In the centre of the city of Porto in Portugal is a fascinating house – but thousands walk past it every day without noticing.
The tiny 1.5-metre wide Casa Escondido is nestled between two churches – the Igreja dos Carmelitas and Igreja do Carmo – and is the city’s ‘narrowest house’.
The building looks like one enormous church at a first glance – but it’s actually three separate buildings.
The house itself is so thin it almost looks like a wall, characterised only by a simple green door and two windows, meaning it’s hidden in plain sight.
The unique structure featured in tonight’s episode of George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces on Channel 4, where the host took viewers inside.
Built in 1768, the property was surprisingly spacious, with a living room, bedroom, study and bedroom – looking like something out of Harry Potter.
‘Now that is amazing,’ said George as he walked inside. ‘The door on the front facade is only just over a metre wide. It actually just opens up a tiny bit and gets just a little bit wider.’
Inside was an impressive spiral staircase, as the building spread out over three floors.

Can you spot the hidden house? George Clarke visited Porto on last night’s Amazing Spaces
George explained that the church on the left was built for Carmelite nuns in the seventeenth century, with the church on the right for monks in the eighteenth century.
The ‘secret house’ in between was supposedly built to separate the monks and nuns – while other local rumours suggest it could have been down to legal regulations stating that two churches couldn’t share a wall.
George explained: ‘What’s amazing is that inside, it’s so simple. You’ve got two decorative churches either side, and in between is just whitewashed walls, timber flooring. It’s like being in a monk’s cell.
‘Thousands of people must walk past this building every single day and have no idea that that’s there.’
The property was inhabited until the 1980s by chaplains, artists, doctors and the church’s caretaker.
Despite the pared-back interior, visitors can soon find themselves in the opulence of the church simply by walking through a curtain.
Curious travellers can even take a look for themselves, with tickets costing five euros including access to the museum.
Last week, George was left speechless by the ‘best’ campervan renovation he’d ever seen.

The tiny 1.5-metre wide Casa Escondido is nestled between two churches – the Igreja dos Carmelitas and Igreja do Carmo

George Clarke was surprised by how spacious the property was inside

The hallway appeared to ‘open up’ like something out of Harry Potter

Despite the pared-back interior, a simple curtain separated it from the opulence of the church

At first glance, the house merely appeared to be a wall between the churches

The outside was simply characterised by a green door and two simple windows

There was an impressive spiral staircase that took the property over three floors

The bedroom featured simple decor, but was surprisingly spacious compared to how it looked outside

It was allegedly built to separate the monks and the nuns. Pictured: The dining room

Visitors can take a look for themselves for just five euros. Pictured: The study
Back in 2019, James Catling had left his job as a property developer to follow his lifelong dream of restoring old Airstream silver bullet campervans in Oxfordshire.
He’d flown to Boston in the hope of claiming one of the most priceless models of them all – a 1947 Airstream, currently the seventh oldest in the world.
His find was incredibly rare – with original Airstream signs on the back and front, only used in the first few years of their production.
But battered and lacking in its famous shine, the prized find needed hours of work and ‘deep pockets’ to restore to its original state.
The episode witnessed James polishing the metal to make it look brand new, adding 800 new rivets and new panels, all while staying within his £40,000 budget.
And when George returned to see the final result at the end of the episode, he was simply blown away.
‘This looks absolutely amazing,’ he said, adding it was ‘the best’ he’d ever seen ‘without a shadow of a doubt’.
George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces airs at 9pm on Tuesdays on Channel 4.
[H/T Daily Mail]