Sao Francisco Church, Porto: Gilded Interior and Catacombs

From the street, the Igreja de São Francisco looks like a plain Gothic church above the Ribeira. Inside, almost every surface is carved wood covered in gold, and beneath the complex are catacombs with an ossuary. Here’s what to see and what the ticket covers.

Quick answer: one ticket, about €9 for adults, covers the gilded church, the museum in the Casa do Despacho and the catacombs. The ticket office is open daily from 9am to 8pm (April to September) or 7pm (October to March). Allow 45 minutes to an hour. The Palácio da Bolsa is next door.

Why go

Porto has plenty of gilded churches, but none goes as far as this one. The contrast is the point: a sober Gothic shell with three naves, filled with baroque carving from the 17th and 18th centuries. The 19th-century Count Raczynski called it the “church of gold”.

A short history

Franciscan friars were given land here in 1233. The present church was begun in 1383 under King Fernando I and finished in the early 15th century. From the 1600s to the mid-1700s, Porto’s woodcarvers covered its walls, columns and vaults in talha dourada, carved wood finished with gold leaf.

During the siege of Porto in the early 1830s, a fire destroyed the convent buildings, but the church survived. The Palácio da Bolsa now stands on the site of the old cloister. When Portugal abolished its religious orders in 1834, the church became a customs warehouse. In 1839 it was handed to the Third Order of St Francis, a lay brotherhood founded in 1633 that still runs it. It has been a National Monument since 1910.

Today it’s visited as a museum rather than used as a parish church. You may hear it was closed to worship for being too lavish for the poor city around it, but the real turning point was the convent’s closure in 1834, so treat that story as legend.

What you see inside

The gilded church

Gold covers the high altar, the transept chapels and the side altarpieces. How much? Guides quote anything from about 100kg to 400kg, but there’s no reliable measured figure.

• The Tree of Jesse: the star piece, carved by Filipe da Silva and António Gomes under a 1718 contract. Twelve kings of Judah sit on a family tree growing from the reclining Jesse and rising to the Virgin and Child.
• Senhora da Rosa: left of the entrance, a medieval wall painting attributed to António Florentim, among the oldest surviving murals in Portugal.
• St Francis in granite: right of the entrance, a painted 13th-century statue.

The museum in the Casa do Despacho

The order’s meeting house was rebuilt in 1747 to 1749 to a design by Nicolau Nasoni, the architect of the Clérigos Tower. Downstairs, the Treasure Room shows sacred art from the order’s history. Upstairs, the Session Room has an octagonal coffered ceiling picked out in gold.

The catacombs

The order’s benefactors were buried in this underground cemetery from 1749 to 1866. The oldest part has a gilded baroque altar; the rest is rows of black tomb slabs set into white walls. In the ossuary, thousands of bones lie under glass at your feet. Young children may find it unsettling.

Tickets and opening hours in 2026

• Price: about €9 for ages 13 and over, €6.50 for students and €2.50 for ages 6 to 12; under-6s free. The order’s website doesn’t publish prices, so these come from recent listings.
• Included: the church, the museum and the catacombs, seen as one route, bought at the desk.
• Hours: daily 9am to 8pm from 1 April to 30 September, and 9am to 7pm from 1 October to 31 March. Closed on 25 December.
• Porto Card: older guides mention a discount, but sales were reported suspended in July 2026.

Prices and hours change, so check before you go.

Photos and timing

• Photos: usually banned inside the church itself, though visitors report them allowed in the museum and catacombs. Rules have changed over the years, so check at the desk, and never use flash.
• How long: about 45 minutes to an hour.

Combine it with nearby sights

• Palácio da Bolsa: next door, by guided tour only, so book a slot and see São Francisco before or after. Allow about two hours for both. See the Palácio da Bolsa guide.
• The Ribeira: the riverfront is just downhill. See the Ribeira.
• Tram 1: it starts at Infante, below the church, and runs along the river to Foz in about 25 minutes (€6 on board). See Porto’s historic trams.
• Rainy days: the Bolsa and São Francisco make a good wet morning. See Porto on a rainy day.

Book ahead: English tours of the Bolsa fill up from spring to autumn. Book on the Bolsa’s own website, or see Palácio da Bolsa tickets.

FAQ

How much does it cost to visit São Francisco church in Porto?

About €9 for adults in 2026, including the museum and catacombs.

Can you take photos inside São Francisco church?

Usually not in the church itself. Check the signs on the day, and never use flash.

How much gold is in São Francisco church?

Nobody has a reliable figure. Guides quote about 100kg to 400kg of gold leaf.

Why is São Francisco no longer used for worship?

The friars left when the religious orders were abolished in 1834, and the church became a customs warehouse. Since 1839 the Third Order of St Francis has run it, mainly as a museum.

More: Porto’s most beautiful churches and the Igreja do Carmo guide.

See also: things to do in Porto, Porto in one day, the best museums in Porto and the best tours in Porto.

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