Lisbon: Hunting for Football Treasure in the City’s Flea Markets

Lisbon isn’t the first city people think of when it comes to hunting down vintage football treasure, but that’s exactly what makes it fun. With a bit of timing, a few early mornings, and a willingness to rummage through piles of bric-a-brac, you can still uncover the odd golden football gem. Here’s how my trip went.

Getting There:

First things first, Lisbon is an easy win for a quick football treasure hunt. From the UK it’s only about a two-hour flight, and if you’re lucky you can grab flights for around £50. Cheap flights, warm weather, delicious fresh food and lots of weekly fleas for football rummaging, that’s already a solid start.

Once you land, you can get into the city from the airport quickly. I used the Bolt app for this and bouncing between the harder to reach neighbourhoods or just when you don't want to waste precious hunting time on trains and other modes of public transport getting to markets early doors. 

Feira da Ladra – The Big One

Lisbon’s most famous flea market is Feira da Ladra, which has been running since the 13th century. It takes place every Tuesday and Saturday, with Saturdays obviously being the busiest.

To get to the market, jump on the number 28 tram. If you’re staying around the main tourist areas it’ll usually get you close to the top of the hill in about 15–20 minutes. Even better you can just tap to pay, which makes life easy. The market itself is a proper rummage. Stalls spill across a couple of square and down a hill with vendors selling everything from antiques and tools to records, clothes and random boxes of old memorabilia. If you’re hunting football bits, patience is key. Most of the obvious stuff gets picked clean early, but every now and then you’ll spot a scarf, lighter, old ceramic dish or shirt buried in a pile.

Second-Hand Shops Around the City:

Lisbon actually has over fifteen Humana second-hand stores, though only a couple sit right in the tourist districts.

If you do make it to one keep your eyes peeled for their €3 or €5 sale days that’s when things get interesting. Rails full of shirts, jackets and sportswear suddenly become a lot more tempting when everything costs cheaper than a beer. When I was in town I managed to pick up a rare 1992 Barcelona Home shirt for 5 euros which was probably my find of the whole weekend. 

Finding the Smaller Fleas:

One of the best tips I can offer is joining a Facebook group called Feira Da Bagageira. It lists flea markets happening across Lisbon and in nearby towns. A lot of these are local community sales, which means they’re far less picked over than the big city market and a much more relaxed environment. Don’t be surprised if you find better bits there than at the famous Feira da Ladra. 

Some of the loot that I picked up out of the centre at a market happening in Cascais

Day Trip: Cascais

If you’ve got time, get out of the city for a day. Cascais is a lovely seaside town down the coast with great restaurants, a small beach and if you time it right the occasional flea market as well. It’s refreshing to escape the crowds and wander somewhere a bit calmer.

You can take the train from Rossio station. The journey takes about an hour and costs roughly €3.5. That said, I was keen to get there early for the flea and ended up jumping in a Bolt which cost €16 but was defiently worth it for the early-bird bargains.

Eating in Lisbon

Food wise, Lisbon is fairly straightforward. Many Portuguese restaurants serve very similar menus, so it’s less about finding the most unique place and more about finding one that’s good, affordable, and hopefully full of locals. If you see cod or pork dishes around the €10 mark and the Google reviews look solid, just take a punt. When you want a change, there’s plenty of pizza and Asian food spots around the city as well.

One place that’s absolutely worth the effort is Bifanas do Afonso. It had been recommended to me as a lunch stop, but the first time I walked past the queue was ridiculous so I headed back the next day and finally grabbed a perfectly formed juicy bifana sandwich, washed down with a cold Super Bock. Simple and brilliant.

Another must-visit is Pastéis de Belém, famous for serving what many believe are the best non nona made pastéis de nata in Lisbon. Again — expect a queue unless you time it just right.

Evening Drinks

One spot I found and enjoyed one evening was Delirium Café Lisboa. Tucked up a small set of stairs, it’s a great place to grab a beer and have a smoke on the balcony while looking out over the city buzzing below.

Easy Football Fixes

If rummaging through markets isn’t scratching the itch, or you dont have time because of family or partner commitments there are also a few Força Portugal shops dotted around the city. They carry a concentrated hit of modern football gear — shirts, training tops, club merch, memorabilia and plenty of Cristiano Ronaldo items as well as their trademark life size statue of him which seems to keep guard on every door. 

The Souvenir Situation

Like any popular European city, Lisbon has its fair share of tourist tat souvenir shops many of which look identical and sell pretty much the same stuff.  But if you’re keeping it simple and hunting for some fun Cristiano Ronaldo merch, you’ll definitely find something to bring home as there is usually Scarfs, Flags, Mirrors and other CR7 adorned trinkets taking up a small section of each of these cloned shop.

A Quick Ferry to Almada

If you don’t fancy travelling too far, hop on the ferry across the river to Almada. The journey takes about 15 minutes, costs roughly €3.50 return, and ferries run every 20 minutes or so.

Almada feels more like the Lisbon I imagined, a little more worn in, a little more traditional and old school. I spent a couple of hours wandering around the relaxed working town and really enjoyed it. Food is cheaper here, and there are a couple of vintage and antique shops within walking distance of the ferry terminal. One of them was packed with vintage football shirts. But sadly, after closer inspection most were very convincing copies but at around €40 each I suppose that’s the trade-off for some less bothered customers on a budget. 

If the weather’s good, Restaurante Ponto Final on the waterfront with a spectacular view of the beidge is meant to be the place for lunch or dinner. Unfortunately when I visited it was grey and drizzly, so I didn’t get the full experience.

Football Murals

As someone who loves football murals, I have to admit Lisbon was a little disappointing on that front. There aren’t loads, but there is a beautifully weathered mural of the Benfica legend Eusébio about 20 minutes from the city centre that’s worth tracking down and I have posted the location on my instagram.

And if you end up visiting Sintra, which sadly I didn't have time for, you’ll find a newer mural dedicated to The Special One (Jose) by artist Styler which I can imagine looks incredible in the flesh. 

Final Thoughts

Truthfully, Lisbon isn’t the strongest city in Europe for finding vintage football gear. But if you time your trip around the flea markets, get there early before the crowds, and explore some of the smaller local sales, you stand a very good chance you’ll uncover a few pieces of football treasure for a fair price. 

And even if you dont follow my steps above i'm sure you will still have a lovely few days wandering one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.

Good hunting -  Obrigado