Obidos, located about an hour north of Lisbon, Portugal has the UNESCO Creative City of literature designation. It’s a town of book shops and storytellers, wrapped up in a medieval walled town right out of a storybook.
We stayed at The Literary Man – a “book and cook” hotel just outside of the city walls. The entire place was filled with books. There was a small bookshelf in our room, and just outside our room was a large library with a fireplace, comfy reading chairs, and floor to ceiling bookshelves. (Admittedly, I wanted to rearrange the shelves so they were alphabetical, but Hubs stopped me.)
LER Devager (a popular bookshop to visit in Lisbon) has two locations here. The one is located in Sao Tiago Church near the entrance to the Obidos Castle. This spot is gorgeous, and you get a beautiful view of Obidos from the top of the entry stairs. The other is Livraria do Mercado in town, which sells books, as well as fresh produce and plants. LER does sell English language books, as well as books in many other languages (mostly Italian and Spanish).
Just outside the walls of the city is, Livraria Artes & Letras. Not only will you find a wide selection of used books here, but also original artwork (the artist’s studio is downstairs) and prints. If art isn’t your thing, you can purchase their artwork as notebooks, bookmarks, postcards, etc. Books here were mostly in Portuguese, and there was a box of 0.50€ books when we stopped in.
Also just outside the main gate to the city (and just down from Artes & Letras) is Silver Coast Volunteers Book Exchange. They are located on the second floor, (the stairs are behind a flowering bush) and have short hours as everyone there is a volunteer. Definitely worth planning ahead to fit this one on your itinerary. There are mostly English language books and volunteers who run it are mostly American ex-pats. The Book Exchange reminded me of a library/LFL – take what you want, bring them back when you’re done (or don’t). There was no charge for books and puzzles and any money they do bring in is used towards helping the Obidos region. We spent a while here chatting with the volunteer about Portugal, moving abroad, books, and more. This shop really made my heart warm and fuzzy – a community of people who are trying to help each other and the country they have adopted as their home.
Leann Reads Books 