I recently visited Porto in Portugal for a convention and had a day to explore the city. I didn’t really know much about the place before, but my research convinced me that if there was only one place I would be able to visit, it should be Livraria Lello! The photos of this place online were amazing!
It was a bit of a task to get there – like many things in Portugal, I felt like there wasn’t that much english explanation of things (although, this DID have some english information on the webpage, but not a whole lot). Still, I managed to figure out that you need to pre-book tickets to get in (yes, tickets for a bookstore) and that they cost 10 euro/person. BUT those 10 euros can then be spent in the shop. Now, I knew already that I would be bringing some Harry Potter books home, but I wasn’t sure if they would have some – luckily, they did! In both Portuguese, Spanish and French!
Even though we had timed tickets (they let in people in a 15 minute interval), there was still a massive queue to get in. We had tickets for 12:30, and when we arrived a bit after 12, the queues for both 12:00 and 12:15 were still really long. But we stayed near the 12:00 queue, because once they’d finished emptying that, it became the spot for the 12:30 queue, which we were then first in line for.
The bookstore was absolutely amazing and worth the wait! I do love architechture and buildings that were made when carved wood and stained glass was still a thing. I like Hogwarts aesthetics, not concrete and glass boxes, and this shop was something that would definitely fit into the Harry Potter universe!
It also had some nice books – not just Harry Potter, but a lot of classics in nice bindings, MinaLima’s fairytale versions, some really pretty versions of The Lord of the Rings and many more – but of course, my focus was the Harry Potter books! I’ve tried to include most of what they had during my visit (october 2025), but since at least the French books are brand new editions, I’m guessing it changes.
My one problem with this shop was that even with the timed entry, there were just too many people. You could barely move around, and forget about taking photos without getting at least 10 other people taking photos in the picture as well. I’ve photoshopped some out of some of my photos that were just too much in focus and showing their faces. Still, even with the overcrowding, it was an amazing place, and I’m very happy I got to see it!
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