Livaria Lello & Irmao is a must see on any bookstore quest. The red staircase brings people into the shop but the selection will make you stay. Most of the books were in Portuguese bu they had a surprisingly good selection of English language books as well as shelves in many other languages.  I picked up several books on Oporto’s history. The staircase is breath taking. We climbed up and had a cup of tea on the upper level in order to admire the architecture as well as the stunning stained glass ceiling.

We visited Livaria Lello & Irmao on a cold rainy day in November. Portugal is a beautiful country filled with friendly, interesting people but I don’t recommend visiting in November. Oporto is a charming city with some breathtaking churches and surprising Belle Epoque architecture. If you like to drink port, this is the place for you. We toured all the port houses and learned the finer points of this wonderful elixir. If you get a chance to visit, be sure to have some grilled octopus and a bowl of sopa verde.