Livraria Bertrand

Livraria Bertrand is the oldest operating bookstore in the world, founded in 1732 in Lisbon, Portugal. The original bookstore in Lisbon's Chiado neighborhood was declared by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest, operating bookstore in the world in 2016. Today, Bertrand operates a network of 52 shops across Portugal. Bertrand has been frequented by numerous famous authors, including Alexandre Herculano, Fernando Pessoa, Eca de Queiros, Antero de Quental and Ramalho Ortigão.

The history of the book and bookstores in Portugal is inseparable from that of the French. From the eighteenth century, there was the arrival of a large number of French booksellers to Portugal, including Pedro Faure, who went on to found what we know today as "Livraria Bertrand". Lisbon then had the presence of several compatriots of Pedro Faure, who were developing activities in the same industry, it seems, creating a tradition of printers and booksellers of French origin in Portugal. Pedro Faure, who already in 1727 was a leading printed shop in Cordoaria Velha, opened a bookstore in 1732, probably with his name on Rua Direita do Loreto, close to the current Livraria Bertrand do Chiado.

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