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River Douro, Porto

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Shopping in Porto

The obvious shopping highlight in Porto is, of course, the famous fortified wine, but it is also great for locally produced handicrafts, particularly ceramics and pottery. Bacalhau (dried cod) is another speciality.

Key areas: 

The main shopping street in Porto is the Rua de Santa Catarina in the city centre. Here you can find a wealth of clothes and shoe shops as well as stores offering a variety of design items and all kinds of trendy accessories. Some of the side streets to Rua de Santa Catarina offer some excellent food shops with lovely, tiled facades. The city also boasts an historic and huge bookshop, the Clube Literário do Porto, in Rua Nova da Alfândega.

Visitors interested in buying port wine should visit Garrafeira do Carmo, Rua do Carmo 17-18, which has a large selection of wines, some of which are more than 100 years old.

Markets: 

Regular markets take place in the Rua de Santa Catarina, while weekly and monthly specialised markets featuring specific products such as antiques, handicrafts and the like take place in a number of city centre locations including Rua Cândido dos Reis, Galeria Lumière and Passeio das Fontainhas.

Shopping centres: 

Via Catarina, Porto’s most charming shopping centre, is located along Rua de Santa Catarina, at the corner of Rua Fernandes Tomar. The storefronts inside are replicas of the kinds of facades typical of old Northern Portugal village shops. Other Porto shopping centres include the Centro Comercial Peninsular and the Centro Comercial Cidade de Porto on Rua do Bom Successo.

Opening hours: 

Shops are generally open Monday to Friday 0900-1300 and 1500-1900 and Saturday 0900-1300. Shopping centres are open daily 1000-2300/2400.

Tax information: 

Some larger stores will offer a VAT refund service for non-EU visitors.

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