Downtown Lisbon is one of the places we most want to be at this time of year, it ‘s where Christmas is experienced most intensely.
It transforms into a magical setting during the Christmas season, becoming one of the most enchanting destinations, with illuminated streets and squares, traditional markets and a contagious festive atmosphere, undoubtedly the ideal place to immerse yourself in the Christmas spirit.
Praça D. Pedro IV, known as Rossio, is home to the famous Rossio Christmas Market, where more than 70 wooden houses offer handicrafts, typical delicacies and unique gifts.
In addition, the streets of Baixa come alive with light shows, concerts and visits from Santa Claus, providing unforgettable moments for the whole family.
Strolling through the decorated streets of Rua Augusta or admiring the imposing Christmas tree in Praça do Comércio are unmissable experiences.
Baixa is not just a place for shopping, but also a place to create special memories while enjoying gastronomic and cultural traditions that reflect the essence of Christmas in Lisbon.
If you’re going to choose this neighborhood as your place of choice this Christmas, we’re going to tell you some of the reasons to go there, because these are “The best neighborhoods to spend Christmas in Lisbon”, and what’s more, you can get to them without a car, because Lisbon City Hall is offering free parking and free transportation to downtown.
Christmas downtown
The Christmas lights in the city look beautiful, and this is usually where the most traditional shops are.
And in between, we stopped at our usual stores and took the opportunity to complete the list of gifts we were still missing.
One of the most recent stores we went to was Nat’elier. It’s located at Rua da Santa Justa 87, right next to the Santa Justa Elevator.
We stopped by to try two new sweets that they have created especially for this Christmas season: a Christmas Dream and a Pastel de Nata com Doce de Ovos e Amêndoa, true delights created by the always innovative Chef João Batalha.
On the main street of downtown Lisbon, Rua Augusta , of course, is the Casa Macário, It’s a store with history, of course, because it’s been there since 1913.
It sells drinks, sweets, coffees, teas and chocolates and a host of other delicacies that are worth a visit, many of which you can wrap up in pretty paper to give away at Christmas.
At the entrance, a sign says “Please Don’t Clean The Bottles” because, in this place, the bottles want to be covered in dust to prove their history.
It’s one of the best places to buy Port wine in Baixa, as well as regional products and goodies.
Also on Rua Augusta, at number 102, is Casa Pereira da Conceição , a store where you’ll find some of the most fragrant teas, coffees, chocolates, almonds and other porcelain objects sold there.
If you like old things, then you really must come and see the old coffee-grinding machines, which make this place in downtown Lisbon one of the most interesting.
Still within this type of product, which will make an excellent Christmas present, take a trip to the “resistant” Pérola do Rossio, at Praça D. Pedro IV 105.
Specializing in teas and coffees, Pérola do Rossio was founded in 1923 by Mário Lopes de Moraes and has remained in the hands of the same family for three generations.
In addition to the various teas and coffees, you’ll also find other products, such as national and foreign wines, sweets and jams, cookies and cookies, chocolates, coffee machines and their accessories, teapots, among many others.
And while we’re on the subject of wines, our choice also goes to Garrafeira & Charcutaria Dom Pedro, located at Rua dos Fanqueiros 200.
Here, as well as a vast collection of wines , you’ll find a wide variety of dried fruit, regional sweets, selected charcuterie, national cheeses, chocolates, spices and much more.
I’m sure you ‘ll find “that” gift you’ve been looking for!
Okay, since we’ve definitely entered the field of sweets, one of our favorite places is, without a shadow of a doubt, Confeitaria Nacional, open since 1870.
In downtown Lisbon, you’ll find it at number 18A Praça da Figueira and, as soon as you walk through the door, you’ll smell a variety of sweets, including one of the best Bolos-Rei in the city.
If you don’t believe us, we dare you to try it and see for yourself. And if there’s a queue, don’t worry… it’s a pleasure to stand at the door and smell the aroma!
A little further down, on Rua dos Bacalhoeiros – Lisbon’s first blue street – is Conserveira de Lisboa which, in our opinion, has some products that could make a good Christmas present.
You might think that giving a canned product is a bit of a no-brainer, but it’s certainly an original gift.
Go there and see for yourself the art behind each can of our best fish: cod, sardines, tuna, salmon, octopus, mackerel, eel, salmon or trout.
We end this trip through downtown Lisbon with two places that “offer luck”: Quiosque Tivoli and Tabacaria Mónaco.
The first is located at Rua da Prata 171, and is a very small place that is already part of the daily life of all the locals who pass by every day.
Offering a scratch card, a lottery ticket or a EuroMillions bet… why not?
The second shop, Tabacaria Mónaco, is in Praça D, Pedro IV 21 and it’ s worth going in to browse the slender corridor full of newspapers and magazines.
Those who enter often go to try their luck. Here’s our final suggestion for a Christmas present.
On this Christmas trip through Lisbon’s main arteries, we’ ve already been to Chiado, Avenida da Liberdade and Guerra Junqueiro, where we’ve done almost all of our Christmas shopping.