Igreja do Carmo

Igreja do Carmo tickets: which one to buy

The Carmo church stands on the corner of the Praca de Carlos Alberto in central Porto, near the university and the Clerigos tower, and its great wall of blue and white tiles is one of the most photographed sights in the city. Entry to the church is free; a small ticket gives access to a museum route through the adjoining buildings, including the brotherhood rooms, the catacombs and the famous narrow house between the two churches.

Almost every walking tour of Porto passes here, since the church is on the route between the Livraria Lello bookshop, the Clerigos tower and the Aliados avenue. Tram line 22 stops nearby. The side of the church faces a busy street, and the best view of the tiles is from across the road. The church is active, so visiting pauses during services. It is one of the essential stops in Porto. The museum route is not suitable for wheelchairs because of the narrow stairs.

Visiting Igreja do Carmo: what to see

What looks like one church is actually two. The Carmelite church, on the left, was built in the early seventeenth century, and the church of the Third Order of Carmel, on the right, was built between 1756 and 1768 in a rich rococo style. The Third Order was not allowed to share a wall with the older church, so between them stands a house barely a metre and a half wide, one of the narrowest in Portugal, which was lived in until the twentieth century and can be visited on the museum route.

The famous tile panel covering the side wall of the Third Order church was added in 1912 and depicts the founding of the Carmelite order and the legend of Mount Carmel in shades of blue. Inside, both churches have elaborate gilded wood altarpieces. The museum route leads through the sacristy, the brotherhood's meeting rooms and the burial galleries beneath. The rococo facade of the Third Order church carries statues of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, the founders of the order.

Igreja do Carmo opening hours and the best time to go

Porto is busy from spring to autumn, and the area around the Clerigos tower and the Lello bookshop is crowded from mid-morning. Early morning light on the tiles is best for photographs, and the church is quieter then. The museum route has timed tickets at busy periods. Porto is rainy in winter, but the churches and museums make good rainy-day visits.

The festival of Saint John on the night of 23 June is the city's greatest party, with crowds, fireworks and street celebrations. Evening in the area around the church is lively with bars and restaurants. Allow twenty minutes for the churches and about forty minutes for the museum route, and cross the square to see the tiles as a whole. The tram museum and the riverside are a short ride away on the historic tram line.