Porto is not just a city with food, wine, monuments and landscapes to enjoy. There are plenty of shopping markets and streets scattered throughout the city that can provide an amazing experience and help you to get to know this city better.
Porto is a city of old-fashioned family businesses, where specialist shops are often grouped together. Porto’s shopkeepers are friendly and willing to help tourists. If they don’t have what you’re after, they’ll point you down the street to someone who has.
Dare yourself on a shopping journey and feel a cultural experience as a commercial one.
So, get yourself a map and let the shopping adventure begin:
Rua de Santa Catarina – The first stop for all shoppers
This artery of the city is the largest commercial area of stores in Porto, where traditional establishments coexist side by side with internationally recognised brands.
As a side challenge, along the 1,500 meters of Rua de Santa Catarina, and amidst the hundreds of shop signs, see if you can find the small statue of Santa Catarina that watches and protects the walkers passing by. It’s not that visible, nor known to all locals and tourists; that’s why this is an enjoyable challenge.
Mercado do Bolhão – A vibrant local authentic market
The centenary Mercado do Bolhão is the most emblematic market in the city of Porto and one of the most famous in Portugal. It has been undergoing restoration and modernisation works since May 2018, originally for an estimated period of two years, but it still is underway.
Visit this Market if you’re looking for a traditional shopping experience with genuine, friendly sellers, where you can engage in trading sessions and buy excellent products. Nowadays the Mercado do Bolhão can be found at the Bolhão Temporary Market, 2 minutes away from the original market.
Rua das Flores – The newly redesigned shopping street in Porto
In recent years, Rua das Flores has gained a new life. This is a street known to everyone. The same cannot be said about the origin of the name. “Santa Catarina das Flores Street”. That was what it was called when it was founded 500 years ago.
The association with the floral theme has a simple reason: in the 16th century, the land on which the street was built consisted of gardens, full of flowers, owned by the Bishop of Porto. – D. Pedro Álvares da Costa, a deep devotee of the deity “Santa Catarina”.
Although the street does not have the flowery fields of the past, it is one of the most frequented pedestrian shopping streets in the city. When shopping in this street, don’t forget to look up and enjoy the floral designs and themes of the buildings.
Rua de Miguel Bombarda: Shopping art in an alternative way
The fourth stop of your shopping experience will allow you to get to know the local alternative art galleries and shops better.
The artistic imagination in Bombarda is quite simple to explain: as soon as the first gallery was opened in the locality, other spaces, which gravitate to the same universe, thought that “unity makes strength” and, from there, began to come together in the same territory and create what is now known as “The Arts Quarter”.
Nowadays, it is in its 850 meters extension that the area attracts, above all, those curious about cultural life and those who bring the artistic urge in their heart.
Rua de Miguel Bombarda is a place that gives space to creativity expressed in different perspectives and concepts. Here we can find themed bookstores, tea houses, several galleries with exhibitions throughout the year, and – as we have already indicated – several places to delight the palate and recharge batteries.
Important remarks about shopping in Porto
Street shops usually run from 10am to 7pm (10:00 – 19:00), unlike shopping centers, which run from 10am to midnight (22:00 – 00:00).
Sunday is the only day of the week when we do not advise going shopping in Porto, as in general the street shops are closed, except during the Holidays.
In shopping malls, you find the same urban experience you find everywhere else in the world, which is why we challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and discover the amazing street shops in Porto.
I am so praying that we will be able to travel from South Africa for this. I am getting so excited reading all these emails about everything we can do there and I would be devastated if I had to miss this. I’ve even been practising speaking Portuguese for 3 months already in anticipation of being there for the event and enjoying Portugal!