Porto’s Bolhão market: when renovation keeps a place aliveSome renovations erase the soul of a place. Bolhão did the opposite. Reopened in 2022 after four years of work, Porto’s historic Bolhão market shows how a city can modernise infrastructure without losing what makes a place matter. Behind the restored Art Nouveau façade, everything has changed: better logistics, hygiene standards, cold storage, underground deliveries — all designed to make daily life easier for traders.And yet, the spirit is the same.The same voices, the same products, the same human connections that make Bolhão the heart of the city, visited by around 20,000 people every day. Financed with EU support, the renovation proves that investing in heritage isn’t about freezing the past — it’s about keeping it useful, welcoming and alive for the people who rely on it every day.