Established in 1732 by Pedro Faure, Bertrand Chiado is the oldest, still functioning bookstore in the world. The bookstore sits on the corner of Garrett Street (Rua Garrett), next to the Basilica dos Martires, and shares the same street as stores like Nike, BOSS, Havaianas, and Zara. It is also half-way from the Armazens do Chiado shopping mall and Praça Luís de Camões, a lovely town square surrounded by shops and cafes, a common area for both locals and travelers to walk about.
Though no-doubt filled with history and the unique title of ‘world’s oldest’, the bookstore gives the feeling and appearance of most other small, basic bookstores. Sure, there’s a bit of woodwork and some archways to pass through, but there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of anything that feels amazingly historic or unique about the store. There weren’t even any historical or vintage books for sale, it was all new works. Even the cafe in the rear of the store looked modern. I felt this was one area where they could have really put some more thought into the design of the place, making it feel more like an old fashioned cafe.
Here I was walking to what I knew as the world’s oldest bookstore, expecting it to look something like those big, beautiful libraries you see pictures of in England or elsewhere in Europe, or hell, even something Harry Potter-like was in my mind, so when I got here I must admit I was terribly disappointed. Either way, if you want the privilege and bragging rights of having visited the world’s oldest bookstore, be sure to stop by.
This entry was posted in Bookstore, Europe, Portugal
