Tourist Circuit

Known for its numerous foreigners, especially Spaniards and French, the "Paris" is also known for hosting famous names from the Portuguese cultural scene. Such as the novelist Eça de Queiroz in 1866, in the weeks leading up to his wedding. Also, Guerra Junqueiro, the most popular Portuguese poet of the late nineteenth century, stayed here in 1885, the year in which he was also one of the most prominent visual artists of the Belle Epoque In Portugal, Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro chose the hotel for a stay in the city. However, it is the presence of the writer Camilo Castelo Branco that stands out most, especially in room 17. It was here that, in 1848, the then-young bohemian settled (it was still the "Hospedaria Francesa") and spent much time writing, particularly for the newspaper then printed on the ground floor. He would return to "Paris," now as Portugal's most popular and renowned ultra-romantic writer, leaving numerous references to the hotel in his work, including references to periods of convalescence duly attended by the cook Gertrudes. Camilo would fall in love with a young poet who lived on the adjacent Rua do Almada. Ana Plácido, however, would be forced by her family to marry a wealthy merchant, 24 years her senior. Their adulterous relationship with the writer would land them in prison for a year (1860), but they would emerge cleared at trial. In this cell, Camilo would write his most famous novel, "Amor de Perdição." In 1888, older and sicker, it was in this room, No. 17, that Camilo received the famous physician Ricardo Jorge. The blindness that had been developing, and which would lead to his suicide in 1890, was, however, irreversible.

Accessing an imposing marble staircase, guests at the "Paris" are welcomed into a spacious space. This area once housed the bar, where piano playing was commonplace since 1880. In the adjoining reading room, guests were offered daily newspapers in several languages. The reception area also provides access to other important spaces, such as the restaurant, garden, three beautifully decorated game rooms, and a hair and barber shop. Today, the bar remains in this area, and the old piano is an important reminder of the Belle Epoque era at the "Paris." Here, and in other areas of the hotel, you'll also find several "memory corners" whose display cases preserve old museum objects, including important technological innovations from that era, such as telephone and telephone equipment.

A year after the Paris opened, its restaurant opened in 1878, characterized by its quality service and its à la carte menu with a variety of meals daily. Spacious and luxurious, accessed through a glass door with large windows overlooking the gardens, it is now the breakfast space. The venue for popular dinner concerts from 1881 onwards, which continued into the night, the restaurant also became famous for its garden lighting and, between 1888 and 1907, for the banquets hosted by Joseph Aufrère, then a partner in the hotel. A privileged venue for a wide range of gatherings, the "Paris" restaurant also served as a venue for important cultural and political events, such as a Republican Party dinner that included a prominent speech by poet Guerra Junqueiro, just five months before the revolution that led to the establishment of the Republic in 1910. Famous in the mid-20th century for its appetizers that circulated between tables before meals on a double-decker cart, the hotel restaurant became a landmark in the city.

The hotel's garden is a surprising space, pleasant and welcoming, tucked away from the hustle and bustle despite its location in the heart of the city. Arranged around a small lake, its running water is curiously conveyed from the distant Arca d'Água springs through an underground aqueduct dating back to the early 17th century.
The stage for a first music soiree in 1879, in a brightly lit nighttime setting, the gardens of the “Paris” would host other artistic initiatives and, as an extension of the restaurant, would be lit up again from 1881 onwards to host dinner concerts.

The recent renovations to the "Paris," seeking to restore its original Belle Epoque atmosphere, preserved the space of the old telephone booth. A notable technological innovation, the first telephone rang in this hotel in 1900. The same year that the most famous Portuguese novelist of the 19th century, Eça de Queirós, died in Paris, where he was consul. His last novel, "The City and the Mountains," is an excellent reflection on the relationship between the traditional world and modernity and the profound technological innovations of the Belle Epoque . Having a strong connection to the city, where he had spent part of his childhood and studied, Eça stayed at the "Paris" in 1885-86, in the days leading up to his wedding to Emília de Castro in February 1886, whose family mansion was located about a kilometer away. At that time, there was still no telephone, so the groom sent notes to his beloved via messenger from the Grand Hotel Paris.

A distinguished building from the second half of the 19th century, the Grande Hotel de Paris displays, in its architecture, construction materials, and decorative motifs, many of the key characteristics of Porto residences of that era. A substantial property with several floors and having undergone several extensions, it boasts a significant and functional set of stairs, especially since the elevator was only introduced in 1966. These extensive stairs are the origin of the use of skylights, a traditional architectural strategy and a hallmark of Porto, which ensures natural lighting in the stairwell and has become a ubiquitous element in the city's image.