Livraria Lello

The bookshop people queue for, all for one red staircase

⚠ Book a timed slot online

Hours: Daily 09:00–19:30 (last entry 30 min before); closed 1 Jan, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 Jun and 25 Dec
Tickets: Standard ticket-voucher €15.95, combo with the monastery foundation €29.95; under-4s free. Book a date and time on livrarialello.pt
Address: Rua das Carmelitas 144, a 2–3 minute walk from the Clérigos Tower

Walk in and your eyes go straight to the red staircase in the middle, curling up in two arms that meet again on the first floor. Dark carved shelves climb to the ceiling, and a stained-glass skylight marked 'Decus in Labore' drops light down the stairwell. It opened in 1906 and still sells books, but at midday the people on the stairs far outnumber the people browsing. Your ticket works as a voucher off a Lello-published book, so picking one up as a souvenir more or less cancels the entry fee.