Lisbon’s bookstores & libraries
+ where to find the best Portuguese literature translations
Updated in October 2024
This bookstore, located in the heart of Chiado, isn’t just the oldest bookstore in town, but is also a 2010 Guinness World Record holder. It has been selling books since 1732 without interruption. You heard that right! This is the oldest operating bookstore in the world. Throughout the centuries, the location has changed four times. Today, the company has about 70 different branches scattered around Portugal. It’s quite a big bookstore, and each department comes with the name of a Portuguese writer and there is a lovely coffee shop at the back.
Fnac sells a wide range of electronics, instruments, music and books. This bookstore inside the Chiado shopping mall offers an amazing selection of Portuguese and international writers divided into genres, with translations mainly available in English — some in French, Italian or German. There’s also quite a big stationery section (with travel items as well) and a kids toy department. My favourite spot is the reading room, where you can sit and enjoy some rainy days.
Owned by a lovely Canadian lady named Eduarda, even her staff is amazing, always available to chat and share suggestions. Find this bookstore for second-hand books in English. It’s located between Saldanha and Alameda, and, for the residents, it’s also a meeting place for cultural events. You can find a wide range of genres, from non-fiction to theathre plays, poetry and travel writing. Do not leave without checking the items on sale downstairs. I’d definitely recommend this place if you want to find a bookstore than is not chain-owned, truthful about what a bookstore should do. It’s not one of the libraries in Lisbon for tourists.
This two-floor bookstore is located inside one of the most hipster spots of the city: the “LX factory” village. The bike hanging from the ceiling always makes me think about the connection between magic and literature that many passionate readers can relate to. The second floor has a separate room that is used for cultural events. You can find some translation also in Italian and French, besides English. Have a look around, the second floor included, and sit at the cozy bar for a glass. Excellent atmosphere, a bit busy during the weekend (it might not be the quietest spot for reading). Check their board at the entrance for the coolest events in town.
In the Saldanha Duke Square, there are two shopping malls: Saldanha Residence and Atrium Saldanha. If you’re around this side of Lisbon and want to browse books while overlooking at some of the most fashionable squares of the city, visit the top floor of Atrium Saldanha. The editorial group “Almedina” is known in Portugal for technical and legal books. However, this branch also presents some general English translations that you can enjoy while sitting next to the big windows on one of the city’s most important arterial roads.
An interesting late Gothic palace close to the very central Commerce Square is the city’s main homage to José Saramago, the only Portuguese awarded with a Nobel Prize in Literature. Casa dos bicos (literally: the spiky house — get there to guess why this name) was built in 1523, inspired by a palace located in Italy. On the second floor, a bookstore offers translations of José’s books in different languages, as well as an interesting collection of pictures related to his private life. Having a hard time as an artist in Portugal, he exiled himself in Lanzarote, where he worked and lived for the rest of his life together with Pilar, his Spanish partner. The José Saramago Foundation is located on the top floor. Saramago’s books are truly, one of a kind. If you enjoy literature, you can’t leave this town without check him out :)
Fernando Pessoa Digital Library and Museum
If you are fluent in Portuguese, you can access Pessoa’s personal digital library. Fernando Pessoa is one of the most celebrated Portuguese writers of all times. You can find more than 1,000 volumes, including rare ones and versions of manuscripts made available for the public. Fernando latest home, located in the Campo de Ourique neighbourhood, is a museum. You can pay a visit and discover not only how the master of heteronyms used to live, as well as browse some of the best books out there about his work and life.
This 18th century noble palace served many purposes. Among the many, it also hosted the first library for blind people in Portugal. Since 1981, it has been the venue of the Camões Library. (Camões was the most famous Renaissance writer, a bit like the Portuguese Shakespeare.) Reach the entrance and spread your eyes wide to be amazed by the blue and white tiles decorating the walls. In the main room, there’s an old piano surrounded by an impressive amount of old books. Through the windows, marvel at the 25 April Bridge river view — your Instagram account will beg for a picture.
The second of my favorite municipal libraries in Lisbon is also one of the least known AND the oldest of the city. Named after St. Lazarus, it’s hosted inside a neoclassic building built in 1883. Inside the Noble Room, the hexagonal perimeter doesn’t go unnoticed, as well as the mezzanine floor and the hard wooden antique furniture. Inside this historic bookstore of Lisbon, you will find old clocks, a typewriter, vintage velveted table lamps and crystal chandeliers. It’s a blast from the past, a quite unique atmosphere. The beauty of this room has been captured in movies and pictures too, and just looking around can be a good reason to visit the library. If you are in Martim Moniz Square, after a tram ride or a walk in Alfama, you can reach the library in a 10-minute walk — all the way up!
If you are passionate about old books, you should read my article about vintage and flea markets in Lisbon.
