Feira da Ladra

Feira da Ladra is probably the most popular free market in Lisbon.

It takes places twice a week, on Tuesday and Saturday, from very early in the morning till afternoon, depending on weather: sometimes sellers start packing at 14:00, sometimes you can find them selling till 16:00 - 17:00.

The place is Campo de Santa Clara. It is reachable from the metro station St Apolonia - blue line.

From there you just need to follow Rua Caminhos de Ferro, just outside the train and metro station and catch the first available street to climb up on the left - just try to reach Basilica de Santa Apolona and at its foot you will find the free market.

The name Feira da Ladra means literally "Fair of the Thief" (a female thief). According to the local tradition, this market was based on stolen things. Unfortunately, this local tradition is not really wrong even nowadays: in the early morning it is possible to find there stolen laptops, cameras, mobiles etc. Police is on it, but it is not always easy to proof the theft, even if they would have a list of stolen goods they are looking for.

It is funny to read Lisbon institutional website, where even authorities admit that its names stems probably from the fact that there they sell stolen things. 

Besides the early morning hours, it is then possible to find it Feira da Ladra a lot of small gadgets and goods, some of them are perfect souvenirs.

You can find there azulejos - this is the name given to Portuguese tiles. Some of them are new, some of them can even date back to XVII-XVII century. Some are legally sold, as they used to belong to a house which was demolished or completely renewed, others are said to be stolen - once more, the name Feira da Ladra has a sad but deep meaning.

Õther interesting goods which can be found in this free market are second hand books, clothes, soccer gadgets, plates, old stuff found in some attic.