A residential district once known best for antique shops and gay bars, the Prìncipe Real is becoming a serious shopping area. This is largely thanks to the Embaixada concept store, where fashion bloggers Camille Desrosiers, from Montréal, and Gracie Carroll, from Toronto, meet with general manager Catarina Lopes to learn about the history of the building and its clever redesign. Along with its abundant boutiques, like local favourite Alexandra Moura, the area is also full of colourful 19th-century mansions. A stroll here is a romantic experience: cobblestone streets, garden upon garden and of course the well-known Jardim do Principe Real park, with its iconic, gigantic cedar tree.
From there Camille and Gracie lead us to the Alcântara district, where they find the LX factory. A manufacturing complex kept hidden for years, Alcântara has now become a full-blown creative district that serves the fashion, publicity, communication, fine arts, architecture and music industries, as well as all types of design fields, from home decor to office toys.
Watch more episodes of Style Jaunt Lisbon:
Old Meets New in the Chiado District
Finding the Unexpected in Bairro Alto
Keep up with Gracie and Camille by following #FLARExAirTransat on Twitter and Instagram.
