Doing your own grocery shopping is a treat at the local markets, but for everyday items, you can visit the nearby supermarkets. 

The nearest supermarket is located in Pataias, just an 8-minute drive from the apartment. This supermarket offers everything you need and has fresh departments for bread, meat, and fish. The fish is delivered fresh from the auction every morning and can be cleaned for you on the spot.  

The supermarket is open daily from 9:00 AM and closes at 8:00 PM.

Intermarché Pataias can be found at:

Lugar de Alva, Estrada Nacional 242
Pataias 2445-012. 

On the same grounds as the Intermarché, you will also find a gas station, a car wash, and a laundry facility. At the Pataias shop to the right of the Intermarché, you can find just about anything. This shop, which is similar to Action, has a very wide range of products, from clothing and slippers to paint supplies, and from pans to bedding; you name it, there’s a good chance you’ll find what you need there.    

For other supermarkets or shops, you can visit cities such as Nazaré or, a bit further away, Leiria.

If you want to go to a supermarket in Nazaré, you can visit one of the following four:

• Lidl Nazaré
• Continente Nazaré
• Pingo Doce Nazaré
• Mini Preço Nazaré

Markets

In the village In Caldas da Rainha (a 35-minute drive), you will find Portugal’s most famous daily open-air farmers’ market, ‘Praça da Fruta’. This market is located in the city center and is full of stalls selling fruit, vegetables, cheese, bread, dried fruits, and other local products. Strolling past the stalls and picking out fresh, high-quality ingredients is a chance to experience the true Portuguese lifestyle.

You can also buy local fruit and vegetables at the municipal markets of Alcobaça and Nazaré.

At the renowned fish markets in Nazaré, Caldas da Rainha, and Alfeizerão (see below), you will discover a wide range of fish. You’ll find the freshest catches and can pick out your favorite fish.

In the small village of Alfeizerão (about 20 minutes from our apartment) is the farmers’ market, which is open from Tuesday to Sunday. Among other things, you can buy fresh fish there. In the market’s butchery, you will also find regional meat and locally grown fruits and vegetables. Alfeizerão is known for the quality of its Alcobaça apples and Rocha pears.

Famous Portuguese sponge cake 

If you pass through Alfeizerão, we recommend stopping for a few minutes to buy the traditional “Pão de Ló de Alfeizerão”.

This sponge cake is extremely light and delicate, thanks to the soft and creamy filling that tastes of eggs, sugar, and cinnamon.

It is believed that this traditional regional pastry originated in the Monastery of Santa Maria de Coz, a Cistercian nunnery founded in the 12th century in the village of Coz, Alcobaça. When religious orders were persecuted in Portugal and the monastery was closed at the beginning of the 19th century, a group of nuns sought refuge in Alfeizerão and passed the recipe on to the local ladies.

Nowadays, every “pastelaria” has its own secret version of the recipe, but we promise you they are all equally delicious.

Places where you can find the traditional “Pão de Ló de Alfeizerão”: – Casa do Pão de Ló – Café Ferreira – Castelo – Pastelaria Cinderela