A Royal reading room dating from the last gasps of the monarchy, the Real Gabinete Português' checkered marble flooring and tiers of leather bound books stretching up to the stained-glass dome that illuminates the interior make it worth a visit. The columns, garlanded with wooden flowers, resemble magnificent maypoles and it is a grand place for a quiet read if you can take your yes of the details for any length of time. The immediate area around the chamber is, rather fortuitously, surrounded by secondhand book shops.