Lisbon: Shopping Holiday

Lisbon has become a great holiday shopping destination in recent years. A formerly largely isolated Portu-guese economy has opened up to international brands and shops, while still maintaining its strong local identity and craft industry. High end and designer shopping can be done on the attractive streets of Chia-do (also good for handicrafts) and in the massive department store El Corte Inglés, located between Par-que Eduardo VII and the Gulbenkian. Lisbon is also home to gigantic shopping malls such as Vasco da Gama shopping center, Colombo and nearby Cascais Shopping. Prices tend to be slightly lower than in the rest of the European Union, but not necessarily for high-end articles. One cannot have a shopping holiday in Lis-bon and leave without some traditional ceramics or tiles (azulejos), which can be purchased throughout the city and metropolitan area, but notably in Bairro Alto, Chiado and Sintra.