Harry Potter: Magic in Porto

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Port and Potter in Porto

              Popcorn and passports make going around the world in movies possible for adventures in Porto with Potter and port.   Featuring old-world architecture with colorful tiles decorating buildings, Porto creates a magical ambiance suitable to movies. The city gives one English language arthouse film its title plus shows up in a regional hit, O Lugar do Morto (Dead Man’s Seat).  Otherwise, you might not know it when you see Porto on screen.  That it plays Brazil in a Sherlock Holmes movie (O Xangô de Baker Street/A Samba for Sherlock) makes sense—everyone speaks Portuguese. You also see the city as Latin America in a couple of English language projects, The Dancer Upstairs and 1993’s House of the Spirits. But the biggest movie tie comes from inspiration rather than actual filming. Back in the 90s moving to Porto and working as an English as a Second language teacher, J.K. Rowling spent her spare time working on a book about magic and wizards. Yup, Harry Potter. Rowling admits to using the last name of former Portuguese dictator Antonio Slyterin to represent evil. While early confirmation never came about a Porto bookstore that fits the description of one in the books, Potterheads quickly made a connection.

              That link makes Livraria Lello a Potterhead pilgrimage site and one suited to set- jetters. Harry Potter moves screen all day inside. Outside, greeters dress like Potter characters, hanging around and talking to patrons in line—yes in line for a bookstore! It costs money to go inside, but the fee goes towards a book if you buy one.

              Harry Potter always thrived on wizardry, but it qualifies as magical when a bookstore serves as a city’s biggest tourist draw.