Latina is one of the most emblematic bookstores in Porto. It was founded in 1942 by Henrique Perdigão and is known for its façade, highlighting the bust of Luis de Camões. It was the first company in Portugal to create a literary contest, right in the year of its inauguration. The winner of the contest was Prof. José Hermano Saraiva who competed with the work “Vento vindo dos montes” using the pseudonym Simplicimus. Now part of the Leya group, Latina continues to offer its customers a wide range of books. Throughout its three floors you will find all the latest Portuguese and foreign literature, as well as technical, school, children’s and artistic books and travel guides.

Circo de Ideias is a publishing house, bookstore and architecture gallery. Located in the Bouça district, Circo de Ideias was founded in 2008 as a non-profit cultural association, with the aim of promoting the dissemination and study of architecture. The passion for books, for publishing, for curating, for architectural publications in particular, led the two architects, owners of this space, to edit books where there is a deliberate confrontation between the text, the image and the object. Their books are thought and edited by themselves to the limit, in a curatorial work whose result is the book itself. They have already edited books based on the work of Rem Koolhaas and Siza Vieira, for example.

The Essence of the Book is, as the name suggests, a bookshop. It was born from the owner’s passion for books and reading, and it is characterised by being an inviting, welcoming space, where customers can feel as if they were at home. For the owner, this is the factor that determines the return of customers to the shop. Open since 2021, the Essência do Livro offers the main novelties and launchings, but also promotes the sale of articles in outlet, which represents the possibility of finding excellent opportunities there. Not to be missed.