Livraria Lello Porto: Which Ticket, the Time Slot and How to Visit

At Livraria Lello the entrance ticket is a voucher rather than a fee, and that changes what you are paying for. If you buy a book, the whole amount comes off the price. What stays is the time slot and the queue, so the visit is mostly about picking the right ticket and the right hour.

Silver costs €8 and is the ticket for anyone who plans to buy a book. It admits you in the slot you choose, and the full amount is deducted from your book purchase. Gold is €15.95 and comes with a book from Lello's own collection, with the amount again taken off a purchase. Both are sold on tickets.livrarialello.pt, the official site. Children up to three enter free with proof of age.

A plain Silver ticket is bought officially, and that is the only place to find it. On GetYourGuide and Tiqets there is no plain Silver entry. What they offer instead are packages and tours: a combo that adds the Fundação Livraria Lello in Leça do Balio, about 8 km from the centre and without transport, or a guided walk with Lello and a river cruise. Those are different products, so the price will not compare with the voucher.

Children up to three enter free with proof of age. Keep the voucher until the end of the visit; the price of a book is reduced by the voucher's value. The reseller is GetYourGuide.

The slot, the ticket desk and when to come

The voucher is valid for up to 60 minutes after the time you pick, so a short delay at the door is forgiven. A same-day ticket can be bought online up to 30 minutes before closing, if any remain. The slot can be changed once online, no later than 24 hours ahead, and after that the money is not returned. Priority entry is open to visitors with disabilities, over-65s, pregnant women, people with babies and Amigo Card holders. Hours: daily 9–19:30.

The bookshop is closed on 1 Jan, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 Jun and 25 Dec. Take the earliest slot if you want a few seconds of empty photographs, or the last slot of the afternoon if you prefer a calmer room. The middle of the day is when the staircase fills.

The facade is neo-Gothic, with a fresco by José Bielman above the entrance. The official FAQ puts a visit at 45 to 60 minutes, with no maximum stay during opening hours. Inside, the wood of the shelves is a finish over reinforced concrete, which surprises people who assume it is all carved. The red staircase got its colour by accident during a renovation in the 1990s and was left that way.

Climb to the upper floor and look up at the skylight, made of 55 glass panes and the motto Decus in Labore. Two floors are linked by that staircase and by a lift, so the shop is accessible by wheelchair. Two small rooms follow: What is a Nobel?, made with Time magazine and holding a Saramago corner, and the Little Prince room for the book's 80th anniversary. On the shelves are Lello editions with gilded edges, and you can have your book stamped on request.

What is right next door

Lello sits at Rua das Carmelitas 144, and the street does the planning for you. Clérigos Tower is next door, and the entry is €10. The Igreja do Carmo is also beside it, with an azulejo facade you can admire from the street.

São Bento station is about ten minutes uphill on foot, so Lello suits a morning that starts at the station. That leaves the afternoon free for the riverside. Pair the bookshop with the tower and the church as one block of the day, and do not stretch it past that.

2 daysThe Porto itinerary shows where Lello fits in a day that runs from São Bento down to the Ribeira.Porto in 2 days →

When you would rather not pay to go in

Anyone who does not plan to buy a book is paying for a staircase, and the voucher gives nothing back. The decision is simple. If a book is on your list, Silver is the cheapest way in. If not, look at the Lello facade from the street and put the money toward the tower next door.

• Buy Silver on the official site and choose your slot there.
• Ask to have your book stamped, which the staff do on request.
• Skip the Gold ticket unless the book from the Lello collection is the real reason you came.
• Look at the Igreja do Carmo azulejos on the way, since they face the street.

Getting aroundThe Porto transport page covers the Guindais funicular, the metro and the uphill walk from São Bento.Getting around Porto →