#flathal #flatstanley #livrarialello #porto #portugal
There are a lot of lists online of bookstores … whether they call them “greatest”, “most beautiful” or something else along those lines, Livraria Lello in Porto often appears alongside another store we visited this trip. El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires.
Where El Ateneo was large, with a vast selection of books, Livraria Lello is a small two story store, with over 120 years of history.
It features a lot of classics, printed in beautiful looking pocket size editions. Additionally it has a nice selection of books for younger readers, with things like Harry Potter, and a young readers Tom Sawyer in multiple languages.
The central stairwell is made of concrete, and this incredible detail work that looks like wood is actually painted plaster!
Livraria Lello’s Shop Was Built In 1906
This is the same time frame that “Grand Central Station” (technically Grand Central Terminal) in New York was being built, and just a few years before Château Laurier opened in Ottawa.
It “looks” like a period of architectural creativity and grand expression.
Livraria Lello doesn’t just sell books, it publishes them also. What began as an effort to give Portuguese Authors support in releasing their books has evolved into a collection of printed classics from around the world supporting Livraria Lello’s desire to share reading.
What’s your favorite book?
Livraria Lello — The Flat Fellas Stepped Into A Bit Of History
Livraria Lello is a modern bookshop, as evidenced by the Harry Potter section of books. Yet some of them are displayed on the heavy looking old trolley that once was pushed through the store on these tracks in the floor. Reminiscent of a coal car on a train track in a mine, this is just one of the pieces from decades gone by that remains a part of the store.
Upstairs, in a smaller room that looks like it might have been perfect as an office for the owner at one time, is an old ladder for reaching the upper shelves. A reminder of just how HIGH some of the shelves downstairs are.
Up to 90 people are allowed into the store every 15 minutes, making it hard to get photos that showcase the stairs, unique floor, etc, without people in them… but it is also a reminder that hundreds of people WANT to enter this bookstore every hour!
