Livraria Bertrand: How to Visit the Oldest Bookshop in the World

Last Updated on 27th June 2023 by Sophie Nadeau

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The oldest bookstore in the world is a beautifully appointed store in the Chiado district of Lisbon, Portugal. A stone’s throw away from world-famous attractions such as Lisbon Cathedral and the Carmo Convent, here’s your guide to visiting Livraria Bertrand, as well as what to know before you go.

Covered in quintessentially Portuguese azulejos (that means ’tiles’ in Portuguese), this Lisboa bookstore dates all the way back to the first half of the 18th-century, firmly placing it in the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘Oldest Operating Bookshop’, as a plaque proudly indicates at the entrance to the shop.

A history of Livraria Bertrand

Livraria Bertrand dates all the way back to 1732, meaning that the bookshop has been open to the public for close to three centuries! Unfortunately, the original shop was actually destroyed in a devastating earthquake in 1755.

This earthquake (also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake) was detrimental to much of the city and is estimated to have decimated 12,000 dwellings, causing numerous fires, and killing around 60,000 people in Lisbon alone.

Following this awful event, the owner was forced to relocate to a more stable location in what is now known as the Chiado area.

Though the shop was initially founded by a man named Peter Faure, the store was acquired by the Bertrand brothers (and has somehow undergone a name transition 11 times during its existence).

Over the following decades, the brothers grew the store into a book empire, boasting 50 branches across Portugal, though of course the shop in Chiado is still the oldest store of them all.

Chiado lies directly alongside the picturesque Alfama district, meaning that the two can easily be seen on the same walk. During the 19th and 20th-centuries, the bookshop became somewhat of a literary hotspot and location of ‘tertulia’ thanks to its popularity among prominent writers of the time.

Alexandre Herculano, Oliveira Martins, Eça de Queirós, Antero de Quental and Ramalho Ortigão all gathered at the store to discuss current affairs and the like.

How to visit Livraria Bertrand

Even though I visited on a Sunday, the bookshop was surprisingly not that busy! Unlike Portugal’s other seriously famous bookshop, Livraria Lello, you don’t have to pay to enter.

Once inside, you’ll find plenty of Portuguese language books, as well as a surprisingly large selection of works in Spanish, French, and English.

There are also English language versions of works by the poet Fernando Pessoa and Nobel Prize author José Saramago. At the very entrance to the bookshop, as soon as you enter on the left-hand side, there is a nice choice of books all about Lisbon and Portugal as a whole.

As such, if you’re the kind of person who enjoys physical guidebooks this makes a visit to the Lisbon bookshop worth it in of itself.

What’s more, is that when you buy a book, you will be asked if you want a stamp or not in your book that proclaims that your purchase was from the oldest bookshop in the world, making it a great souvenir from Portugal.

The building itself looks deceptively small from the outside. However, once you enter inside, an entirely different story emerges. You see, the bookshop almost tunnels into the building and is a narrow series of vaulted rooms which stretches back quite far.

Each room is filled with wooden bookshelves stacked from floor to ceiling with all manner of books, including religious tomes, scientific textbooks, and fiction novels.

At the very end of the bookshop, you’ll come across a café serving up all manner of delicious pastries (including pastel de natas) and drinks such as coffees.

Nearby, one of the most famous cafés can be seen in the form of A Brasileira do Chiado. This historic café is something of an institution in the neighbourhood thanks to its strong links with famous writers of times gone by.

There is even a life-sized statue of Fernando Pessoa, the famous 20th century Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher, and philosopher. You can also head to the original Manteigaria location, which sells some of the best pastéis de nata in Lisbon.

If you’re planning a visit to Portugal yourself, then be sure to check out our guides to the best things to do in Lisbon and how to spend one day in Lisbon. For even more inspiration, here are our best Portugal travel tips and the best hidden gems of Portugal.