Livraria Simão

The bookstore was once a tobacco shop. jessicavo81/ used with permission

Only one person can fit inside Livraria Simão, one of the smallest bookshops in the world.

Tucked away at the beginning of Escadinhas de São Cristóvão in Lisbon, this bookshop is a must-see. The owner, Simão Carneiro, took over this former tobacco shop in 2008 and turned it into a whimsical bookshop.

With little less than four square meters, space in Livraria Simão might be tight, but it’s enough to store around 4,000 books. Simão’s collection is mostly made of second-hand books and features some of the most important names in Portuguese literature, such as Fernando Pessoa, Saramago, Camões and Eça de Queirós.

While the majority of books are in Portuguese, you can also find titles in Spanish, English, Italian and even Chinese.

If you want to see any of them up close, Simão will need to step outside, but that’s a ritual he’s used to by now.

Know Before You Go

Livraria Simão is generally open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., plus occasional Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Note that during typical holiday times, it may be closed with little warning.

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