Bairro Alto – Local tips (shopping)

ore like a “Hat Warehouse” actually. If you like hats, visit this nice little store right in the middle of Rua da Rosa.

Being located in trendy bairro Alto, we are of course not talking about old lady hats! Here it’s all trendy. You can find all sorts of hats: male or female, expensive or affordable, gangster or Cinderella.

The owners have set up shop only in 2008 and are eager to make the store a success. Service is therefore really great and people are friendly.

Take your hat off before entering!

It seems that business is OK, since they already opened a second store a little bit further up the street. This store is more dedicated to accessories.

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A Fábrica dos Chapéus | Shopping
Rua da Rosa 139 | Bairro Alto | +351913086880
Mon -Thu 11:00 – 21:00, Fri – Sat: 11:00 – 22:00

Let´s say I have a birthday dinner somewhere in Bairro Alto. And I had the busiest day and hadn’t have any time to buy a present. No problem, now we have Bairro Arte to solve our lack of gift-shops during nightlife.

Bairro Arte, besides being a gift shop, is also an art gallery. It’s an art gallery like any other, but as any other art gallery it’s unique by nature. Nevertheless, one thing Bairro Arte can’t be called is a simple gift-shop, for each thing they sell is very exclusive and original. I feel like being in a shop in Barcelona when enter the shop, because the stuff they sell is creative and colorful as Barcelona itself. For example, they have marble tiles with nice and fun paintings, giant kangaroos statues for our living room, puffs in shape of balls, trendy bags and many things more.

The building where Bairro Arte is installed is a very nice example itself of Lisbon old architecture and a well-restored building. And it has a very picturesque and outstanding chimney. The entrance is in the middle of the building, which divides the room for the shop and the room for the art gallery. I always take more time on the shop side. Shame on me!

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Bairro Arte | Art & culture, Shopping | Free
Rua das Salgadeiras, 5 | Bairro Alto | +351910571594
Mon – Fri 16:00 – 01:00, Sat – Mon 14:00 – 01:00

This design store is located in the Hotel Bairro Alto, near Praça de Camões. The have another store inside the Ritz Four Season hotel.

It hosts some very interesting items, all of them are made in Portugal by Portuguese artists and most of them are inspired in traditional local themes. You can find here, for instance, modern interpretations of Virgin Maria and Santo António statues. Or reinterpretations of the classic Portuguese Gallo de Barcelos. Go here to get a different souvenir from Portugal, one that shows that Lisbon is becoming more and more a creative hub.

The prices are very accessible and the interior of the shop is beautiful.

I already have a very original piggy-bank decorating my apartment!

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JIMMY Styleshop | Art & culture, Shopping | A Santo António statue € 20.00
Rua das Flores | Bairro Alto | +351918984695
Mon – Sat 10:30 – 19:30

Located right at the top of Bairro Alto, your perserverence in tracking this shop down ill certainly be rewarded if you are a fan of the more avant garde forms of electronica and indie music.

Sharing its premises in Lisbon with a lovely boutique clothing shop (no suggestion here that it gives the girls something to do whilst the guys browse records!) Máteria Prima offers the very best of the slightly weird and wonderful of the music world – from classics (like Aphex Twin and Autechre) to latest releases (The xx and Atlas Sound).

As well as having a great selection of vinyl and cds, which the shopkeepers are only too happy to let you sample before you buy, the shop has a great catalogue of Portuguese and foreign music and art magazines.

If your wallet (or luggage) isn’t going to extend to a bit of music shopping Máteria Prima is also an excellent place to find out the latest in concerts, clubs and art and the shop is also stocked full of the latest flyers.

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Máteria Prima | Music, Shopping
Rua da Rosa 197 | Bairro Alto
Mon – Fri 14:00 – 20:00, Sat 14:00 – 21:00

I admit I am a lazy cook and have more than a couple of gastronomic faux pas’ to account for, my fondness for meals that limit their preparation to just adding water being one of them. That said, if perhaps incoherently, I do love good food and gourmet stores have me drooling.

This mercearia (grocer’s in Portuguese) is a case in point. Everything here is exquisite (and much made nationally). There are delicious biscuits and hand-made bon bons, freshly baked bread, oils and vinegars, traditional jams and jellies, herbs and spices, olives, coffees and teas, patés, sausages and cheeses. There’s a pretty good wine selection too. Mmmmmm…..

And to take indulgence out of the kitchen and into your bathroom, a gorgeous selection of aromatic soaps, creams and soaking salts are available also.

I’m a sucker for good presentation, and this store retains a touch of tradition within a modern, stylish space. Everything here is so well organized and nicely packaged that it’s a feast for the eyes as well.

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Mercearia da Atalaia | Shopping
Rua da Atalaia, 64A | Bairro Alto | +351213421104
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 21:00