Where Art Meets Luxury: Porto’s Palacete Severo Unveils New Art Exhibition
• Located in the heart of Porto’s creative neighbourhood Cedofeita
• Perspective Galerie at the hotel presents Au-delà du Réel, a new group exhibition
• The 20-room hotel combines historic architecture, contemporary art, Michelin dining and discreet luxury
• Portugal’s second city is justifiably celebrated for its art, culture, food and wine
You might think you have walked into a living art gallery. Abstract canvases and ceramics are discreetly dotted around the hotel’s high-ceilinged rooms, wood-panelled library, and beautifully manicured gardens.
Yet the elegant 20-room Palacete Severo, one of Porto’s newest luxury hotels, is itself a work of art. Set among mature camellia trees, the yellow-walled palacete – Portuguese for ‘small palace’ – was designed by the celebrated Portuguese architect Ricardo Severo. With polished wooden floors, ochre walls and original stained-glass windows, it feels more like an elegant private residence than a hotel.
Located in the city’s creative neighbourhood Cedofeita, famous for its art galleries, craft boutiques and independent restaurants and bars, the mansion also serves as a revolving exhibition space for artists.
The hotel combines art, history and discreet luxury. Éon, the fine dining restaurant at the hotel, has just been awarded a 2026 Michelin Star (for its magnificent tasting menu created by chef Tiago Bonito), while the more informal Bistrô Severo, achieved ‘Michelin Recommended’ status in the 2026 guide.
And art is the beating heart of Palacete Severo. Hotel owner Géraldine Banier, also a gallerist, invites Portuguese and international artists to showcase at the Porto gallery – Perspective Galerie – located inside the hotel. The programme changes every four months and artworks are available to purchase, as a homage to Ricardo Severo’s love of art.
This winter, the hotel’s collection will be entirely transformed for Au-delà du Réel (Beyond the Real), a group exhibition featuring four invited artists: Fabienne Houzé-Ricard, Mireille Robbe, Juan Manuel Rodriguez and Madeleine Guiton. The exhibition will be on view and available to purchase until mid-January 2027.
Through painting, drawing and installation, the four artists explore the fragile territory in which reality, while remaining recognisable, begins to transform. A familiar object takes on a new presence; an old image acquires a different narrative; a landscape becomes an extension of memory; and an everyday scene is disrupted by the interplay of light and perception.
Au-delà du Réel questions the way in which we see and interpret the world, at a time when images occupy an increasingly significant place in our experience of it.
The exhibition explores the point at which the extraordinary emerges from the familiar – when looking at something differently allows another reality to appear.
Palacete Severo was Ricardo Severo’s first work in Porto, displaying different stylistic elements from all over Portugal, which is why it’s often called a “museum of details”. He built it in 1904 for his Brazilian wife Francisca Santos Dumont. It’s not often you get to stay in an architect’s dream house. And the couple’s love story is at the heart of the building. Key architectural elements have been preserved with black and white mosaic floors, hand-painted tiles (azulejos) and stuccoed ceilings.
There are just 20 bedrooms and suites. Eleven are in the original 20th-century building, with oak floors, thick wicker bedheads and stuccoed ceilings; while nine are in the new-build extension in the grounds. They all have their own character, from the former maid’s room, half way up the stairs under a sloping ceiling, to the original enclosed wooden balcony room and a garden suite apartment with separate sitting room area with a veranda overlooking the garden.
The decor is luxurious but understated. Modern comforts include high-thread-count linens and all marble-clad bathrooms come with showers and are stocked with amenities from Portuguese brand 8950, a fragrant blend of fig, almond and fennel.
Palacete Severo is home to two restaurants. On 10th March 2026, at the Michelin Guide Portugal gala, Éon Restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star in recognition of its imaginative cuisine, presentation and setting.
Led by Michelin-starred chef Tiago Bonito, Éon reinterprets Portuguese and Mediterranean classics using seasonal ingredients sourced from across Portugal. The tasting menu draws on the chef’s own memories and experiences of childhood.
Guests can choose between a nine-course tasting menu priced at €110 and a 14-course menu priced at €165, with wine pairing available from €65. Éon is open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday.
Bistrô Severo has achieved Michelin Recommended status. Situated in the hotel’s attractive internal tiled courtyard, it serves dishes including duck breast with sweet potato, pak choi and spices, and marinated asparagus with poached egg, hollandaise sauce and tarragon.
The restaurant offers lunch daily, with a weekly changing set menu based on local produce and a choice of two starters, three main courses and two desserts. Dinner is also served daily, with a more extensive à la carte menu.
The hotel bar offers delicious cocktails including a tonka bean sour, and there is a stunning library on the first floor ideal to hide away in with a book or magazine, a small gym and an elegant events room. In the hotel garden, you’ll find water fountains, formal and informal planting, and unique pieces of art, as well as the heated outdoor pool set with sleek sun loungers.
The wonderfully relaxing Spa Severo has a Turkish bath and Himalayan salt room. Treatments use French, plant-based Olivier Claire products (the first Portuguese hotel to offer the brand). Try the signature cellular-renewing facial, which includes a relaxing massage. Couples can enjoy a treatment room designed for two. And the candlelit massage is superb.
Porto is a vibrant coastal city, known for its grand bridges and port wine production. Since its founding in the 12th century, it has played a crucial role in Portugal’s development. More recently, the unique balance of tradition and contemporary energy has transformed Portugal’s second city. It is justifiably celebrated as a cultural and food and wine destination, shaped by years of history, creativity, seasonal ingredients, local grape varieties and craftsmanship.
The culinary landscape is evolving rapidly. Following the 2026 Michelin Guide Portugal awards, Porto now boasts 10 Michelin-starred restaurants, reflecting the growing ambition and international recognition of the city’s gastronomy.
The wider north of Portugal has long been an economic and industrial powerhouse. The Porto metropolitan area has historically been home to many of the country’s leading industries and today combines a strong industrial base with a diverse services sector and robust export economy. Tourism stretches far from the beating heart of Porto along the Douro Valley and across the wider northern region.
The joy of Palacete Severo is it’s a destination, rather than merely a base. Located on a quiet residential street, now named after Severo himself (Rua de Ricardo Severo), it is so central you can also walk to many of Porto’s famous cultural attractions including the Serralves – Museum of Contemporary Art, the Casa da Música, Dom Luís I Bridge, the Bolsa Palace and the Livraria Lello Book Store. The airport and main railway station are both a 20-minute drive away – as is the medieval waterfront of the Douro River and Avenida dos Aliados, with its designer shops.
A tribute to a modern vibrant city, Palacete Severo is a distinctive addition to Porto’s hotel landscape. Both the city and hotel are evolving and there has never been a more exciting time to take a break and discover Portugal’s second largest city.
palacetesevero.com
Rua de Ricardo Severo 21, 4050-460 Porto, Portugal
B&B is priced from €300.00 per room per night
Room categories:
Heritage Room and Garden Room – 28m2 – from €300.00 per room per night
Heritage Honour Room and Garden Honour Room – 33m2 – from €350.00 per room per night
Heritage Honour Suite and Garden Honour Suite – 38m2 – from €420.00 per room per night
Media: Peter da Silva Communications peter@peterdasilvacommunications.com
+44( 0) 7727084058
Getting there: From the UK Porto airport is served by five airlines: BA, TAP Air Portugal, easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2, from around 11 airports nationwide including London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Belfast. From Ireland Porto airport is served by Ryanair. Porto is three hours by train from Lisbon.
From the airport: Taxi, Uber, Bolt or Metro (Line E Purple) to Carolina Michaelis directly then a 10 minute walk. The Porto Metro runs from around 06.30am to 00.40am.
