Shopping

Grocery Stores in Portugal: What’s Different, What It Costs, and Where I Shop

People ask me what grocery stores in Portugal are like, and the short answer for anyone coming from the US is: smaller, cheaper, and there are more of them. Smaller isn’t a high bar—American supermarkets are enormous. But there’s no Walmart-style store here, and even the hypermarkets, the big out-of-town ones, would look modest parked next to a Supercenter. And your fridge and cupboards will be smaller too, unless you import your American fridge, so your shopping habits change. You …

A person lounging on a beach chair, wearing a large sun hat and white clothing, is reading a book. In the background, gentle waves are visible under a bright blue sky. The sun is shining, creating a serene and relaxed atmosphere.

There are lots of great blogs and YouTube channels that have great information about moving to Portugal, but there’s something nice about just picking up a book and reading it through. Surprisingly, there are very few books about moving to Portugal (so far). There isn’t really a Portuguese equivalent of Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence or Frances Mayes’ Under the Tuscan Sun, at least in terms of popularity, but there are a few self-published accounts that give some insights …

A large library in Portugal with shelves filled with books, a metal staircase leading to an upper level, and a white sculpture of a person riding a bicycle suspended in mid-air from the ceiling.

Buying books, especially foreign-language books, can be a challenge in Portugal. And, if you can find the book you want, it often costs a lot more than you’re used to paying for a book. Getting used to the higher prices for books is just a part of living in Portugal, but the bigger challenge is not being able to find the book you want at all. All of this wasn’t such a big issue prior to Brexit. However, now that …

A man and a woman are in an appliance store. They stand together examining a front-loading washing machine. The store is filled with various household appliances, including washing machines and other equipment displayed on shelves.

If you’re planning on moving to Portugal, you may be wondering where you buy electronics and appliances and what the cost is likely to be. For those coming from the UK or US, the cost may be more than you’re used to paying, but due to the cost of shipping, the challenges of getting your stuff through Portuguese customs, and the differences in power, it can often make more sense to sell your stuff and buy afresh once you move. …

A person is holding a Samsung smartphone, browsing an online shopping app displaying various black jackets. The person appears to be sitting indoors, looking at product images and details on the screen, with a wooden piece of furniture in the background.

Although Portugal has fantastic high-speed home internet, online shopping is not as popular in Portugal as it is in other countries. But it’s growing in popularity – both as a way of buying from Portuguese retailers and also as a way of buying (often cheaper) products from abroad. Read the guides Shopping at some sites – Amazon, for example – isn’t always straight-forward, but Portugalist’s guides help make things easy to understand. Amazon Amazon doesn’t officially have a presence in …

Grocery Stores in Portugal: What’s Different, What It Costs, and Where I Shop

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