Three of Porto's best-known stops sit a few minutes apart: the Clérigos Tower, the Livraria Lello bookshop and the Carmo and Carmelitas churches. You can see all of them in one morning, at an easy pace. Here is what each one is, what to look for, and a few small sights on the way.
Torre dos Clérigos
The Clérigos church was built between 1732 and 1750 to a design by Nicolau Nasoni, an Italian architect and painter who worked across northern Portugal. It is Baroque, with an elliptical floor plan. The tower and its monumental double staircase were finished in 1763. The tower is about 75 metres high, it is open to visitors, and guides count more than 200 steps to the top.
Tip: check the opening hours and ticket details on the official Clérigos website before you go.
Livraria Lello
The building was inaugurated in 1906. The engineer Francisco Xavier Esteves designed it, and the bookshop's own site calls the style neo-Gothic. It took over a bookshop founded on the same spot in 1869, the Livraria Chardron, whose name is still written over the door. Inside, look for the staircase, the stained-glass skylight and the motto "Decus in Labore". The address is Rua das Carmelitas 144. According to the official site, each ticket includes a voucher for a book.
Tip: go early, because a queue is common during the day, and check opening hours and ticket details before you go.
Igreja do Carmo and Igreja das Carmelitas
Two churches stand side by side. The Carmo church was built between 1756 and 1768, to a design by José Figueiredo Seixas, with later changes by Nasoni. A large azulejo panel of 1912, designed by Silvestre Silvestri, covers its side wall and tells the origins of the Carmelite order. On a sunny day, cross the street to take in the whole blue and white panel at once.
The Carmelitas church is older, built between 1619 and 1628, with a Mannerist façade. Both were classified as a National Monument in 2013. Between them stands the Casa Escondida, the "hidden house", one of the narrowest houses in Portugal, about 1.5 metres wide according to guides.
We have not confirmed whether the interiors are open to visitors. The façades, the panel and the Casa Escondida can all be seen from the street.
Nearby
Nearby, we can see ...
- The Fonte dos Leões, in Praça de Gomes Teixeira, a minute or two from the Lello. The water company ordered it in 1882, and it began to work in 1886. It is one of the few fountains in the city not built in Portugal, and it stands in front of the university rectorate.
- The Jardim da Cordoaria, about three minutes from the tower. It was founded in 1865, and among its sculptures is "Treze a rir uns dos outros" (2001) by Juan Muñoz, thirteen figures.
- The Centro Português de Fotografia, about three minutes from the tower, in the former Cadeia da Relação. The building was begun in 1765 and finished in 1796, and it was a court and a prison until the 1970s. It keeps the cell where the writer Camilo Castelo Branco was held in 1860. Check visiting times before you go.
- The Capela das Almas, a longer walk of about ten minutes from the Carmo church. Its outer walls carry almost 16,000 azulejos by Eduardo Leite, from 1929. You see them from the street.
Where to eat
- A Tasquinha, on Rua do Carmo, serves traditional Portuguese dishes, such as grilled and salt cod, veal and rojões (pork). Check before you go.
- Padaria Ribeiro, on Praça Guilherme Gomes Fernandes, is a bakery since 1878, with a bola de Berlim filled with custard cream.
- Adega do Carregal, on Travessa do Carregal, is a cozy and traditional restaurant a few minutes' walk from the Clérigos Tower. It is known for grilled meat, octopus and cod. Check before you go.
- Nogueira's Porto, on Rua de Ceuta, is a modern restaurant a few minutes' walk from the Clérigos Tower and Livraria Lello. It is a place for a special meal, with steak and Mediterranean dishes and a bar upstairs. Check before you go.
Opening days and hours change, so check before you go.