Palácio da Bolsa (Bolsa Palace) is one of the few places in Porto where visits require some planning. The former stock exchange is only open to the public as part of a 45-minute guided tour, and it’s obvious how popular this tour is by the number of coaches dropping off tourists in front of the building. Tours sell out quickly. The other way to visit is to take part in a conference or event held there or, in my case, wait until an open house occasion when the city makes a small number of visits free, then race to the counter early to nab a ticket.
There are two, sometimes three open house events each calendar year when Palácio da Bolsa may open their doors for free visits on the weekend around:
- Dia Nacional dos Centros Históricos (National Day of Historic Centres on March 28);
- International Day for Monuments and Sites, April 18;
- and more recently, Open House Porto, which is in either late June or early July.
On National Day of Historic Centres in March, I was finally able to fetch tickets to two places high on my “To-See List”: Palácio da Bolsa and Igreja de São Francisco. (There is no photography allowed in São Francisco Church, so I have only a few catacomb pictures from that tour.)
Confession: I’m not a multi-tasker. If I’m on a tour and listening to the guide, I’m not setting up my next picture and vice versa. When I’m on a Portuguese tour, I have to practically lean in and block everything else out to figure out what’s going on. That day I was partial to photography as it’s taken me quite a while to finally see Bolsa Palace. Thus, I didn’t retain much information from the tour, but I’m curious how different it was from a regular foreign tourist tour. I’m usually the only foreigner attending these open house events and guides speak at high speed about Portuguese history in front of a Portuguese audience, leaving me in the dust. I’m used to it. There are nine centuries of history and it’s going to take me some time to learn about it!
For commentary, I point you to journalist Leyla Giray Alyanak’s excellent travel blog Women On The Road, where she writes about visiting Bolsa Palace in 2013.
Without further ado, the photos, starting with the entrance.
Escadaria Nobre (Noble Staircase)
Sala das Assembleias Gerais (General Assembly Room)
Gabinete de Gustave Eiffel (Gustave Eiffel’s Chamber)
Sala do Telegrapho (Telegraph Room)
Other Rooms/Hallway
Sala do Presidente (President’s Room)
Pátio das Nações (Patio of the Nations)
Sala dos Retratos (Portrait Room)
Salão Árabe (Arab Hall)
This is at the end of the tour and the main reason visitors flock to Bolsa Palace.
Photography notes:
- It is insanely difficult to properly white balance in the Arabian Room, between the glittery and semi-reflective surfaces, the natural light at the top, and the fluorescent lighting.
- 18 of the 38 photos were taken by Paulo.
March 25, 2017
Album: Palácio da Bolsa, Porto
For more information about Palácio da Bolsa and to book a tour, visit their website:
http://www.palaciodabolsa.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palaciobolsa
Rua Ferreira Borges, 4050-253 Porto
Tel: 223 399 000
As of this writing, the tour fee is €8.50 for adults, €5 for students/seniors.