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As such, it’s understandable why many consider a Port wine tasting and tour one of the top things to do whilst visiting charming Porto. Find a memorable Portuguese-inspired gift AND support a Portuguese-owned business. These 10 businesses offer beautiful and funny and traditional and modern and scrumptious Portuguese-inspired gifts you'll fall in love with. Portugal is probably most famous for footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, followed closely by our beautiful beaches. Portugal is also famous for Port wine, and specialty foods like tinned sardines or pasteis de nata . And finally, Portugal is famous for fado music and ancient explorers like Vasco da Gama.
Olive oil tasting, Douro Valley, PortugalThere’s no escaping Portugal’s love for olive oil, not that you’d want to. If you have something fancier in mind you may want to consider centuries-old companies like Vista Alegre or Bordallo Pinheiro. Both brands of traditional and high end ceramics can be bought either in stores or online. The wonky Viana Heart is a popular design for filigree earrings and pendants but you can also get gold beads decorated with fine filigree ropes and other, more modern designs. Let’s take a look at some great Portuguese souvenirs that make lovely gifts, for yourself or your friends and family.
Portuguese Gifts for Everyone!
Cork & Co and House of Cork, both in Lisbon, carry high-end accessories made from the best quality cork oak bark. In Porto, head to Cultura Portuguesa for contemporary cork products. Gazete Azulejos in Porto sells newly made tiles and also offers tours and workshops where you can see the masters at work. The justly famous Queijada Da Vila is now available on shopportuguese.com for a limited time!
If you’d like to have a taste of Portuguese tea you can buy it in good souvenir and gourmet shops or online. It is used as a finishing salt, mostly for seasoning, and has a more complex flavour that lingers for longer than that of normal table salt. I use it almost every day – try sprinkling some on sliced tomatoes drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and I bet you’ll be hooked, too. Some styles of Portuguese embroidery are well known, like the distinctive ones from Madeira or the handkerchiefs of love from Viana do Castelo. If possible, buy from a certified artisan – the piece will come with its certificate of origin if you buy at a national craft fair or quality store.
Portugal ceramics
This retailer is geared more towards tourists, but the quality of products is very high. Whilst it’s too easy to pop into the nearest souvenir shop, it’s best to steer clear of tourist traps, especially if you want to get your hands on traditional and Portuguese handicrafts and food products. Some of their chocolate bars are perfectly paired with Portuguese flavors such as this one with ginja .
An adorable mug decorated with the traditional motifs that are embroidered on a lenço dos namorados, a custom from northern Portugal. While visiting Portugal, you should buy a bottle of port wine (Portugal is the world’s top port wine producer). Handmade ceramics and pottery, colorful azulejos , shoes, and embroidered linens are also all beautifully produced in Portugal. Part of the fabric of Portuguese culinary tradition, are tinned sardines. There are a whole host of shops in Lisbon that have them stacked high up to the ceilings, beautifully wrapped with old designs printed on the paper wraps. This makes them a pretty and also tasty gift to bring home to friends post-holidays.
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Leaves picked on the island of Sao Miguel are used to craft beautiful black, green and white teas, which are then sold all over Portugal. Find them at A Vida Portuguesa and in food stores in all major Portuguese cities. Pick up a popular brand such as Ferbar or Continente from any grocery store for a couple of Euro. The exact origins of peri-peri are still the subject of debate, with Portugal, Angola and Mozambique all laying claim to the recipe. Portuguese embroidery.Another example of craftsmanship and skill is the intricate embroidery and linen found in Portugal. In fact, some of the top producers in Portugal are known to supply large global retail stores, a testament to their speciality in this field.
Find out which of these Portuguese gifts you can take home with you and what you can order online. That said, I confess to owning a number of fridge magnets – there are some lovely ceramic ones around. Portugal is proud of its unique crafts, food and drink so you’ll find plenty of options when you’re looking for your Portuguese souvenirs. Galeria in Lisbon and Porto is a good place to find uniquely Portuguese posters, art prints, postcards and more.
Companhia Portugueza do Chá is one of Lisbon’s most unique shopping experiences. The spectacular 19th-century-style salon has loose-leaf and packaged teas from Portugal and beyond, plus a treasure trove of beautiful tea accessories and ephemera. Pick up a bottle or two of this completely natural product from any oléoteca , which can be found in most cities and towns. Oliveira da Serra, named the world’s best olive oil several years running, and Saloio, which comes in beautiful retro tins, are two brands to look out for. Portuguese olive oil – a souvenir your kitchen will thank you for! Portugal is world-renowned for its fruity, golden-coloured olive oil that’s produced in six protected olive-growing regions, including Alentejo and the Terra Quente.
These include the famous Barcelos cockerel, one of the most traditional Portuguese gifts, and bushy-browed ladies. Whatever you love, Portugal has it, and a Tinggly Portugal travel gift box also has it, and lots of it. A jar of Portuguese honey also makes for a thoughtful gift for someone back home.Searching for something sweet to pair with your wine and cheese?
I was glad that I took his advice and enjoyed a couple hours in Coronado. If you’re limited on luggage space, posters and paper goods are an excellent lightweight memento. Portugal is home to countless illustrators and graphic designers who take inspiration from Lisbon’s colourful doorways and Porto’s riverscape when designing home decor. Castelbel is a newer brand that makes bar soap in Azulejos-inspired packaging and home products such as fragrance sachets. Meanwhile Couto toothpaste has been a bathroom essential in Portugal since 1932 and retains its original, delightfully retro branding to this day. A Vida Portuguesa carries a great range of doces, and you can find jars at most food markets and specialty grocers around the country.
A Vida Portuguesain Lisbon and Porto is a good place to buy these beautiful handmade linens. A decent bottle of port wine could cost you between €10 and €30 while a vintage bottle of Port wine can be as expensive as €100. Port wine, the famous wine from the Douro valley in Porto the product that probably what Portugal as a country is most famous for, on a global scale. The wine is fortified and therefore sweet, and can be found mostly in the red grape variety.
While many of the items on Etsy are handmade, you’ll also find craft supplies, digital items, and more. So I just returned from Lisbon and was really disappointed in the offerings for sale in the Tile Museum and the Coach Museum. I was looking for tile or coach notecards, coasters, and placemats, Maybe a tile or coach keychain or a phone cover. It seems like such a shame to lose an opportunity to sell something. Plus, with NO expiry date, a Tinggly Portugal experience gift box is not just a gift for now, but a gift for the future.
I usually get a bottle of this Portuguese liqueur for Christmas and it makes for a fun alternative to the traditional bottle of wine. You can enjoy Licor Beirão on its own, in a cocktail, or even use it for cooking. Whatever you decide to do with it, its green bottle with red and white packaging make it perfect for the Christmas season. Tinggly has a whole catalogue of experiences all over the world, including many experiences in Portugal. This includes dolphin and whale watching tours, kayaking, and helicopter tours. Adrenaline Hunter offers experiences all over Portugal including skydiving, quad biking, paragliding, stand up paddleboarding, and kitesurfing.
Cork accessories
Search out your birth year and read the fun facts printed on the back. For a truly authentic Portuguese souvenir, look out for designs bearing the Heart of Viana (Coração De Viana), a traditional motif from the Minho region that represents life, love and friendship. There are plenty of souvenir shops and markets all over the country where you can find embroidery. A Vida Portuguesa carries an exquisite selection of carefully crafted pieces for visitors to choose from. Portuguese Azulejos – don’t just admire them, take them home with you!
It’s a great gift for people who already have Netflix or some other streaming service as there’s always a movie or TV show we’ve been wanting to watch but can’t seem to get our hands on. Odisseias offers experience and hotel vouchers that can be used throughout Portugal. Experiences include spa days, romantic meals, outdoor activities, and wine tasting. So, with all of that in mind, here are some of the companies that offer gift cards that can be used in Portugal. Last but not least, don't forget to add a personal touch to your gift. Handwritten cards are nearly a lost art even though the messages they hold are adored for years to come.
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