I love this store! Situated down from Largo do Carmo on Calçado do Carmo towards Rossio, this bright, airy shop with the cool multi-colored logo has got a wonderful selection of Lisbon souvenirs with a difference. The shop stocks mainly t-shirts and what funky t-shirts they are.

Lisboa Carmo’s designs all in some way relate to Lisbon, but what makes these shirts unique is that each of these designs has been created by a different young Portuguese artist or designer. The shop has agreements with most of the designers so the t-shirts are unique to Lisboa Carmo and can’t be purchased elsewhere.

The staff in the store are very welcoming and are happy to explain the intricacies of each design, what they represent and give you a little bit of background into the reason behind the design. Most of the t-shirts have several different colors to choose from for each design.

They also stock coffee mugs with designs similar to the t-shirts as well as an array of fridge magnet and key rings, some of which you will have seen in other tourist shops and some of which are unique to Lisboa Carmo

If you want to buy something a little different in the way of gifts or souvenirs to remind you of your stay in Lisbon, I highly recommend a visit to this store!

The most unexpected place to find a coffee and cake bar – in the middle of a Portuguese style homeware store in Chiado. What is even more unexpected is that the little chairs and tables of the cafe are set up as if they are part of the showroom, placed carefully next to sideboards full of pretty, rustic blue and white crockery that is for sale. Go into the store and head up the stairs on the left.  

Whilst wandering towards the goods situated near the windows, you find yourself next to a coffee bar. You can buy simple beverages like coffee and various teas and there are always a couple of scrumptious looking cakes for sampling too, so this is a perfect (and quiet) place to rest your feet whilst you are doing some shopping. There are only a few chairs and tables, but it is a very calming atmosphere.

This fabulous store contains mainly Portuguese-made goods – textiles for the home (both for indoors and outdoors), cosmetics and restored furniture. It also has a variety of beautifully-packaged homemade gourmet goodies like jams and pickles for sale and these are all displayed invitingly on a table at the top of the stairs – you cannot miss it.

I recommend you pop in and browse (and drink coffee and eat cake too!).

You are visiting Lisbon, you’ve been here a few days and suddenly you are craving a quick curry. Sounds strange, I know, but those moments do happen. There are a number of curry houses scattered around Chiado and Bairro Alto, but one of my favourites is Natraj on Rua dos Sapateiros in Baixa Chiado.

Situated down one of the streets running parallel to Rua Augusta in Baixa this restaurant is comfortingly reliable in that it is opens earlier than most restaurants in Chiado, the menu is a nice combination of the curries that you may recognize from take out menus plus a few added extras from Goa (ex-Portuguese colony) and they are all reasonably priced. The portions are generous, the service is good and I have never been disappointed by the quality of the food.

For Vindaloo fans, please note that curry in Portugal is not hot – ask for extra heat! For added authenticity there is a television screen on the wall that mostly plays Bollywood movies/music (and sometimes soccer matches – remember, you are in a soccer-mad country and you will be hard-pushed to find a restaurant that doesn’t have a TV in it) and the decor is definitely adds to the ambiance.

Early in the evening it is very easy to get a table, but later on it does get busier. 

For one of the freshest, warmest, most delicious pastel de nata in down town Lisbon, go to Café Martinho da Arcarda. This very old (established in 1782), very famous cafe is situated in the top right corner of Praça do Comércio (as you stand with your back to the river) and has an esplanade under the arches of one of the buildings that line the edge of the Praça.

The decor has not changed since Fernando Pessoa used to frequent the cafe in the early 1900s and there is a typically Portuguese tiled scene behind the bar counter showing the kitchen and the baking of the above mentioned pastéis de nata. There are signs up in the cafe proudly stating that the pastéis de nata are cooked on the premises on a daily basis. There are only a few tables inside the cafe with the majority of them being situated outside on the esplanade.

This café, in my opinion, is actually nicer than the far busier, more touristed one that is in Rossio on Praça Dom Pedro IV. Whilst sitting outside this cafe you have a view directly across the newly-refurbished Praça do Comércio to the river.

There is a restaurant attached to the café and although I have not eaten there, a glance at the menu suggested that it is rather a pricey and perhaps touristy restaurant. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend a traditional pastel de nata and a coffee at the café.

I love this place! It is “hidden” at the top floor of the Benetton shop at the beginning of Rua Garrett. Fabrica is the Benetton Group international communications research center (I had to llok it up as well!). This space has an ever-changing variety of design objects, both useful and useless, but always interesting. It displays work of Portuguese artists (as for instance JIMMY styleshop does) and international works. All items are for sale, ofcourse.

Besides this “shop”, half of the space is dedicated to temporary exhibitions. This means that you will always find something new and interesting when you visit (especially compared with Benetton clothes, but that’s a personal opinion).

If you are not one convinced yet: you can step out on one of the small balconies and have a bird’s-eye view of Rua Garrett.