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Livraria Lello
Livraria Lello
4
Speciality & Gift ShopsPoints of Interest & Landmarks
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
About
Livraria Lello is one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world with its intricate neo-gothic and art nouveau design. Inaugurated in 1906, it is one of Portugal's oldest bookstores. It's most famous for its iconic central wooden staircase with its elegant curves and large stained glass windows. The bookstore is also said to have inspired the creation of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series, attracting travelers from all over the world. You'll need a timed ticket to enter—the ticket fee is deducted if you purchase a book at the store. The bookstore is located near Praca de Lisboa. – Tripadvisor
Duration: < 1 hour
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  • G C
    Titchfield, United Kingdom142 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Worth the ticket?
    Packed as sardines, 30min or more in queues to get in. Once inside you have to tackle the usual Chinese people standing in the middle of the staircase, in the walkways and all corners, posing endlessly and jamming traffic only to take a selfie 🤳whilst totally uninterested about the history of the library or the books. The books are highly overpriced, same ones online a lot cheaper. Apart from the "tourist" crowd, the library is very nice, can only imagine how it would look without the crowds.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written October 4, 2023
  • TerrasTravels
    Las Vegas, Nevada2,983 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Livraria lello
    This place is so cool! I just wish it wasn’t so crowded and they wouldn’t let so many people in at the same time. You have to schedule a time to go in, but even so the line to get in was so long. It’s like thousands of people had the same time. So to get a picture on to the staircase, was basically impossible without having people in your background. It’s a cool place to see since J. K. Rowling got inspiration from there but it’s just way too overcrowded. If you were buying something, the line goes pretty quickly though. And some of the money that you used for the ticket can go towards a book….
    Visited May 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written October 8, 2023
  • Peter M
    Daylesford, Australia751 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful bookshop spoiled by hordes of people
    So bring up front this was never going to be my thing but my partner and daughter love old bookshops. It is stunning and the staircase is amazing. However, it is so busy with so many people just taking selfies etc It appears to be busy all day and of course not sure you’ll get a slot unless you get tickets on line days in advance. Sadly now feels like a Disneyland feature rather than a working bookstore
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written October 13, 2023
  • luvtravel88
    United States607 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful Bookstore, but was it worth the visit?
    OK. This is a beautiful bookstore. It's known because it's staircase was used in the Harry Potter movies. But..is it worth the time and hassle to get to visit? You must purchase a 5 euro ticket prior to your visit and they are timed tickets. This will apply to a book purchase if you'd like to purchase a book. The lines to enter are crazy long. We got in line at 9:45 for a 10 entry and there were already well over 100 people ahead of us. The 10:30 entry line already had a line of people as well. The line did move pretty quickly so that was good. When you walk into the door, it is pretty amazing. The staircase is directly in front of you and you can see beautiful wood paneled shelves. You can walk up the curved staircase to a second level, where you do see a beautiful stained glass panel in the ceiling. Of course it is a book store so the shelves are lined with books. There is a pretty nice selection of books in English by Portuguese authors as well as popular fiction authors. The place was wall to wall people. We did a quick tour upstairs and down, and then we were out. Was it worth it? I'm glad I saw it, but certainly wouldn't do it again.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written October 19, 2023
  • 14jkc
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania389 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    too touristy
    This place is a tourist trap with an insanely long line even if you buy tickets in advance. We were fortunate to have skip the line tickets through our guide. We were told that it became more popular after the JK Rowling "myth" and that what most people actually believe about this is not true. Regardless, the building is absolutely beautiful. The stained glass windows and ceiling and the wood shelves and curved staircase are gorgeous. However, you are packed in there like sardines and could never come here if you just wanted to browse books or really enjoy the ambiance. That is a shame because they have some great books and exhibits. It was nice to be able to get a book with your ticket purchase (up to $16 in value) with the option of paying the difference if you bought something more expensive. One and done.
    Visited May 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written October 24, 2023
  • 24katherineb
    Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom38 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Don't miss it but keep expectations low
    You can't miss this in Porto but it's not up to the hype. Keep expectations low and you'll enjoy it. It's beautiful and they have a bracelet belonging to antoine de saint exupery that was found in the sea which I was fascinated to see. However small children will get bored and it's very crowded and books are expensive. Disappointed to find the Harry Potter link was a myth!
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written October 26, 2023
  • ZINEB D
    11 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Cool library
    Very nice library, different from the ones I visited before, plus it's said that it inspired the Harry Potter movies, which is kinda cool. The queue is always so long, we wanted to get in the morning but it was almost impossible to wait so long under the rain, so we decided to go at the last schedule, we bought skip the line tickets, but we're surprised when we got in that it was sooo crowded you could barely walk or see anything, people wanting to take pictures of themselves and of the place, it made the experience unpleasant. I think they need to work more on the organization and only let few people get in at a the time to be able to enjoy the beauty of the library.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written November 5, 2023
  • jeaniepdx
    Portland, Oregon15 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Manage your expectations and you can love it
    I booked my ticket online last minute on Monday November 6. I booked it about 15 minutes before my designated 6pm slot. I arrived 6 minutes early. Walked straight to the front door, scanned my 8euro ticket and was let in immediately. I was told to go towards the end of the night so it wouldn’t be as crowded and being it is shoulder season, it was more encouraging to go. The store was still pretty full but manageable. Going solo, people were kind enough to take my photo and everyone was respectful in waiting their turn to take a photo at the staircase as well as self aware of their surroundings to allow people to take photos and were swift with posing. The collection books are beautiful and I appreciated the different languages. I know many complain that none of the books are 8euro…well newsflash, authors and independent bookstores can’t make a living selling 8 euro books. Many books hover around 17 euro. Please note the ticket voucher credit is only good on books, not merchandise. I didn’t have room in my bag for books so I just bought a beautiful shopping bag instead for 1.50 euro. Everything here looks magical! I would not recommend this place for large groups but I did enjoy the beauty of this store. It was worth the admission for me as I love visiting historic libraries and stores. I was in store for about 40 minutes, was able to browse for books and I could overhear the staff guiding and helping customers with lots of enthusiasm. If you hate crowds, only want Instagram snaps, balk at paying admission..don’t come here.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written November 9, 2023
  • 270Loch
    Loch, Australia127 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Disappointing lack of crowd regulation
    We pre-booked tickets for the opening time of 9am. Supposedly 50 tickets per 30 minute time slot are available. When we arrived well before time of the first admission there was a queue in excess of this number. I estimate double this number were admitted. Judge for yourself from the photo taken at 9.15am, 15 minutes after first admission and 15 minutes before second admission. I can count 51 people in the photo and many more including ourselves behind us. This is deceptive opportunistic selling.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written November 24, 2023
  • Josh K
    12 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Book Store
    Very touristy, but worth it. Get your tickets before as the lines are long. If you buy a book you get the price of your ticket as a discount. Good selection of books in many languages. The building is beautiful. Can see where JK Rolling got inspiration for Hogwarts. Only annoying thing is people trying to get their pictures and selfies on the staircase. Very rude to stop traffic for a picture that has been done a million times! Find something new!
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written December 1, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles18,219 reviews
Excellent
7,080
Very good
5,015
Average
3,277
Poor
1,444
Terrible
1,403

Anik L
Montreal, Canada657 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019
Yes, the architecture of this bookstore is amazing! A real feast for the eyes. You can really feel the Harry Potter vibe. I’m glad I went but this was by far my biggest deception in all my Portugal trip.
First, you need to do a long queue to get the ticket from another store which is at the corner of the block from Livraria Lello. Then you do another long queue to enter the bookstore. Tickets are €5 per person, but if you decide to purchase a book this will subtracted from the price.
We bought our tickets for the next day and we arrived 20 min before they opened, still ended up waiting about 50 minutes.
Inside is chaos. They don’t seem to have a crowd limits control. There has to be a way to control the volume of people coming in and still make money. The hundreds of people crammed into it made it very unpleasant, nearly unbearable. You can’t even admire the place. Queues to take selfies in the stair, queues to get up the stairs… Its packed as hell and no one seems interested in books. And there is no chance to stroll along the bookshelves because it is completely packed. Of course, the woodwork of the stairs and craftsmanship all round make it a beautiful site to visit but be warned it's a tourist trap.
Victim of its own success...
Written April 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

philtraveller
Bristol, UK309 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Couples
PhilTraveller says: you don’t need to know anything about Harry Potter etc to love this beautiful bookshop ... the interior architecture is amazing. The red double staircase a delight.
Buy your €5 euro ticket in the office round the corner ... they only allow limited numbers in at a time, so we queued for 30mins even with a ticket.

Worth it - amazing interior. And wonderful to see a bookshop from early 1900s still in use !
Written March 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ana
28 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
You pay 5 euros just to end up waiting in a long queue and once you finally enter, elbowing with dozens of people inside since the place is too small. Definitely the worst way to experience a bookshop. No real book lover would appreciate this, only people who would like to brag that they have visited it. The overcrowdness simply kills the charm.
Written January 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

brazas
Sao Paulo, SP7 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Couples
This place is very popular due to the connection with Harry Potter books as supposedly the author of the book got inspiration from this bookshop to write some scenes from the book. The place is OK-ish but nothing especial. It would be worth a 5 minute stop over if there were no queues.

However, because of the popularity, they not only charge a 5 euros entrance fee but also force you to wait in line for hours as they don't organize the lines in time slots.

Moreover, because of the pandemics, they are limiting the capacity to 23 people inside the bookstore, so the huge lines don't move at all. 5 hours waits are the norm.

To finish it off, the tickets you buy online are not refundable. So you buy the tickets online, you get there, you see the crappy situation and are unable to get your money back.

So please avoid if you want to have a good time in Porto and not get stressed! There are many more historically relevant places to visit in Porto!
Written August 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Billythefish1
Southport, UK1,418 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Marketed as the world’s most beautiful bookstore and is more than a century old. Lello is art nouveau with gothic details, stained glass and an impressive red staircase, said to have inspired the one in Hogwarts (JK Rowling once lived in Porto). Harry Potter fans make a beeline here and there are so many visitors that there is now a charge to enter. However the entrée fee of 5 euros per person can be redeemed off any book purchased in store.You can buy all the Potter books but slighty, (40%)higher price than Waterstones. More an attarction for the shop than the books they sell.
Written February 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jill Young
Kilkeel, UK79 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
I rarely pay entrance fees to go anywhere but I was tempted by this place. Whilst it is a truly beautiful building the queue is often very long and the store itself far too crowded. There are excellent photos online that will allow you to see the interior much more clearly than when you are being jostled by crowds of tourists.
You also have to first visit another building to but a ticket (if you haven't purchased on online), leave your bags in a locker and then go join the queue to get in. If you do buy a book you're going to have to queue again to pay. Not my idea of an enjoyable time.
If you are only in Porto for a short break it's going to take up far too much of your time.
Written January 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

culturedportugal
142 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
The design of the bookshop is amazing - so quirky and so much detail. The entrance fee is well worth it, as a large majority of the people are not there to buy a book just to view the design and thereby we have to contribute to the maintainance of the shop. Go early to avoid too many people, however the number allowed in each time is controlled.
Written February 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Merel O
9 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
It is a beautiful old library, recommended for book lovers but also fun if you are not. It is however very crowded and it may be hard to look around peacefully or take some nice photos. You have to buy a €5 voucher to get in, you can use the voucher to buy a book inside.
Written January 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WanderingOttersons
Denver, CO1,475 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021
A piece of history and amazing architecture that is truly a gem. Just the experience of wandering around a bit was great but also experiencing the history of a place as well. Don't expect to get any cool photos with nobody in them - this place is packed from the moment it opens. And if you did not know, you have to buy tickets to get in and wait in line as well. Tickets are easy to purchase on-line and became a necessity with the huge popularity of this place as is the entry control to limit the number of people inside. We showed up with our pre-purchased tickets about 45 minutes before opening and were about 100th in line and the line quickly grew well beyond that. Once inside, it is wonderful but if you aren't that much into reading or architecture then this may not be the way you want to spend a couple of hours in Porto.
Written December 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maria N
Salisbury, UK45 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Solo
The queues to get in are very long so I arrived at about 10:00 when it opened and left when I saw the queue. I returned in the afternoon when the queue was shorter but it still moved slowly and the wait was long. The bookshop looks nice inside and the staircase is good but I cannot recommend paying €5 and queuing for so long to see it. Yes you can get a €5 discount off a book but the English language selection was limited so I didn’t buy one for the sake of it.
Written August 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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