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Harry Potter saves the Lello bookshop in Porto
Harry Potter in Porto: the English wizard in a Portuguese bookshop
J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter saga, is said to have drawn his inspiration from the Lello bookshop in Porto in the early 1990s, in particular to describe the stairs of the Flourish and Blotts store.
Located in the historic centre of Porto, the bookshop has become a real tourist attraction for fans of the most famous wizard in history, Harry Potter. Only, most visitors, up to 4,000 a day, were not necessarily customers of the shop, whose business was getting worse and worse, to the point that the shop was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2014. The management then had a brilliant idea: charging admission to the premises. And the magic worked, bailing out the finances of this veritable institution to allow it to continue its beautiful history.
5€ is the price of a ticket to visit this atypical, historical and magical bookstore. However, this voucher is not totally lost, the price being deductible from a possible purchase in the shop. The aim is of course to transform the visit into a purchase and thus to keep the company going.
A bookstore that inspires
J.K. Rowling is not the only one to have been overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. The bookstore served as the set for the Brazilian film O Xangô de Baker Street by Miguel Faria Jr. (2001), adaptation of the eponymous book by Jô Soares written in 1995.
With its white façade, huge book shelves, characteristic central staircase and huge glass roof, the bookshop is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.
Whether you’re a fan of Harry Potter or just curious about one of the most emblematic shops in Portugal’s second city, go to Porto to set yourself on English time in Portugal.
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By Damien Duarte
Passionné par la culture pop depuis son enfance, ses références vont de Donald Duck à Batman en passant par Marty McFly. Fantripper dans l'âme, voyager sur les traces de Ghostbusters, James Bond ou des héros de romans comme Cotton Malone fait partie d'un séjour idéal et réussi !