The garden and the market
The Jardim do Príncipe Real centres on a magnificent cedar tree whose branches extend on iron supports over most of the garden's area. On Saturday mornings the garden hosts the Mercado Biológico do Príncipe Real — an organic and artisan market that has been running since 2005.
The official market focuses on organic produce, local honey, artisan cheeses and small-batch food products. But around its edges, and on the garden's surrounding streets, independent makers set up separately — sometimes formally, sometimes simply occupying a patch of pavement with a folding table.
The makers you'll find
The area around Príncipe Real attracts a specific kind of maker — those whose work is refined enough to coexist with the neighbourhood's aesthetic. Jewellers working with recycled silver and Portuguese cork. Ceramicists whose pieces would not look out of place in a design museum. Textile makers using natural dyes and traditional weaving techniques.
This is not the place to find rough-edged experimental work — that is more likely at Intendente or the Anjos flea market. What Príncipe Real offers is craft at its most considered.
Rua Dom Pedro V and the surrounding streets
The street running south from the garden toward Bairro Alto is worth walking slowly. Embaixada, at number 56, is a 19th-century Moorish Revival palace that now houses a collection of Portuguese independent design brands — a permanent version of what the market does on Saturdays.
The bookshop at Livraria Bertrand on Rua Garrett is a few minutes further — the oldest operating bookshop in the world, established in 1732.
The hidden gem nearby
Tasca do Chico, on Rua do Diário de Notícias in Bairro Alto, is a small fado house that requires a reservation but rewards it completely. It opens at 8pm. Book two weeks in advance.