The Old Vegetable Market

A small town 50 miles north of Lisbon has become a mecca for bibliophiles.

Óbidos - a medieval town that looks like it was lifted from the pages of a fairytale, 50 miles north of Lisbon in Portugal’s Centro region - used to rely on two saccharine treats to seduce visitors:  its annual chocolate festival and ginjinha, the sweet, cherry-based liqueur that originated there.

But today, a walk through its cobblestone alleys is a treat for more than just those with a sweet tooth.

Here, historic spaces have gradually been transformed into contemporary bookstores selling everything from coffee table design books to fiction from Nobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago.  If you’re a bibliophile, it is encouraging to see a place champion physical books so fervently, especially in an age where it is no longer trendy to do so.

Where to start?

Óbidos’s 13th-century architectural icon, the Church of Santiago, located right by the entrance of a hilltop castle, has been rebranded as Grande Livraria de Santiago (“The Grand Bookstore of Santiago”).  Its marble altars display bestsellers, and in the middle of the room, where congregants previously knelt on pews, stand towering shelves of art books, noir novels, and biographies in Portuguese, English, French, and more.

The old vegetable market has received similar treatment:  crates that once held produce are now fixed to the walls, housing volumes on wine and travel, as well as cookbooks from Portuguese chefs. (True to its foodie past, the shop still sells fresh vegetables).

Photos:  The old vegetable market/bookshop

Livraria da Adega, once a wine cellar and now part of a larger coworking space, is also excellent, both for perusing books and for taking a midday break from sightseeing on the outdoor patio, an ideal perch for sipping vinho - while you catch up on your reading.

Last year, the city’s journey to becoming a bona fide literary destination took on a higher profile when Óbidos introduced FOLIO, an international literary festival featuring debates, reading marathons, screenings, and concerts.  Portuguese comedian Ricardo Araújo Pereira and Mia Couto, a writer from Mozambique, were just two names on hand to celebrate.  It is no shock, then, that in December 2015, UNESCO named Óbidos a “City of Literature,” joining the likes of Dublin and Barcelona.  Óbidos may not have the robust literary heritage of these major cities - the town cannot lay claim to a James Joyce or Carlos Ruiz Zafón of its own - but since 2013, a dozen new bookstores have opened within the city walls in an effort to engage the populace economically and culturally through literature.  In this way, Óbidos has redefined its cultural identity as bookstores have joined ginjinha stands in ubiquity - they cannot be avoided.

(Article taken from Condé Nast Traveller - the world's premier travel magazine entitled Óbidos, Portugal Is a Book Lover's Dream by Chadner Navarro, 9 September 2016)

Photos by Choose and Book