Books of Portugal

Portugal's famous bookshops are buildings first: a Neo-Manueline staircase, a Chiado institution, a factory floor in Lisbon. Livraria Lello fills a Neo-Manueline building opened in 1906 with Portuguese and international books on its shelves. Livraria Bertrand (Chiado) claims the continuously operating Chiado shop. Ler Devagar reads as a bookshop inside Lisbon's LX Factory complex. Buildings this good draw crowds, so go early and treat the queue as part of the visit. Ler Devagar's factory setting suits browsing at length, which its name, read slowly, already promises.