Neo-Gothic Building

The Livraria Lello building is one of the most emblematic examples of the neo-Gothic style in the city of Porto and in Portugal, outstanding in its immediate surrounding urban landscape.

Inside the bookshop, the elaborately carved arches and imposing ceiling, as well as the walls and columns rising from the ground floor, with their Art Deco touches, lead you on a journey through a truly magical atmosphere.

Because it is literature that endows this building with its soul, its interior also includes busts of the Portuguese writers Antero de Quental, Eça de Queirós, Camilo Castelo Branco, Teófilo Braga, Tomás Ribeiro and Guerra Junqueiro, sculpted by Romão Júnior.

The construction of Livraria Lello, in the care of Engineer Francisco Xavier Esteves, took two years to complete and was inspired by the architectural trends of the time: a mixture of styles in which exuberance was the watchword.

In 2013, the Livraria Lello building was classified as a "Monument of Public Interest" by the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage. The entity describes it as "one of the most important buildings of Portuguese eclectic architecture, integrating joinery and stained glass unparalleled in the country."