Lisbon

The Chiado district in the centre of Lisbon is now completely reconstructed after being devastated by fire in 1988. The only thing left standing after the fire were the exterior facades of the 19th century buildings. Fortunately they have managed to leave those intact, and have rebuilt everything else from new.

The new buildings are now occupied by the usual international retail brands, which is a pity in some ways, as they have replaced some of the more modest and idiosyncratic little family businesses which used to trade there. Nevertheless, the district has generally managed to preserve much of its former character.

Miraculously, the "Elevador de Santa Justa", the Iron Tower Elevator connecting the lower part of Lisbon, the Baixa, with the Upper City, the Bairo Alto, was not damaged by the fire. This is an excellent area for browsing bookshops. As well as the newly installed modern FNAC, there are still a good number of smaller long established bookshops which survived.