LX Factory

Under the pillars of the 25 de Abril bridge, in the riverside district of Alcântara, a 19th-century factory compound has become one of Lisbon’s most original quarters. The LX Factory keeps the bones of its industrial past — tall windows, brick and iron, a printing hall — and fills them with bookshops, studios, restaurants and street art.

From spinning mill to creative quarter

In 1846 the Companhia de Fiação e Tecidos Lisbonense, one of the most important manufacturing companies of its day, established its textile works on a site beside the Tagus, and printing was later added to its trades. Industry kept the buildings busy for more than a century; decline then left them empty, and in 2008 the compound reopened as a creative quarter, its industrial architecture kept rather than replaced. The best-known tenant is the Ler Devagar bookshop, whose shelves climb through the old printing hall, and the courtyards around it carry some of the city’s boldest street art. Like the Mercado da Ribeira across town or the historic A Brasileira in the Chiado, it shows how Lisbon reuses its old spaces without embalming them.

What to see

• The 19th-century industrial architecture under the bridge
• Ler Devagar, the bookshop in the former printing hall
• Street art across the courtyards and walls
• Small studios and independent design shops
• Restaurants and cafés along the central street
• The bridge pillars rising directly overhead

Practical information

The LX Factory occupies a single block beside the Tagus in Alcântara, a short ride west of the city centre, with the 25 de Abril bridge passing directly above. It is a working quarter of studios as much as a place to browse: bring time rather than a checklist.

Image credit: Lisbon. LX Factory. by Vernaccia — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.