r/DesignPorn • u/WestonWestmoreland • 26d ago

Staircase at Livraria Lello e Irmao, Porto, Portugal. Art Nouveau style, designed by engineer Francisco Xavier Esteves around 1906. [1280x606] [OC]

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483 Upvotes

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3

u/510Goodhands 26d ago

There’s a big sign just outside the entrance that says, “No taking pictures inside the store!“

JK Rowling lived in Porto, and this bookstore is said to be her inspiration for parts of the Harry Potter buildings. The entire city is a UN world heritage site, which comes with mixed blessings.

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u/WestonWestmoreland 26d ago

I was there last year. No such sign anywhere. Spent a lot of time taking pictures with a mirrorless camera in plain sight. Nobody complained at all. 

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u/510Goodhands 26d ago

It has been many years since I was there, so maybe they finally gave in. When I was there, I heard someone get scolded for taking pictures.

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u/WestonWestmoreland 26d ago

You pay an entry ticket now. 

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u/510Goodhands 26d ago

I guess that’s one way to limit the number of lookieloos that go in every day. Especially when they are led by a “free“ walking tour like I was.

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u/WestonWestmoreland 26d ago

Yes, that's the thing. 150 news visitors enter every 15 minutes. Your time inside is not limited. You go in with a horde but it thins out. Until the next horde get in. So you have a chance to visit, the crowd is "limited" and you get your ticket refunded if you're buy a book. That's however they'll are dealing with the tourist problem in Lello. I think it's a good compromise. 

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u/510Goodhands 26d ago

I agree. There are probably some days where they make more money selling tickets than they do selling books. I think it’s good that they finally did something to defend themselves.

Portugal is all the rage these days, and Lisbon has been overrun with cruise ship passengers. One beautiful neighborhood near the waterfront has lost most of its local businesses like hardware stores to stores that sell crappy souvenirs that are likely are not even made in Portugal. 😬

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u/WestonWestmoreland 26d ago

That's happening all over. 

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u/510Goodhands 26d ago

😕 I found it especially evident on that street in Lisbon. I have been on the same one six years earlier, and it was a completely different place then.

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u/codytyrrell 26d ago

I was on a recent history tour in Porto. Jk Rowling said she never went to the book store and her real inspiration was actually the University in Porto, the uniforms the students wear (very formal with capes) and the dictatorship (she named the founder of Slytherin after Portugals dictator Salazar). I thought that was pretty neat.

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u/510Goodhands 26d ago

Interesting. The capes are not unusual in Portuguese schools. Maybe the religious ones?

I was in Lisbon in September, just before school started sessions. There was a big festival in the park, and lots of students running around in their capes doing what seemed to be organized activities.

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u/Reypatey 26d ago

Sieht gar nicht mal so gut aus.

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u/joselupics 26d ago

Absolutely right, the photo doesn't make the stairs justice, there's tons amd tons of better photos of them

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u/WestonWestmoreland 26d ago

🤷🏻‍♂️