Livraria Santiago @ CM Obidos

Dear Partners,

Visit Portugal has been developing new projects and promotional campaigns that inspire visitors to learn more about Portugal’s authors, their work and its literary landscapes. Travellers can experience Portugal’s Literary Tours, visit Writer’s Houses, or take inspiration from a range of special places for book lovers and grab the best books for discovering Portugal.

In this newsletter edition, we bring some ideas of literary tours, covering key sites associated with some of Portugal’s most popular writers and places bursting with history and culture, so that you can better make itineraries and advise your clients. 

"After all, the best way to travel is to feel", by Álvaro de Campos. 

Yours sincerely,

Ines Almeida Garrett
Visit Portugal Canada

Journey to Portugal Revisited

In the year that marks the 100th anniversary of José Saramago's birth, the cultural and literary programme dedicated to his vast work and legacy will include the Journey to Portugal Revisited by José Luís Peixoto, winner of the José Saramago Literary Prize in 2001, and other international contemporary writers.

Twelve tours of the country from one end to the other that seek to reinterpret and recognise the immense territory from which José Saramago drew his inspiration. The 12 places revisited are: Alcoutim, Beja, Bragança, Coimbra, Évora and Montemor-o-Novo, Guarda, Pinhel and Cidadelhe, Guimarães and Citânia de Briteiros, Lagos, Mafra, Setúbal, Tomar and Constância, Vila Real. Start the journey here. 

Literary outgoing in Porto

Start your day by visiting Livraria Lello, one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world, located in the historic centre of Porto near the emblematic Clérigos Tower, which rises from a Baroque church at the top of an embankment.

Café Candelabro, a cafe-bookshop in downtown Porto with cosy and arty interiors, is a great spot for a coffee break. There, guests can take books from the shelves and enjoy them at their table, or even purchase books to take home.

For an afternoon walk, visit the charming Porto’s Botanical Garden. Overlooking the garden, there is a magnificent 19^th century red house surrounded by lush greenery, The Andresen House, which was the family house of Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, one of the most important Portuguese writers and poets of the 20^th century. Sophia’s work is full of childhood memories in this property. Today the interior was transformed into a museum, the Hall of Biodiversity, a unique space where art meets science and literature.

Dine at one of the most historic cafes in town, Guarany, located in Avenida dos Aliados. The people who went to Guarany in the 30’s where mainly musicians, writers, intellectuals and businessmen. After a renovation, Guarany is again a reference for those who have a creative and inquisitive mind. It has always been a place for entertainment, book readings and culture.

Credit @Livraria Lello

Writers in the North

Porto and the North region was home to some of the most notable Portuguese writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. These writers formed the inspiration behind the “Escritores a Norte" project, where you can travel through the region and learn about the Portuguese culture whilst taking in the amazing landscapes of the north coast, Douro Valley and the interior areas of Portugal.

The Eça de Queiroz Foundation/Tormes House, located in Santa Cruz do Douro, in the surroundings of the carved valleys of the Douro, offers visitors a deep connection with the history of this writer through a diversified programme of activities: summer concert, queirosian gastronomy, the Jacinto's walking trail, according to the story of the famous novel The city and the mountains, and the production of green wine. 

Miguel Torga space literary and cultural centre, designed by the famous architect Eduardo Souto Moura, aims to be a gateway to cultural, tourist and architectural excellence in the Alto Douro Vinhateiro, a World Heritage Site; It has exhibition halls, with a permanent exhibition on the writer Miguel Torga, "O Chão e o Verbo", a bookstore, a library, an auditorium and cafeteria, with excellent conditions to host different types of contemporary art. This space is thus a must-visit point for a better understanding of Miguel Torga's work, life and territory.

Quinta do Ventozelo, Douro. Credit @Joao Silva

Óbidos, the mecca for bibliophiles

Óbidos is a fairytale medieval town in the Centre of Portugal, where historic spaces have gradually been transformed into contemporary bookstores. We bring you some examples below:

Livraria de Santiago, a church that dates back to the 13th century and one of the most emblematic buildings of the town, is nowadays a bookshop. Its marble altars display bestsellers and there are international selections in a variety of languages and a selection of Portuguese authors, translated into English.

Óbidos Biological Market not only sells several biological products of the region, but also is stocked with books in vegetable crates. Here you can find old and rare books, as well as Travel, Gastronomy and Wine books.

Livraria da Adega, once a wine cellar is a perfect place for perusing books and for taking a midday break from sightseeing - while you drink a glass of wine and catch up on your reading.

The Literary Man, the boutique hotel that combines traditional decorations, eco-friendly furniture and modern amenities is cramped with bookcases and shelves, exposing thousands of books in all kinds of categories: an absolute dream for all book lovers!

Livraria Mercado Biológico Credit @ CM Obidos

Literary Heritage in Coimbra and Bussaco 

Considered one of the most beautiful and original Baroque style libraries in Europe, the Joanine Library is located at the heart of the University of Coimbra, classified as a World Heritage Site. Its construction began in 1717 and it is home to more than 70,000 books, including many priceless, historical documents and first editions. On the shelves there are secrets and tricks that are revealed during your visit.

After the visit to the University, you can have lunch or a drink in the rooftop at Sapientia Boutique Hotel, the only place with an unique perspective of the University Courtyard, the University Tower and the Joanine Library.

Located directly north of Coimbra, the Bussaco Palace is idyllically perched high on a hill in the heart of the Bussaco Woods, a 250 acres of lush forest planted in the 17th century and one of the most spectacular Portuguese landscapes that takes us away into a world of fairy tales. Inside the palace, there are remarkable works of art by great Portuguese masters, such as the collection of tile panels by master Jorge Colaço, evoking the maritime epic The Lusiadas by Luis Vaz de Camões, considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet, and evoking the plays of the playwright and poet Gil Vicente. 

Joanine Library, University of Coimbra. Credit @Paulo Mendes

Discover Lisbon through the life and words of Fernando Pessoa

Discover the home and work of Fernando Pessoa, one of our greatest poets. Evidence of his life in the city still remains today: Largo de São Carlos, where he spent his chilhood; the Basílica dos Mártires, which he considered as his village church; the Art Deco cafe A Brasileira, in Chiado, a place of countless intellectual, artistic and literary gatherings, where he attended long soirées. A bronze statue of Fernando Pessoa greets visitors at A Brasileira and you can still enjoy the pleasure of a good strong espresso in this mythical space. 

In Terreiro do Paço, one of the most beautiful squares in the capital, stands the Café Martinho da Arcada which opened in 1782 and it was one of Pessoa’s favourite places to dine. In tribute to Pessoa, the table where he used to sit still exists.

In Campo de Ourique neighbourhood, where the poet last lived, you can find his house, which has been turned into a museum. Casa Fernando Pessoa has an exhibition on three floors on the poet's life and work and a library specialized in world poetry. It is a place of literature that crosses memory, literary creation, and reading. Points of interest in Pessoa's route can be found here.

You can also stay at Lisboa Pessoa Hotel, a boutique hotel in the city centre. Inspired by the life and work of the writer, all floors of this hotel, as well as the 75 rooms, are dedicated to this great Portuguese poet and his main heteronyms: Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis and Álvaro de Campos.

Credit @A Brasileira do Chiado

The Portuguese Literature Nobel Prize legacy

Visit Lisbon and be inspired by the characters of José Saramago, who lived most of his life there, loving the city and making it the central point of his works. The tour begins at the writer’s house in Lisbon, near Jardim da Estrela, passing through the emblematic areas of Chiado and Baixa, ending in Casa dos Bicos, a building clad in carved, diamond-shaped stone, which stands out for its unusual beauty. Inside, you can find Saramago's Foundation, where there is a touching permanent exhibition on the life and work of the writer. In front of the building, the writer's ashes lay under an olive tree, taken from his birthplace Azinhaga.

Saramago's novel Baltasar and Blimunda is reborn in the form of a cultural and historical route, which, is simultaneously, an homage to José Saramago. The route establishes a course between Casa dos Bicos and Largo da Igreja de Cheleiros, for a total of 58 km. It is structured around the identified buildings in the municipalities of Lisbon, Loures and Mafra. Along this route the visitors are invited to trace the geographical sites in the novel.

José Saramago Foundation Credit @Alfredo Brant/FJS

Bookshops with soul

Bookshops in Lisbon are not just places to get your hands on a book, but also oasis of culture where you will forget about the world outside for a while.

Bibliophiles in Lisbon should not miss the Chiado neighbourhood, home to century-old bookstores, such as Livraria Bertrand – the world’s oldest independent bookstore still in operation. It was founded in 1732 at an address close to the present location, but after the earthquake of 1755 it moved to Rua Garrett; Livraria Ferin – the second oldest bookshop in Portugal, founded in 1840 and it is still today a family-run bookstore; and Livraria Sá da Costa – a cosy, inviting place that buys and sells old and used books, especially art and history, old maps and artifacts.

At the top of Principe Real, you can find Livraria da Travessa, a neighbourhood bookstore, with more than 300 m2 dedicated to Brazilian literature unpublished in Portugal, Portuguese and international authors, arts, photography, architecture, human sciences and much more.

At Lx Factory, one of the cool spots of the city, with 19th-century factories that have been converted for artistic and culinary purposes, you can find the bookshop Ler Devagar -  the walls are filled with books up to the ceiling, there is a sculpture of a bicycle floating at the entrance, and a machine that printed the newspapers in the past, which are part of the relaxed, modern and creative environment that you will find there. It holds different events, such as concerts, workshops, tertulias, debates, conferences, theatre, dance, music, exhibitions and a coffee shop.

Credit @Livraria Bertrand