road near Porto’s main hospital, Centro Comercial Bombarda is home to a wide range of interesting, yet inexpensive boutiques. Most of what’s on sale is produced by local designers and craftsman. There’s a weekly organic vegetable market as well. On nearby Rua da Bombarda (best known for its small art gallery shops), look out for L de Luz at number 469, one of the most beautiful lighting shops you could hope to find. Also keep an eye open for Papa Livros at 523, a beautifully decorated bookshop specialising in illustrated children’s titles (available in English and Spanish, as well as Portuguese). In the other direction, O! Galeria at number 6 stocks prints and zines from illustrators around the world.
Contact: 00 351 934 337 703
Prices: ￡￡
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Armazém
Armazém, which means 'warehouse', was formerly the storage for Real Companhia Velha wine and port merchants. Today, it’s home to a melee of different vendors all under the same wooden-rafting roof. Most of what’s on sale is standard vintage fare: furniture, lamps, glassware, games, books, paintings, nick-nacks and so forth. But search hard and there are treasures to be discovered and bargains to be bought. A huge book tree installation, plus a vintage car and an oversized birdcage, give the space an air of the outlandish. There’s a cosy café area indoors and loungers outside for you to soak up the sun. Bikes are also available for hire.
Contact: 00 351 222 011 702; facebook.com/armazem93
Prices: ￡￡
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Mercado do Bolh?o
Filling the entirety of one block, Mercado do Bolh?o is a temple to all things fresh and edible. Fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and Portuguese style breads (try the ‘broa de avintes’ - a corn and rye bread typical of nearby Gaia). All the Portuguese classics are there, and the almost exclusively female vendors will be keen to sell you their best wares.
Please note: The market is currently housed in a nearby mall due to major renovations, but you’ll find all the same characters – the fishmongers and grocers, the bakers and butchers, the florists and haberdashers. Look out for the portraits of each of the market traders standing proudly with their names and their wares hanging above the escalators.
Contact: 00 351 22 332 6024; mercadobolhao.pt
Prices: ￡
