Livraria Lello

Livraria Lello opened on Rua das Carmelitas in January 1906, founded by the brothers José and António Lello, and it still looks like the setting of a fairy tale. It is a listed national monument and one of Porto’s best-known sights, which is why there is often a queue outside. For a child who loves books, the visit ends with the best bit: choosing one to take home, paid for largely by the ticket.

The staircase comes first. It curls up from the middle of the shop and splits into two curving flights to the upper floor. Lello says it was one of the first concrete staircases built in Portugal, and that its delicate, wood-like look is painted stucco. Its famous crimson colour started as a mistake: during restoration work in 1993 the steps were painted red by accident, and before anyone could fix it the sculptor José Rodrigues saw them and loved the colour. It stayed.

Look up for the stained-glass skylight, designed by the Dutch artist Samuel Van Krieken, with the motto “Decus in Labore” (dignity in work). Agenda Cultural do Porto says it is made of 55 panels and measures about 8 by 3.5 metres. There is a tradition that every restoration leaves a small sign of its own time, and in 2018 the restorers added a smiley face to the glass. Finding it keeps a child busy while you queue for the stairs.

Down at floor level, a set of rails and a small trolley run across the shop. From 1906 until the early 1990s, a trolley like this carried books from the basement store to the ground floor and out to the entrance; the one on show is a replica. Around the walls are busts of Portuguese writers, including Eça de Queirós, Camilo Castelo Branco and Antero de Quental.

The facade outside has two painted figures by Joseph Bielmann representing Art and Science, which Lello calls the guardian goddesses of the shop.

During the most recent big restoration, workers found lottery tickets glued under the counters and shelves. The booksellers had hidden them there hoping to repeat the luck of Ernesto Chardron, whose bookselling business the Lello brothers took over, and who, the shop says, used lottery winnings to open his bookshop. It’s a good one to tell on the way in.

For years, tour guides said Lello inspired Hogwarts because J.K. Rowling lived in Porto in the early 1990s. In May 2020 she wrote on Twitter that she had never visited the shop, didn’t know it existed and that it had nothing to do with Hogwarts. Harry Potter fans still enjoy the staircase, and the gap between the legend and the facts is a good conversation to have with an older child about how stories spread.

In 2026, the shop’s 120th year, a new wing designed by the architect Álvaro Siza opened. Agenda Cultural do Porto says it adds about 1,000 square metres, with an auditorium, exhibition spaces, the Manifesto Library (a shelf of 100 contemporary titles) and the Sala Gema, a room of rare books and first editions. The Sala Gema is visited on a separate, more expensive guided ticket.

Everyone aged 4 and over needs a Ticket-Voucher, even if you only came to buy a book. When we checked in September 2026 it cost €15.95. The whole amount comes off a book bought that day, but only a book from Lello’s own imprint, Edições Livraria Lello. Books from other publishers and souvenirs are not included, so steer your child towards the Lello editions. Each voucher is for one person and can’t be transferred.

Tickets are for a time slot and stay valid for up to 60 minutes after it. You can buy online in advance or on the day until 30 minutes before closing, subject to space. Cash isn’t accepted when buying a voucher in the queue. Children up to 3 go in free with official proof of age.

Lello also sells a combined ticket with the Fundação Livraria Lello at the old monastery of Leça do Balio, outside the city, from €29.95 when we checked.

The shop is open every day from 09:00 to 19:30, apart from 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December. Allow about 45 minutes to an hour.

Buggies are not allowed in, and nor are suitcases or travel backpacks, so bring a sling or carrier for a baby. On the plus side, people carrying babies are among those who get priority entry, along with pregnant women, over-65s and people with disabilities. Under-12s must stay with an adult the whole time, and you need to keep your voucher until you leave.

It is a busy, enclosed space with one famous staircase that everyone wants to photograph. A child who dislikes crowds may cope better with an early slot on a weekday; Agenda Cultural do Porto says weekends and holidays are the busiest times. Please don’t let children sit on the stairs for photos, as it blocks the way for everyone else.

Lello is in the centre, a few minutes from the Clérigos Tower. Downhill towards the river, World of Discoveries has a boat ride through the age of the sea explorers. For fresh air, walk west to the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, where peacocks roam and the public library has a children’s room. For lunch, the Mercado do Bolhão food market is a short walk east.

Do children need a ticket for Livraria Lello?

From age 4, yes. Children up to 3 go in free with official proof of age.

Can you take a buggy into Livraria Lello?

No. Buggies, suitcases and travel backpacks are not allowed, so use a baby carrier. Visitors carrying babies get priority entry.

Does the ticket come off any book?

No. When we checked, the voucher could only be used on books published by Edições Livraria Lello, bought on the same day. Other publishers’ books and merchandise are excluded.

Is Lello the real Harry Potter bookshop?

No. J.K. Rowling said in 2020 that she never visited the shop and that it had nothing to do with Hogwarts, although many fans still come to see the staircase.

How long does a visit take?

About 45 minutes to an hour, plus any queue outside. Your ticket is valid for up to an hour after your slot.