Celebrating the heritage

"Occupying a former warehouse building on a quiet side street in the city’s trendy Chiado district, A Vida Portuguesa celebrates the country’s traditional retail heritage by only selling products made in Portugal.

First manufactured in 1887, Ach. Brito/Claus Porto Soaps are handmade using only natural ingredients. Each bar is carefully wrapped in colourful and highly detailed retro packaging that makes these fragrant and luxurious items a shopping list favourite.

Among the various liquors, syrups and Port wine on sale is the rare and precious Moura Alves vinegar: Production is limited to just 1500 bottles a year! This fresh, aromatic condiment is also adorned with a beautifully illustrated and vibrant label.

Look out for Arcádia chocolates, handmade in Porto since 1933, Triunfo and Saloio olive oils, distributed since 1878, and – especially for the gentlemen – the Semogue shaving brushes, made in Granja since 1955 and crafted out of badger hair or natural bristle.

Before you leave (no doubt laden with all sorts of goodies), be sure to note the quirky ceramic dinnerware designed by the renowned 19th-century Portuguese caricaturist Rafael Bordelo Pinheiro.

His symbolic and decorative swallows are also for sale along with the popular Zé Povinho, the wonderfully expressive Everyman figurines that exemplify the long-suffering Portuguese working-class." Paul Bernhardt for the Nile Guide.