The temptation may be to skip this one- yes, you should preorder tickets, and still be prepared to wait in a queue, and yes its a tourist trap. But, its a beautiful place! Definitely worth it. An insider at the bookstore told me that the whole JK Rowling connection to this place is only partly true. Needless to say, if you love beauty, architecture and of course books (they have plenty) don’t miss this gem in Porto. It definitely has that wow factor when you enter. Only $5 for a regular ticket and you can use it as a credit towards whatever you buy.

Exploring Livraria Lello in Porto was a magical journey into the world of literature and architectural beauty. The bookstore’s neo-Gothic façade and ornate interiors, featuring a stunning wooden staircase and stained glass, were a visual delight. The vast collection of books, from classics to contemporary literature, made it a haven for book lovers. The ambiance, with its cozy reading nooks and a sense of history, transported me to a bygone era of literary indulgence. The guided tours provided valuable insights into the bookstore’s history and its connection to prominent writers. Livraria Lello is a must-visit for bibliophiles, photographers, and anyone seeking a unique cultural experience in Porto.

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.

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….

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.