Portugal Guide: Livraria Lello Porto

Livraria Lello Porto

Address | R. das Carmelitas 144, 4050-161 Porto, Portugal

If you love books and history, you’ve likely heard of the “most beautiful bookstore in the world”, Livraria Lello Porto. In addition to its famed old world charm, you may be familiar with it in relation to its rumored source of inspiration for Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Established in its current location in 1906, Livraria Lello Porto welcomes visitors with a grand red staircase, stained glass skylights and of course shelves and shelves of books. This bookstore is one of Porto’s busiest tourist scenes, so I highly recommend that you purchase your ticket in advance. We purchased the Romeo and Juliet tickets which gave us immediate priority entrance (no waiting in the very long line!) and a credit for each ticket holder to select a book from their classics collection. Books are available in English, Portuguese, French, German. There may be more languages available, those 4 I took notice of.

At the back of the lower level is a room dedicated to Le Petit Prince . It boasts a beautiful Muriel and shelves stocked with the book in many languages and themed gifts. On the second floor you’ll notice a large cube with glass box windows which when peered through reveal a personal collection of love letters written by Bob Dylan.

Livraria Lello is a beautiful bookstore to visit and a nice spot to find a good read and gifts. Should you be so lucky as to find yourself in Porto, I definitely recommend a visit to the charming Livraria Lello.