It's all about Harry

Today was a walking day, the most efficient way to get around the busy and narrow streets of Porto.

We began by visiting Lello Bookstore, often referred to as the most beautiful bookstore in the world, and one of the inspirations for JK Rowling when she wrote Harry Potter (she lived in Porto from 1991 to 1995).

The shop has lengthy queues to enter, so to quell demand they charge 5 euro to enter (which comes off any purchase)... but there is still a considerable queue to buy tickets, and a crowd inside all day.

To save time waiting in the queue, Rui bought our tickets while we visited the nearby Carmo and Carmelitas Churches.

What looks like the biggest church in the city is actually two churches separated by one of the world’s narrowest houses. The 3-storey house Casa Escondida ("Hidden House") was, according to legend, built so that the two churches would not share a common wall and to prevent any relations between the nuns of Carmelitas and the monks of Carmo.
Another suggestion is that the building was constructed for purely aesthetic reasons to prevent an unsightly gap between the two churches.

Near the churches is the Fountain of the Lions (and the model for the Gryffindor mascot in Harry Potter)

Next stop was to climb the Tower of Clerigos, built in 1754 (and bearing a strong resemblance to the Astronomy Tower in Harry Potter).

The train station in Porto, São Bento, is quite spectacular - it's UNESCO Heritage listed and has 20,000 azulejo tiles depicting important events in the history of Portugal... and a Platform 9 and 3/4 feel about it!

We then walked across the Douro River on the Luis 1 Bridge, a double deck metal arch bridge, browsed the market stalls, had some lunch, then returned to Porto via the lower deck... and a number of caches.

Dinner was a local speciality, suckling pig, at a local restaurant.Read more