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Cabeleireiro: hairdresser
Garrafeira: wine store
Livraria: bookshop
Mercado: market
Mercearia: grocery
Oculista: optician
Ourivesaria: jeweller
Padaria: bakery
Papelaria: stationer
Peixaria: fish shop
Tabacaria: tobacconist
Talho: butchery
Shops in the traditional shopping districts normally open from 10am to 1pm and from 3pm to 7 or 8 in the evening. Most shopping centres open all day, every day, from 10am in the morning and often until midnight. However some of the big supermarkets in the shopping centres close on Sunday afternoons.
Garrafeira: wine store
Livraria: bookshop
Mercado: market
Mercearia: grocery
Oculista: optician
Ourivesaria: jeweller
Padaria: bakery
Papelaria: stationer
Peixaria: fish shop
Tabacaria: tobacconist
Talho: butchery
Shops in the traditional shopping districts normally open from 10am to 1pm and from 3pm to 7 or 8 in the evening. Most shopping centres open all day, every day, from 10am in the morning and often until midnight. However some of the big supermarkets in the shopping centres close on Sunday afternoons.
British food: Food and other products from the UK are available on the Silver Coast at Union Jacs, the British shop in Tornada.
Foreign newspapers: The tobacco and newspaper kiosks attached to most of the major supermarkets stock some publications from abroad. Check the dates though – they are sometimes a few days past their publication date.
Deli foods: Try a charcutaria for an amazing array of smoked meats, sausages, cheeses and local jams.
Hardware: A visit to a drogaria (hardware store) is a fascinating experience and the stock is often cheaper than the superstores.
Cakes: A typical Portuguese pastelaria will have an extravagant array of cakes and pastry for sale – enough to satisfy the sweetest tooth.
Shoes: Look for a sapataria – this is a great place for buying shoes and in Portugal you will find many of these shops in every town.
Medicines: Only a farmácia is licensed to fill prescriptions and sell certain types of medicines. Other chemist-style shops sell health and beauty products and a more restricted range of medicines.
Foreign newspapers: The tobacco and newspaper kiosks attached to most of the major supermarkets stock some publications from abroad. Check the dates though – they are sometimes a few days past their publication date.
Deli foods: Try a charcutaria for an amazing array of smoked meats, sausages, cheeses and local jams.
Hardware: A visit to a drogaria (hardware store) is a fascinating experience and the stock is often cheaper than the superstores.
Cakes: A typical Portuguese pastelaria will have an extravagant array of cakes and pastry for sale – enough to satisfy the sweetest tooth.
Shoes: Look for a sapataria – this is a great place for buying shoes and in Portugal you will find many of these shops in every town.
Medicines: Only a farmácia is licensed to fill prescriptions and sell certain types of medicines. Other chemist-style shops sell health and beauty products and a more restricted range of medicines.
Shopping Silver Coast
- traditional charm, modern choices
From the traditional charm of old town shopping districts to the modern facades of the region's new superstores, the Silver Coast offers the best of both worlds to shoppers.
Many of the Silver Coast's towns and cities have retained their traditional high streets where the shops are still owned by local people. They have typically been run by generations of the same family and their individuality brings a unique charm and atmosphere to the shopping districts, many of which have been pedestrianised as part of a local government drive to protect traditional businesses.
Where to buy
Portuguese shops
Opening Hours
The old town areas are the places to head for shops selling everything you could possibly need. Here shoe shops rub shoulders with hardware stores; gentlemen’s outfitters sit opposite bookshops with cool, dark interiors; traditional craft shops share frontage with electrical suppliers; and cafês spread their tables across the pavements on many of the street corners. The markets are also fascinating places.
Shopping centres
Shopping on the Silver Coast has been given a boost in recent years with the opening of three major new shopping centres and a host of other individual superstores. Many of the big national chain stores have now opened branches in new shopping centres in cities like Leiria, Caldas da Rainha and Torres Vedras. The region’s newest and biggest shopping centre is in Leiria, with 120 shops, 19 restaurants and a seven-cinema multiplex. Caldas da Rainha has Vivaci shopping offering 60 shops, 14 restaurants and five cinemas, while Arena Shopping in Torres Vedras is a complex of 90 shops, 15 restaurants and a five-screen cinema.
Superstores
Most good-sized towns and cities have at least one supermarket, and in the bigger centres it is common to have half a dozen to choose from. Two of the biggest in the region are the Continente hypermarket in Leiria Shopping and Auchan in the Arena shopping centre in Torres Vedras. There is also a Makro retail warehouse on the edge of Leiria open to those who have a customer card. Foreign visitors and residents wanting a taste of food from home will find a limited range of foreign food products in some of the supermarkets. Shops such as Union Jacs in Tornada sell a much wider range of British food and other products.
Stores serving the DIY market have also mushroomed in recent years. Caldas da Rainha has Aki, Bricomarche and Maxmat; Leiria has Aki and Bricomarche; Torres Vedras has Aki; and Alcobaça has a branch of Bricomarche. For furniture MoviFlor has branches in Torres Vedras and Caldas da Rainha. Sports enthusiasts are well served with a Decathlon superstore in Torres Vedras and branches of Sportzone in the big shopping centres.
