A Vida Portuguesa
Journalist Catarina Portas introduced her first location of this one-stop shop for all things Portuguese made in the Chiado neighborhood in 2007. Since then, three other outposts opened in Lisbon and one more in Porto. What makes it so popular? The inventory is thrilling if you’re looking to pick up locally crafted, giftable items. There are bars of soaps packaged in beautifully illustrated wrapping paper, teeny-tiny porcelain swallows (an emblematic bird in Portugal), brightly patterned wool blankets, bottles of craft beers, and beautifully illustrated tins of conservas. There’s no better place in the city to pick up all those little somethings to bring home to friends and family.