The clothing store Zara is well known among the Portuguese, who have always been accustomed to seeing it, both on the city streets and in Lisbon’s shopping centers. What perhaps few expected was that Lisbon would be the city chosen to host the second largest high street store of the Spanish ready-to-wear brand. Welcome to Zara Rossio!
The “pretty girl” of the Inditex group, which offers other brands known to the Portuguese, such as Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka or Zara Home, just to name a few, will open its huge store on September 5, at 10 a.m., with many people expected to flock to the new space to find out what has been behind the siding of the historic buildings in Praça D. Pedro IV for so many months. Pedro IV, better known in Lisbon’s downtown as Rossio.
We’ve been there and, in fact, there’s nothing in Portugal like this grandiose project, with three floors divided into everything the brand has to offer, from fashion for Men, Women, Children and, of course, the part dedicated to the home, Zara Home, which is simply incredible.
Fashion for all tastes… at the right prices
And by “right” we really mean: not inflated! The first impression you might get is that, given the huge investment that has been made here, the values would be reflected in the clothes and accessories on sale at the new Zara in Rossio.
But no! What we find on the labels are, surprisingly, the same prices we’re used to paying in the other Zara stores around the country.
Of course, there will be special collections with slightly higher prices, even Premium, but overall we can confirm that the average price remains the same.
Various areas of experience
Zara’s new store, considered the second largest in the world, is quite original and with very sober colors, where you really feel like lingering for a few minutes. Not least because walking through the long, beautiful corridors requires some stamina and breath.
So take your time and take the opportunity to rest in the fitting rooms… because we’re talking about about 5,000m2 of open spaces, full of things to see and, of course, buy.
The new Zara do Rossio offers various boutique spaces with lingerie, beauty and cosmetics, footwear and accessories and the Origins and Athleticz collections, among many other novelties.
It also has the most advanced technological solutions, with assisted checkouts for self-checkout and also a returns service (drop-off) that will allow customers to automatically return items bought in the online store.
Decoration and architecture
The new Zara store in Rossio features a new commercial concept with a renewed image and new product display areas, in order to guarantee the best shopping experience for its customers.
In order to ensure that the old and historic buildings of Rossio would be “put to good use”, the architectural project was delivered and developed by Elsa Urquijo Arquitetos, who managed to interconnect the five buildings that now make up this store, maintaining Portugal’s artisanal tradition, by working the materials in their natural state.
Highlights include the Lioz stone from Sintra, the Viúva Lamego tiles, the wood-paneled ceilings, the linen fabrics, the lime mortar, the cork and the colors of the Pombaline palette.
A sweet novelty… and traditional
And because we’re in Lisbon, the land of the best custard tarts, one of the novelties in Zara stores is the cafeteria area, where you’ll find the delicious custard tarts from Castro, in a beautiful area where you can buy packs of the typical Portuguese sweet, as well as relax between one purchase and another.
Zara by Castro is the brand’s first foray into an increasingly diversified offer, and in this huge store it makes perfect sense, given its generous size.
Whoever passes by on the street will also be able to enter this small, friendly space, to try one of these pastéis de nata, or drink a coffee or water.
Before Zara do Rossio
Before this project was finally completed, a series of iconic businesses in Lisbon passed through these blocks of buildings.
The first floor housed the Ourivesaria Portugal, which Zara has kept the corner façade intact; the Manteigaria União (1900), also preserved and home to Zara by Castro; the Pastelaria Suíça (1922), which is now in Praça da Figueira (just next door); a Pérola do Rossio, the only one that is still part of this block where there is now Zara do Rossio; and, on the upper floors, the entrance to the Hotel Francfort, the core of the staircases and the ancestral elevator that runs throughout the building at a height have been preserved.
Home: Praça D. Pedro IV (Rossio)
Hours: every day between 10am and 10pm
