Livraria Lello with a voucher ticket

What it is

Livraria Lello is the bookshop with the red staircase, on Rua das Carmelitas, a stone's throw from the Clérigos Tower. It opened in this building in 1906, with a neo-Gothic façade and an interior of carved wood, a stained-glass ceiling and a central staircase of curves that splits towards the upper floor. It receives so many visitors that it works on a ticket system: you cannot get in without a voucher, not even to buy a book.

How the ticket works

You buy a voucher with a day and time. Its value is deducted if you buy a book from the Livraria Lello's own editions, so if you take one home, the visit works out almost free.

• Entry voucher: €15.95, deductible against a book from Edições Livraria Lello.
• Full experience: €23.95, which adds the Ai Weiwei exhibition A4; also deductible against a book.
• Children up to 3 included: free, with a document proving their age.

The voucher is valid for the chosen time and up to 60 minutes after. Arrive within that window or you lose the ticket: vouchers are not refunded, although you can change the time once online up to 24 hours before.

Hours and closures

Open every day. Its FAQ page gives 9:00 to 19:00 and other parts of the website mention up to 19:30: if you are going late, check. It closes on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 June (St John, Porto's holiday) and 25 December. You can buy online for the same day until half an hour before closing, if places remain.

How to buy

Buy it on the bookshop's website in advance, especially from April to October. It arrives by email and you show it on your phone at the entrance; it is not sent on paper. You can also buy it in the queue itself using your phone, but not in cash.

How long to allow

The bookshop estimates 45 to 60 minutes and there is no maximum time within opening hours. If you only want to see the staircase and take the photo, half an hour is more than enough.

Getting there

It is at Rua das Carmelitas 144, right in the centre, between the Clérigos Tower and Praça de Gomes Teixeira. It is a ten-minute walk uphill from São Bento station. Combine it with the Clérigos Tower, a minute away, and then go down towards the Ribeira.

Accessibility

The bookshop is wheelchair accessible, with a lift between floors. Priority entry is given to people with disabilities or reduced mobility, over-65s, pregnant women and anyone with babies.

With children

For small children it is a narrow, crowded place; under-4s go in free, but with a pushchair it is awkward. From about 8 or 9 years old, the staircase and the fairy-tale ceiling catch their attention, and they can choose the book against which the voucher is deducted.