Crafts and Souvenirs of the Setúbal Region

Unlike many Portuguese cities where souvenir shops overflow with mass-produced magnets and miniatures, the Setubal region’s craft identity is defined by gastronomic mastery and living artisan traditions. The best things to take home from here are not decorative trinkets but edible treasures and handmade tiles – products rooted in centuries of local know-how.

Handmade Azulejos

The Tile Workshops of Azeitão

The village of Azeitão, nestled at the foot of the Serra da Arrabida, is home to two workshops that keep the centuries-old tradition of hand-painted azulejos alive. Unlike the factory-produced tiles sold in Lisbon tourist shops, these are entirely handcrafted pieces made using techniques that date back to the Moorish period.

Azulejos de Azeitão specialises in the Hispano-Moorish style – geometric patterns in cobalt blue, green, and ochre that recall the Islamic origins of Portuguese tilework. The workshop is open to visitors, who can observe the entire production process – from pressing clay to hand-painting glazes – and even paint their own tile to take home as a souvenir. Each piece is fired in a kiln and takes several days to complete, so painted tiles are typically shipped to the buyer.

São Simão Arte (formally São Simão Arte & Faianças) offers a fully handmade process, from raw clay to the finished decorated tile. The workshop runs group sessions where visitors learn the fundamentals of traditional tile painting. São Simão Arte also produces custom tile panels for architectural projects, continuing a tradition that has decorated Portuguese churches, palaces, and railway stations for centuries.

The Bacalhôa Collection

The nearby Bacalhôa estate (Quinta da Bacalhôa) houses one of the most important private collections of azulejos in Portugal, including a celebrated 16th-century panel depicting Susanna and the Elders – considered one of the earliest examples of majolica tilework in the country. While not a souvenir shop, the estate offers wine tastings in rooms decorated with historic tiles, providing context for the region’s deep connection to this art form.

Moscatel Wine

Moscatel de Setubal is the region’s most famous export and, for many visitors, the quintessential souvenir. This fortified dessert wine has been produced on the Setubal Peninsula since at least the 14th century and holds DOC (Denominação de Origem Controlada) status.

Where to Buy

The principal producer is José Maria da Fonseca (established 1834), whose historic cellars in Azeitão are among the most visited wine tourism destinations in Portugal. The company produces several Moscatel expressions:

Bacalhôa (formerly J. P. Vinhos) is another major producer, offering Moscatel tastings at its estate alongside an impressive collection of contemporary art and azulejos.

The Confraria do Moscatel de Setúbal (Brotherhood of Moscatel) promotes the wine through tastings, events, and educational initiatives, helping to maintain quality standards and public awareness of this unique fortified wine.

Queijo de Azeitão

Queijo de Azeitão is a small, creamy sheep’s milk cheese with DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) status – one of the most tightly controlled food products in Portugal. By law, it can only be produced in three municipalities: Setúbal, Palmela, and Sesimbra.

What Makes It Special

• Made from raw sheep’s milk (never pasteurised)
• Uses vegetarian rennet extracted from the dried flowers of the cardoon thistle (Cynara cardunculus), not animal rennet
• Aged for a minimum of 20 days
• When ripe, the interior is semi-liquid – the top rind is cut open and the cheese is scooped out with a spoon

Producers and Awards

Queijaria Simões, a family-run producer based in the village of Aldeia de Irmãos, has won gold at the World Cheese Awards, bringing international recognition to this small-production cheese. Victor Fernandes is another respected artisan cheesemaker in the region.

Transport Tip

Because the cheese is soft and unpasteurised, transporting it can be challenging. Producers typically wrap it carefully in wax paper and provide insulated bags. For air travel, it is advisable to carry the cheese in hand luggage (sealed in a zip-lock bag) and consume it within a day or two of purchase.

Tortas de Azeitão

The torta de Azeitão is a thin rolled pastry filled with sweet egg cream (ovos moles), a recipe that has been made in the village of Azeitão since the early 1800s. The egg cream filling – made from egg yolks and sugar – is a hallmark of Portuguese conventual sweets, originally developed in monasteries.

Historic Bakeries

Pastelaria “O Cego” (established 1901) is the oldest and most famous bakery specialising in tortas de Azeitão. In addition to the signature roll, “O Cego” produces esses – S-shaped butter cookies that are another regional speciality. The bakery is located on the main road through Azeitão and attracts queues on weekends.

Fábrica de Tortas Azeitonense is a dedicated producer that supplies many shops and restaurants across the region. Their tortas can also be found at Mercado do Livramento in Setúbal.

A single torta de Azeitão is typically priced at EUR 3–5 and is best eaten the same day. Boxes of individually wrapped tortas are available for transport and make popular gifts.

Conservas – Tinned Fish as Art

Setúbal was historically the capital of Portugal’s canning industry, and tinned sardines remain a powerful symbol of the city’s identity. In recent decades, Portuguese canned fish has been reinvented as a gourmet product and collectible souvenir, with beautifully designed tins featuring vintage artwork, bright colours, and nostalgic typography.

Notable Brands

Many shops in Setúbal and Lisbon sell personalised conservas – tins printed with a specific year (matching a birth year, anniversary, or other milestone), making them popular commemorative gifts. A single decorative tin typically costs EUR 3–7.

Cork Products

Portugal produces approximately 50% of the world’s cork, and the cork oak forests of the Serra da Arrabida contribute to this output. While cork production is not unique to the Setúbal region, visitors will find a wide range of cork-based accessories in local shops:

• Handbags and wallets
• Belts and watch straps
• Notebook covers and coasters
• Hats and umbrellas

Cork is lightweight, waterproof, and sustainable – the bark is harvested without cutting the tree, which regenerates every 9 years. The material has gained popularity as a vegan alternative to leather.

Arrábida Honey

The Serra da Arrábida Natural Park harbours a unique Mediterranean flora that produces distinctive honeys. Approximately 80 beekeeper families work in the region, organised through cooperatives such as APISET (Associação de Apicultores do Distrito de Setúbal) and brands such as Arrabidamel.

The honey varieties reflect the park’s botanical diversity:

• Rosemary honey (alecrim) – light, delicate, the most common variety
• Heather honey (urze) – dark, aromatic, with a slightly bitter edge
• Wildflower honey (multifloral) – a blend of nectars from the park’s endemic species

Arrábida honey is available at local markets, Casa da Baía, and directly from producers.

Where to Shop

Casa da Baía

The Casa da Baía (House of the Bay) is Setúbal’s official visitor centre and craft shop, located in a historic building on Praça do Bocage in the heart of the city. It stocks over 300 products from more than 40 local producers, including Moscatel wine, Queijo de Azeitão, tortas, honey, conservas, azulejos, and cork accessories. The staff can advise on regional products and arrange tastings. Casa da Baía also houses a small exhibition about the Sado Estuary and the Arrábida Natural Park.

Other Shopping Venues

The Rota dos Saberes e Sabores (Route of Knowledge and Flavours) is a signposted trail through the Azeitão countryside that connects tile workshops, wine estates, cheese producers, and bakeries – essentially a self-guided souvenir-shopping itinerary.

What Is Truly Unique

Not everything sold in the region is exclusive to it. The following products, however, are genuinely unique to the Setúbal district and cannot be authentically obtained elsewhere:

• Queijo de Azeitão DOP – legally restricted to three municipalities; the combination of raw sheep’s milk and cardoon thistle rennet creates a flavour that cannot be replicated
• Aged Moscatel de Setúbal – the 20- and 40-year expressions are produced nowhere else in Portugal
• Tortas de Azeitão – the specific recipe and rolled format belong to this village
• Handmade azulejos from Azeitão – the two workshops produce tiles using techniques and patterns not available in commercial tile shops
• Chocolate sardines – a playful nod to the city’s canning heritage, available at Casa da Baía and local confectioners

For visitors seeking an authentic, non-mass-produced memento, the Setúbal region offers something increasingly rare in European tourism: craft products that are still made where they have always been made, by the people who have always made them.

See Also

• Azulejos in Setúbal
• Moscatel de Setúbal
• Queijo de Azeitão
• Mercado do Livramento
• The Canning Industry
• Feira de Sant’Iago