Many don't know it, but yes, the Harry Potter books saw their first pages in the famous city of Porto.
J.K. Rowling lived for many years in this beautiful city, where she was an English teacher and, in fact, gave birth to her first daughter.
This city is full of magic, literally, and if you are a Harry Potter fan, and enjoy traveling, exploring, and learning about the cities you visit, this Harry Potter tour in Porto, Portugal, must be on your bucket list.
Keep reading about this magical experience!
The Harry Potter tour was worth every minute of the 2-hour journey. Not only were we able to demonstrate all our Harry Potter knowledge, but we also got to put it into practice. Paloma, the guide, has a trivia prepared during the tour in which everyone can participate and earn points by answering questions for true Harry Potter fans. (Obviously, we won the trivia and took home the prize)
Besides being fun, we learned all about the life and works of J.K. Rowling. If you're not very familiar with the story of your favorite writer, you'll love getting to know her while exploring.
I also think one of my favorite parts of the tour was that, without realizing it, we learned a lot about the history of Portugal and real-life characters whose feats inspired the characters in the book. This made the tour the most incredible, fun, and magical one we've ever been on (and we've been on many; we love tours, haha!).
I don't want to tell you absolutely everything you'll see and learn on the Harry Potter tour in Porto, but I do want to share my favorite parts and also some things you'll want to keep in mind before taking the tour.
Café Majestic
This is the famous café where J.K. Rowling began writing the Harry Potter books. Although she may not have written the entire book there, some of its pages did originate here. On the tour, they'll tell you what about this café inspired J.K. Rowling to write about the Mirror of Erised (have you realized that Erised is "desire" spelled backward?).
Real Capes at the University of Porto
If you visit Porto, you might be struck by the sight of several young people dressed in Hogwarts uniforms. Well, there's something you should know: they are not fans like you and me walking around dressed as Harry Potter; in fact, this is the actual uniform of the students at the University of Porto, and J.K. Rowling was inspired by them to describe the famous robes of the school of witchcraft and wizardry. The reason these capes are still used by the students is more significant than you might think...
Lello Bookstore
This is the bookstore that is said to have inspired the Hogwarts library. You truly feel like you are surrounded by magical books. I recommend visiting it in the afternoon, as the bookstore gets very crowded in the mornings and the line to get in is very long. The tour does not include entry to the bookstore nor will you have free time to visit it, so I suggest organizing your day to take the tour and then visit the bookstore. Here is the link where you can purchase and reserve your visit.
The tour is free!
Yes, you read that right; this is a Free Tour, which means it is completely free, and you can cancel it at any time. Now, if you've never done a Free Tour, let me quickly explain how it works:
Free Tours are completely free, but at the end of the tour, it is customary to leave a tip for the guide. After all, they make their living from this, and it’s a way to thank them for their time and knowledge. The tip is voluntary, but it is customary to leave between 5 and 10 euros.
If you booked your Free Tour, do not cancel at the last minute. Free Tours have limited spots, and if you don't attend, other people may miss the opportunity to go. Additionally, if not enough people show up, the guides need a minimum of 7 people to start the tour, as they pay a commission to the tour platform, and without it, they don't make a profit.
Be punctual. They will wait a few minutes, but try not to delay the experience.
The tours are walking tours and last 2 hours without a break, so wear comfortable shoes and whatever you need to stay comfortable (a good jacket if it's cold; a water bottle if it's hot; an umbrella if it’s drizzling).
If you are interested in taking this Harry Potter Free Tour, here is the link to make your reservation HERE. Tell your guide you heard about it from us!
We hope you enjoy it as much as we did, fall in love with the city of Porto, which is beautiful, and learn a few things about Harry Potter. If you take the tour, let us know how it went in the comments. We would love to read about it!
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