A Slow Walk Through Lisbon’s Flea Market

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been drawn to antique markets. I can’t quite remember the first one I wandered into, although it was probably somewhere in Portugal. My instinct to collect began early with a little stamp collection of birds. They’ve fascinated me my whole life and for a time I even imagined becoming an ornithologist rather than a landscape architect. Once the collecting bug takes hold, these markets quickly turn into both paradise and playground.

On Tuesdays and Saturdays, if I’m in Lisbon, I like to leave Baixa House early, walk up the hill, slip past the Cathedral and pause at the Miradouro de Santa Luzia to see how calm the river looks that morning. I take in that distant blue line of the “sea of straw”, then continue climbing until the white towers of São Vicente de Fora come into view. Passing under the arch, I start greeting the familiar faces who are already setting out their latest discoveries of the week.

At Baixa House there is always something that needs replacing: a vase for flowers, an ashtray, a tray or some small piece of furniture. All of it becomes the perfect excuse to come back to the market in search of something new. It is usually something we don’t truly need, but its charm and imagined history win us over and insist on coming home with us. Finding the right spot for it afterwards is part of the pleasure.

I always take a break for a coffee at the bar on the corner and watch the morning crowd. The regulars are easy to recognise and, depending on the season, there will be more or fewer travellers who want to experience something distinctly Lisboeta. With a bit of luck, they return home with an object that keeps them company and reminds them for years of these happy moments in the city of seven hills and the Atlantic.