Everyone visits Lisbon, but Portugal's soul is in Porto...
So I'm told and they may be right! Porto is one of my favourite cities, not to be missed. See city map showing stations.
Porto Campanhã is Porto's main station, located 2.5 km (1.5 miles) east of Porto's old city. Express trains to Lisbon & Faro and the international trains to Vigo in Spain leave from here. However, when you arrive at Campanhã I recommend hopping on a frequent suburban train to the lovely Porto São Bento in the old city.
Porto São Bento is a 6-platform terminus in the heart of the old city a 6 minute 450m walk from Porto's iconic Luis I bridge and my favourite Vincci Ponte de Ferro Hotel. The beautiful azulejo tiling in the booking hall makes São Bento station a tourist attraction in its own right. Trains along the scenic Douro valley to Pinhao & Pocinho usually start from São Bento, picking up at Porto Campanhã a few minutes later.
Porto Campanhã
Porto Campanhã is a relatively small station, beautifully kept and a pleasure to use. It opened in 1875, with Eiffel's imposing all-steel Ponte Dona Maria Pia across the Douro opening in 1877, carrying the railway across the Douro to complete the line to Lisbon. See city map showing location.
Above, the main station building is on the right. The office block in the background sits above terminus platforms 11-16.
Above, the main building and main station entrance into the ticket hall.
Tickets & reservations
The main station entrance takes you directly into the ticket hall. One ticket counter on the far left is for international tickets. Other counters are either for Alfa Pendular, Intercity & regional tickets, or for suburban tickets.
Above, the ticket hall. The doorway on the right takes you into the hall pictured below left, and onto platform 1.
Platforms
Platform 1 is adjacent to the main station building. There are steps, an escalator & a lift down into the subway to platforms 2-9.
Platforms 1-9 are through platforms, trains to Lisbon, Faro & Porto São Bento use these. On Alfa Pendular & Intercity trains, the first class cars are always at the Lisbon/southern end of the train, 2nd class cars at the Porto/northern end.
Platforms 11-16 are terminus (dead end) platforms for trains heading north, including the international Celta trains to Vigo. These terminus platforms sit under the office block visible in the photo at the top of this page. To reach them, walk out of the main building onto platform 1, turn left and walk along platform 1. Or you can walk across the station forecourt and through the glass doors under the office block straight onto these platforms.
Platform 1, adjacent to the main station building, seen from platform 2. Note the escalator & lift down into the subway to platforms 2-9.
Platform 2-9, seen from platform 1.
Platforms 11-16, with a Celta regional express arrived from Vigo on platform 13.
Luggage lockers
There are luggage lockers in the subway linking platforms 1-9. The lockers accept coins, notes & bank cards. You pay up front for the first hour and pay the remainder when retrieving your bag. See the left luggage page for prices. How to use the lockers.
Somewhere to eat & drink
There's a decent cafe on platform 1, at the south end of the main building.
Local transport
Walking
Porto Campanhã is 2.5 km east of Porto city centre and the iconic Ponte Luis I, see walking map.
Metro
Porto has a metro, see en.metrodoporto.pt. Campanhã is on lines A, B, C & E. These will take you to various metro stations the old city if you like, personally I prefer taking a suburban train to São Bento station as explained below.
Taxis
The taxi rank is outside the station exit. Taxi fare calculator: www.taxi-calculator.com/taxi-fare-porto/482.
Transfer to São Bento by suburban train
It's a 35-minute 2.5 km walk from Porto Campanhã to the city centre, it's better to take a suburban train to the beautiful São Bento station in the heart of the old town. Suburban trains run from Porto Campanhã to Porto São Bento every 5-15 minutes taking 4 minutes. You can look up times at www.cp.pt or the CP app on your phone. Sit on the left hand side going towards São Bento for your first glimpses of the Douro and Porto's iconic iron bridge. This transfer is free of charge if you have a mainline ticket to Porto Campanhã, in the hour after your mainline train arrives.
Porto São Bento
Built between 1904 & 1916 (although the station itself opened in 1896), Porto São Bento station is a tourist attraction in its own right because of the beautiful azulejo tiling in the main hall. The station handles suburban trains (Urbano, U) and some InterRegional trains (IR) including those along the scenic Douro valley to Pocinho. See Wikipedia about São Bento station. See city map showing location.
Porto São Bento exterior, with building works for the new metro pink line.
Station hall, entrance on the right, platforms to the left. Note the main departure board. Click the image for a larger photo.
Click the images for larger photos.
I've never seen so many people taking photos of a station (it's normally just me!). Click the image for a larger photo.
The station is a terminus, so there's easy level access between main hall and all platforms. There are 6 platforms, numbered 1 to 6 from left to right.
Luggage lockers
There are luggage lockers just off the main hall. These lockers only accept coins. You pay up front for the first hour and pay the remainder when retrieving your bag. See the left luggage page for prices. How to use the lockers.
Somewhere to eat & drink
There are basic food kiosks on the station and a cafe in the station building.
The Tapabento restaurant (tapabento.com) has been highly praised, it's on the station itself near platform 1. Open for lunch & dinner Wednesday to Sunday, closed Monday & Tuesday, advance reservation essential. If you get any good photos of the restaurant or food, or find any other great restaurants nearby, let me know!
Local transport
Walking
Porto São Bento is in the old town, walking distance from all the sights. The iconic Ponte Luis I is just a 6 minute 450m walk away, see walking map.
Metro
Porto has a metro, see en.metrodoporto.pt. São Bento is served by metro line D, this is in fact a tram which runs at surface level, it'll take you from the tram stop in the street outside São Bento station across the iconic Luis I bridge to Jardim de Morro stop on the far side, near the Vincci Ponte de Ferro Hotel.
Taxis
You'll find taxis in the streets outside the station. Taxi fare calculator: www.taxi-calculator.com/taxi-fare-porto/482.
Transfer to Campanhã by suburban train
It's a 35-minute 2.5 km walk from the city centre to Porto Campanhã, it's better to take a suburban train from São Bento station to Campanhã. Suburban trains run from Porto São Bento to Porto Campanhã every 5-15 minutes taking 4 minutes. You can look up times at www.cp.pt or the CP app on your phone. Sit on the right hand side going towards Campanhã for your last glimpses of the Douro and Porto's iconic iron bridge. This transfer is free of charge if you have a mainline ticket from Porto Campanhã, in the hour before your train leaves.
Ponte de Dona Maria Pia
A few hundred metres upstream from the Ponte Luis I (and often confused with it) is the Ponte de Dona Maria Pia. It was built in 1877 by Gustave Eiffel's company to carry the single-track railway south from Porto Campanhã towards Lisbon. Once the longest single-arch bridge in the world, it was replaced in 1991 by the new concrete double-track Ponte de São João bridge you see in the background. If you arrive in Porto by train from Lisbon, you'll cross the Ponte de São João and see the Ponte de Dona Maria Pia on your left. The Maria Pia bridge is now trackless, but it's not open to the public so you can't cross it.
Hotel in Porto: Vincci Ponte de Ferro
If you are going to splurge anywhere, do it in Porto and stay at the Vincci Ponte de Ferro Hotel, just south of Porto's iconic Ponte Luis I.
The hotel is a 12-minute 900m walk from São Bento station, see walking map. The hotel entrance & reception are shown by the arrow in the photo below, at the southern end of the Ponte Luis I on the hotel's 14th floor, level with the upper roadway used by pedestrians & trams. There aren't many hotels where you have to take a lift down from reception, changing lifts at floor 10 to reach a room on the 8th floor! The hotel also has an exit from its lowest floor if you want to cross the Douro on the lower-level roadway of the Ponte Luis I. Check prices & book.
Above, the Vincci Ponte de Ferro Hotel on the hillside south of the Ponte Luis I.
Cava at breakfast? Don't mind if I do. Pay for a room with view, you won't regret it.
The view from my bedroom window: The Ponte Luis I was opened in 1886.
And by night...