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Prepare to step into Hogwarts at Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal.
- The Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto is one of the world's oldest bookstores, frequently ranked as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, and a top place to visit in Portugal.
- Opened in 1906, the bookstore has once a haunt of the city's literary scene and many say it was a direct inspiration for JK Rowling and her Harry Potter books. Rowling lived in the city from 1991 to 1993 and was a frequent customer.
- Today, the bookstore sees 4,000-5,000 visitors a day, which can make the cramped bookstore feel like a tourist trap. Despite the crowds, I still enjoyed my visit.
The Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal is one of the world's oldest bookstores and frequently ranked as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world.
An age-old coastal city in northwest Portugal with cobblestone streets and a historic medieval center, Porto is one of the country's premier tourism destinations. And Livraria Lello is one of the top attractions in the city.
Opened in 1906 by brothers José and António Lello on Rua das Carmelitas, the bookstore is both a stunning architectural landmark and was once a frequent hangout for Portugal's literary scene throughout the years. The neo-Gothic building features a stained glass ceiling, gorgeous wood-carvings, ladders and rails to move the books around, and special room to protect the bookstore's oldest and rarest books.
If all this sounds like a scene from Harry Potter, you'd be forgiven for thinking so. JK Rowling famously lived and taught English in Porto from 1991 to 1993 and was a loyal customer of Livraria Lello at the time.
Many have suggested that the bookstore's ornate Neo-Gothic architecture bears a striking resemblance both to depictions of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the central setting of the books, and Flourish and Blotts bookshop, where characters in the books purchase their books on magic.
As a writer and someone of the age for whom Harry Potter was a formative cultural experience, I knew upon arriving in Porto that a pilgrimage to Livraria Lello was a necessity.
Here's what it was like: