PALÁCIO DA BOLSA
This grandiose former stock exchange building, designed by Porto architect Joaquim da Costa Lima Júnior, was built in the style of a Neo-Classical palace in a bid to encourage wealthy traders to invest in the city’s various enterprises and trading ventures. While the exterior appears somewhat restrained, the extravagant interior decor is testament to the obscene levels of wealth enjoyed by Portugal’s 19th-century elites.
NEED TO KNOW
Rua Ferreira Borges • 223 399 013 • Open Apr–Oct: 9am–6:30pm daily; Nov–Mar: 9am–1pm & 2–5:30pm daily • Visits via guided tours only; tours last 45 minutes and are available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese • Adm €11 (students & seniors €7.50, children under 12 free)
- The O Commercial restaurant in the Pátio das Nações courtyard serves Portuguese fare with a modern twist.
Palácio da Bolsa Floorplan
1. Court Room
Natural light floods through the vast windows, highlighting the vast and magnificent works of Galician-born Portuguese painter Veloso Salgado that cover the high French Renaissance-style walls and ceiling. The windows were returned to their former glory during an extensive restoration programme between 2007 and 2014.
The magnificient courtroom inside Palácio da Bolsa
2. Portrait Room
The cube-like pattern of the wooden floor creates a brilliant three-dimensional optical illusion for those visiting the small, Louis XVI-style Portrait Room. The room is dedicated to six kings of the Portuguese House of Braganza – Portugal’s ruling dynasty from 1640 until the formation of the republic in 1910.
3. Nobel Staircase
This sweeping granite staircase, designed by Gustavo Adolfo Gonçalves e Sousa in 1868, is engraved with ornate decorative details. A skylight above provides ample natural light. The two original chandeliers that hang above the staircase are a reminder that this was one of the first buildings in Porto to have electricity.
The ornately carved Nobel Staircase
4. Former Presidents Gallery
The converted office is dedicated to former presidents of the Porto Commercial Association, who still have their head-quarters here. Their portraits are proudly displayed in this room.
5. General Meeting Room
With a brilliant act of trickery, the architects used plaster to imitate real wood for the panels of this assembly room. They achieved an astonishingly realistic effect.
6. Arab Room
Gustavo Adolfo Gonçalves de Sousa designed and built this mesmerizing room – easily the highlight of the palace. Its construction took 18 years to complete, starting in 1862. He was inspired by the Alhambra in Granada, as can be seen in the Arabian motifs and shapes.
The mesmerizing interiors of the Arab Room at Palácio da Bolsa
7. Gustave Eiffel’s Room
Gustave Eiffel visited the Palácio da Bolsa while he was making plans to build the Ponte Dona Maria Pia. This former study pays tribute to Eiffel, the pioneer of steel architecture.
8. Golden Room
The elegant floor and fine woodwork of the writing desks and cabinets sit beneath intricate, gilded stucco work on the ceiling.
9. Pátio das Nações
A huge glass dome covers the original trading floor. On the walls, twenty coats of arms represent Portugal’s most important trading partners.
Pátio das Nações at Palácio da Bolsa
10. Jury Room
Jurors gathered before a commercial court hearing in this elegant room. Portuguese painter Henrique Medina donated some paintings to the Porto Commercial Association and 12 are exhibited in this room.
