A Guide to Bookshops in Óbidos, Portugal

You’ve probably never heard of Óbidos, but if you’re book lover, you’ll want to add it to your travel bucket list. It’s a small medieval town dating back over 700 years and it’s located just 1 hour away from Lisbon by bus.

It has only become a literary haven in recent years and has quickly become a hot spot for book lovers because of the infamous hotel, The Literary Man, which opened back in October 2015.

A few months later in December 2015, Óbidos was named a UNESCO city of literature, joining the ranks of Barcelona, Dublin and Granada.

This may come as a surprise to you given that Óbidos hasn’t produced literary giants such as Carlos Ruiz Zafon, James Joyce and Federico García Lorca like the three cities named above. However, it does boast the world’s biggest literary hotel and over 10 bookshops.

That might not seem like much but when you consider the fact that the entire town of Óbidos has an area of less than 150km2 and around 3000 inhabitants, it is significant.

Bookshops are not the most economically viable business to begin in this day and age, particularly in a small town located so far away the hustle and bustle of Lisbon.

However, numerous shop keepers and museums have added bookshops to their existing businesses to embrace Óbidos’ new title as a city of literature. 

It’s worth noting that some of these “bookshops” are in fact “places-that-sell-books” i.e. museum bookshops and not cosy bookstores stocking the latest releases.

In fact, I don’t think you’ll find the latest releases in any of them as most specialise in certain themes or stock second hand and vintage books.

I’ll start with the bookshops you absolutely must check out in Óbidos and then list some other places where you can go book shopping that you can poke your head into.

Livraria do Mercado

At the Biological Market in the centre of Óbidos, you’ll find fresh fruit and vegetables, vegan products, seeds and more. You’ll also find that that the entire market is lined with bookshelves. And it’s a pretty big building! 

It’s really more of a book market than an organic market as there are definitely more books here than anything else.

There are both new books and second hand books on offer here with the new books on the tables, mostly (pertaining to) Portuguese authors such as Pessoa, in English, French, Portuguese and more. 

Then on the walls you’ll find second hand editions of general fiction and classics in a variety of different languages. The bookshelves are made up of old market crates, which is really quite cool, and they are all segregated by language.

You’ll find most of the big European languages covered here including English, French, German, Spanish etc. On the other walls you’ll find books arranged by theme such as philosophy, history, travel, food etc.

Address: Rua Direita 27, 2510-001 Óbidos
Opening hours: 10am-7pm every day

Livraria de Santiago

Santiago Bookshop is unique because it is housed in an old church dating back to the 12th century. It’s now one of the top sights to see in Óbidos and pictures of it are emblematic of this small town.

The church of Santiago was converted into a bookshop a few years ago and they’ve used the space in a really unique manner. They haven’t made any alterations to the original church here but have instead constructed wooden shelves and staircases that sit inside the church.

This is the biggest new bookshop in the area and they’ve got lots of books in different languages and a variety of genres. You can shop for Portuguese classics, new releases, non-fiction, cookery books and more. They’ve got a slice of everything on their shelves here.

As well as books for sale, Santiago Bookshop holds film screenings, book release parties and exhibitions. When I visited there was a poetry exhibition, which involved the poet’s possessions on display and hand-written poems displayed next to items. It was rather unique!

Address: Livraria de Santiago, Igreja de São Tiago, Rua Direita, Óbidos
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday 10am-7pm, Friday & Saturday 10am-9pm

The Literary Man Hotel Bookshop

The Literary Man Hotel is what put Óbidos on the map for book lovers. It’s the world’s largest literary hotel and holds over 65,000 secondhand books.

The great thing about this place is that it’s a hotel, restaurant, literary bar and bookshop. You can pick anything up off their shelves and enquire at reception about purchasing it.

The books are in varying conditions but you can expect to pay less than €5 for a secondhand general fiction book and around €15 for a rare or vintage edition.

RELATED: The Literary Man Hotel Review

There are books in a variety of different languages, most notably English, Portuguese and French. This is because around 40,000 books were donated from London.

I had the immense pleasure of staying here for two nights recently and cannot recommend it enough. If you are making a day trip from Lisbon to Óbidos then you must stop here overnight, or for a cheeky literary tipple in their literary bar at the very least!

Find the best deals for a stay The Literary Man Hotel in Óbidos here.

Address: Rua D’João d’Ornelas, 2510-074 Óbidos
Opening hours: 8am-midnight

Livraria da Adega 

Livraria da Adega is an old wine cellar turned bookshop and co-working space. There’s still a small cafe and bar here so it’s a great place for wine and book lovers to visit in the summer months when you can enjoy a glass of red whilst getting stuck into your latest read on their outdoor patio.

Crates of wine line the walls and are innovatively used as bookshelves and there are lots of boxes of books found dotted throughout the centre of the space too. Settle down at a table for an afternoon or work or pick a leather pouf to relax on whilst you read – it’s up to you!

Additionally, the space can be rented for long or short periods of time from 1 day to several months depending on your project.

Unfortunately the bookshop is only open during Easter and Summer so if you’re visiting at other points of the year you may be disappointed!

Address: Rua da Porta da Vila, 2510-089 Óbidos
Opening Hours: 11am-7pm every day (closed Saturdays)

Livraria Labirinto

NB. I visited this bookshop twice during my stay in Óbidos and it was shut both times despite Google maps telling me it was open. This was common during my stay in Óbidos in general so I’d take listed opening hours with a pinch of salt. 

From the outside, Livraria Labirinto looks like an abandoned warehouse, but inside, there are a multitude of bookshelves filling the space. Ask the bookshop keeper for advice on where to find certain genres – it is called a “labyrinth” after all!

Livraria dos Bons Malandros

Livraria dos Bons Malandros is a bookshop I stumbled upon completely by accident. I was on my way to Livraria Labrinto (above) and noticed some books through the window. I couldn’t find a way in but there was a news agents next door.

I went in here and enquired about the bookshop. The shopkeeper didn’t speak much English at all but he seemed quite excited and started unlocking lots of doors and turning lights on.

Turns out that next to his little news agent store is also a small bookshop and wine cellar, also owned by him.

He shows us the bookshop, gives us a tour of the wine cellar (which has some bottles dating back decades and cost €1800!) and even gives us two free shots of his organic Ginjinha to try!

I was constantly amazed by the kindness of strangers during my stay in Portugal and I’ll always remember my encounter with this kind man.

As he was so kind, I was keen to purchase some books from him. However, upon taking a look at the books on offer, I quickly realised that they were pretty much all in Portuguese!

There were a couple in French and it was then that I realised that the books all came under a certain theme – erotica. Oh lord! 

I had no interest in buying Portuguese erotica so I scoured the newsagents looking for anything that might be suitable to buy and ended up purchasing a super old Time Out map of Lisbon.

Altogether this quest to find bookshops in Óbidos was turning out to be rather interesting! 

Address: Rua da Praça, Obidos

Livraria Bichinho do Conto

O Bichinho do Conto (“Storybook”) is both a publisher and bookshop that was opened in 2003. It is one of the best bookshops in Portugal for children’s literature and it’s easy to see why! The interior looks like less of a bookshop and more of a child’s dream playroom.

The setting, which makes you feel like you are inside your favourite grandmother’s house, is perfect for bringing your children to for an afternoon. The building was formerly a primary school, which is why there’s lots of greenery outside and a swing too!

Check out the website for what’s going on but they have played host to children’s authors held workshops and exhibitions and they also put on activities for school groups.

It’s only a 5 minute drive from the centre of Óbidos but somehow that translates to a 40 minute walk! Worth checking out if you’re staying in Óbidos for a day or two and have kids in tow.

Address: Estrada dos Casais Brancos, 60, Antiga Escola Primária, 2510-212 Óbidos

Casa José Saramago

José Saramgo is one of the most influential Portuguese writers and a Nobel Prize winner. Casa José Saramago, an exhibition space in his name, only opened last year in 2018 and is the headquarters of Óbidos as a city of literature.

I was particularly drawn to a small display containing information on all the other cities of literature including pamphlets, guide books and more. It gave me lots of literary travel inspiration and an insight into what bookish delights there are in Óbidos!

There’s a small library containing works by Saramago in lots of different languages and there are books available for purchase too.

There are some beautiful English editions of Saramago’s work on offer so if you’re interested in his works, this is the place to shop for them!

The space is quite large and was quite empty when I visited with a couple of pieces of art on each floor. It would seem there’s not much to see here when there’s not a specific event going on but I’d pop in to browse the bookish display about other cities of literature.

Óbidos Post Office

Óbidos’ post office located in Praça de Santa Maria is, perhaps unsurprisingly at this point, also a bookstore. There are books lining the staircases throughout the building and you can buy new books on Portuguese authors and more.

Livraria do Museu Municipal

The Municipal Museum in Óbidos contains details about the history of Óbidos and the works of some of its most famous inhabitants. There’s a bright and airy bookshop attached where you can find books about Óbidos, Portugal, art, history and more.

Livraria da NovaOgiva

At the bookshop in Ogiva Gallery, you’ll find lots of books on art, architecture, history of art, and more. There are frequent exhibitions here where you can find out more about the history of Óbidos or view some contemporary art.

Livraria do Museu Abilio 

Abilio Museum is definitely the strangest place in Óbidos. When I walked through its doors I was greeted with around 20 small, gremlin-like puppets hanging from the ceiling!

The museum is named after Abilio de Mattos e Silva, who was a painter, set designer and costume designer. As such, you’ll find books on theatre, illustration and the visual arts here.

Galeria do Pelourinho

This gallery plays host to contemporary art exhibitions but you can also find books about poetry and Fernando Pessoa, one of Portugal’s most famous writers.

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Tempted to visit Óbidos yet? It’s a lovely little city for bookish travellers but I can’t even begin to explain what a nightmare it was trying to locate some of these smaller bookshops. I found an old map of Óbidos’ bookshops, which had no information on it except the bookshop names, most of which were either shut or didn’t exist.

All of the above are still operating (though not open all throughout the year!) but your best when exploring the city is to simply ask a local where the best bookshops are as they’re constantly popping up and disappearing here!

Lots of them don’t even exist on Google Maps so you’ll have to do things the old fashioned way – wandering around and talking to locals.

Pin now, read again later!

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