To mark World Book and Copyright Day, which takes place on April 23rd, we decided to remember some of Porto’s best-known bookstores. By definition, these places negotiate books old and used, so they are sort of ‘resistant’ to the passage of time.
Today, although there are fewer of them, it is still possible to find good bookshops in the city, where books are the main protagonists, in a shared passion for literature between buyer and owner.
Soon, we will also write about the most beautiful bookshops from Porto, but until that content arrives, you can always (re)visit the best libraries of the city and/or take the opportunity to immerse yourself in this themed guide. Let’s go?
Table Of Contents
1 – Bookshop Alfarrabista Académica
With over a century of existence, this is one of the oldest bookshops in Porto.
It’s a real historic store specializing in Portuguese-language authors and covering a wide range of topics. You can also find works in other languages, such as English, French and Spanish.
The Livraria Académica has long been a reference point in the city, and here you can find books for almost every wallet, not forgetting some rarities.
📍Rua dos Mártires da Liberdade, 10
2 – Bookshop Alfarrabista Candelabro
It’s in Rua de Cedofeita and dates back to 1952. It specializes in old and used books and has no specific area of focus. You can find everything here.
📍Rua de Cedofeita, 471,
3 – Moreira da Costa Alfarrabistas
It was founded in 1902 and is something of a family treasure, with the management of the bookshop now in the hands of the fifth generation.
The love of books is a constant and is in the DNA of this entire family, which continues to publish and go further for culture and literature.
📍Rua de Avis, 30
4 – Livraria Chaminé da Mota
It is one of Porto’s best-known bookstores and is located on the Rua das Flores. It was founded in 1981 and there you can find around a million alfarrabios (old and/or used books).
📍Rua das Flores, 28
5 – Livraria Alfarrabista Manuel Ferreira
It is one of the oldest bookshops in Porto, having been founded in 1959. Rare books, manuscripts and other paper documents are the center of activity at this bookstore.
In addition, this bookshop’s “mission”, like all other bookshops, is to promote old books.
📍R. Dr. Alves da Veiga, 89
6 – In-Libris
It was founded in 1996. Born in a more technological age, the passion for touching books has transcended all barriers and In-Libris has opened its doors to share this passion and promote the book in all its facets.
📍Rua do Carvalhido, 194
7 – Alfarrabista João Soares
This bookshop sells and exchanges new, old and used books. It was on Rua das Flores for over 20 years and can now be visited on Rua Formosa.
📍R. Formosa, 231
8 – TimtimPorTimtim
This is a different kind of bookshop, as it sells old comic books. But that’s not all!
Here you can also find magazines about soccer and other sports, movies, sticker books and other elements from the fantastic universe of comics.
📍R. da Conceição, 27-29
9 – Lumière Bookshop
It opened its doors in 2001 in Galerias Lumière, but is now in Rua Formosa. In this bookshop, books are king, but they are also joined by other books, vinyl records, postcards and maps, among other things (old and/or used).
📍R. Formosa, 197