Lisboa-Santa Apolónia (Lisboa / Lisbon)

The train services to/from Lisboa-Santa Apolonia include:

• Alfa Pendular trains to/from Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra and Porto
• Intercidades trains to/from Aveiro, Braga, Casa Branca, Coimbra, Covilha, Entroncamento, Guarda, Guimaraes, Pombal, Porto, Valenca and Villa Formosa
• Regional trains to/from Entroncamento and Tomar.

Santa Apolonia station in Lisbon is a fabulous example of an old station, it was opened in 1865, being revamped for the needs of contemporary travellers.
The work to clean and repaint the station was completed in early 2024.

It is a terminal station so access to and from the trains is step-free - though all but the doors at the very front of the stations have steps.
The station also has a simple layout with its main hall at the front of the building, which houses the ticket desks and the left-luggage lockers - though note that the luggage facilities are managed by an independent company.

The main feature of Lisboa-Santa Apolonia is its central nave, with it's roof which spans the city ends of linhas (platforms / tracks) 3 and 5, so these are steps away from the entrance hall - note that there is no linha 4.
The cafe and the toilets (50c charge) within the station are on linha 3 and there is a small supermarket, useful for purchasing food and drink for a journey, on linha 5.

Construction work around the station

Work has begun on a tunnel for the city's new sanitation system and one of the main construction sights is immediately in front of Santa Apolonia station.
It has resulted in the following changes, which will likely be in place for a number of years:

• The smart taxi rank in front of the station has been temporarily closed down - So the rank is now on the street to the right hand side of Santa Apolonia, when arriving by train. Though note that this is a narrow one-way street on which the traffic has to take an opposite direction to the city centre.
• The bus stop used by local routes from the city centre has also been closed.
  The construction is inevitably causing traffic congestion in the surrounding area, so allow extra time to reach the station by car.

Yes, you can simply walk on and off the linhas (platforms /tracks) which the trains use.
Though the only step-free access between the stations and surrounding streets is to use the entrance/exit in the middle of the main hall at the very front of the station building.

There are lifts /elevators which provide step-free access between the Metro trains and the mainline trains.

Lisbon-Santa Apolonia rail station is closer to the city centre than the two other stations used by express trains to and from Lisbon; at Entrecampos and Oriente.
Though Santa Apolonia is located some distance from the tourist heart of the city, as it had to be squeezed in between the River Tagus and the hills of São Vicente.

Because it's by the river, it is a level walk between the station and the Praça do Comércio, which is adjacent to the primary tourist area of Baixa, but it would take around 20-30mins, as the distance is around a kilometre.

Taking the Metro

Santa Apolonia metro station is the terminus of the Blue line of the Lisbon Metro.
It has stops in the tourist heart of the the city at Terreiro do Paço and Baixa-Chiado and Restauradores.

The station named Baixa-Chiado lives up to its name with two sets of entrances / exits:

1. In Baxia
2. In Chiado - this is located on the top of the hill, so a passage way which features six escalators, provides the access between it and the trains.

Within the mainline station at Santa Apolonia there are two primary access points to/from the Metro station.

The main entrance is located on linha 5, so it is on the left when walking from linhas 6 and 7 towards the main station building along linha 5.
When stepping off the 1st class coaches of an AP or IC train which has arrived at linha 5, these entrance will be over to the left.
It also houses a lift / elevator link with the ticket hall of the Metro station.

In front of the ends of linhas 1 and 2, there is a lobby on linha 3, which provides a short-cut between these linhas (platforms / tracks) and the metro station.

by local bus

Bus route / line 728 goes from a stop on the street named the Ave. Infanted Dom Henrque - Exit by the left side of the main station hall (when facing the city) and you will see it ahead.
It departs 4 - 6 x times per hour and stops at the the Praça do Comércio (the main city square), by the Time Out Market and it goes on to Belem.

A single journey Metro ticket costs €1.80 and these can be purchased from the ticket machines which have English translation.
Cash payments can be made to the bus driver.

There is a pizzeria named Telepizza Estação de Santa Apolónia on linha / platform 3, but the station currently lacks a cafe where one can sit and have a coffee etc and await a train.

There is a bar / restaurant in the The Editory Riverside Santa Apolónia Hotel which has an entrance on linha / platform 5, by the ends of linhas / platforms 6 and 7.

There are coin operated lockers, but note that they are managed by a separate company to the national rail operator, CP.

There is a Europacar desk in the main station hall.

How you exit Lisbon-Santa Apolonia station or head to the Metro depends on which linha (platform/track) your train arrives at:
Though when you reach the main station hall, go the left for the stops used by the local buses; and go to the right for the taxi rank.

from linhas 1 and 2

These platforms / tracks are outside the main station building, so are a short walk away from the main hall along linha 3.
Over to the right, at the access point to linha 3, is a lobby area which is an access point to the Metro station - there are steps and an elevator for those who require step-free access

from linhas 3 and 5

These are the platforms / tracks in the main part of the station, trains which have arrived at them are pictured at the top of the page.
So the city ends of these platforms are steps away from the main hall across the front of the station.
When descending from coaches at the front of the trains which have arrived linhas 3 and 5, the closest access points to the Metro station will be behind you.

from linhas 6 and 7

These platforms / tracks are outside the main station building, so are a short walk away from the main hall along linha 5.
There is an access lobby to the Metro station on linha 5 and a small supermarket, which is a good place to pick up food and drink for a picnic in the city.

When planning a trip, finding convenient accommodation can be trickier than working out which train to take, so ShowMeTheJourney has partnered with Stay 22 to offer two options for discovering your optimum accommodation:

1: Use the map above to see the availability of hotel rooms and Vrbo rentals that have easy access to Santa Apolonia station

2: Or see what's available with Stay 22's multiple accommodation partners, by clicking the large button below.
Stay 22 will 'shuffle' the booking services, so what you will be taken to, should be the booking service that will offer the optimum availability in a wider area around Lisbon-Santa Apolonia.

On Departure / Partidas screen in the main hall, the trains are listed in order of departure, with next to leave at the top.
If you will be taking an Alfa Pendular train or an Intercidades train, you can confirm the departure you will be taking by matching departure time on your ticket, to the time (hora) on the board

What's unusual is that the track / platform / linha that the train will be leaving from, is visible as soon as the train is listed.
So If the train is already at the linha (track / platform), you can board it, no matter how long it will be before the train will be leaving the station.

Aim to be at Lisboa-Santa Apolonia a minimum of five minutes before your train is due to depart, as linhas 1, 2, 6 and 7 are some distance from the station's entrance hall.
Which linha (platform / track) a train will use is seemingly random, the linhas 3 and 5, which are closest to the main station building aren't solely used by the longer-distance, Alfa Pendular and Intercidades trains.

The transfer between Santa Apolonia station and Cais do Sodré station by Metro involves making a connection between the Blue and Green Lines at Baixa Chiado station.
Despite that it's typically the quickest option, but it's easier to go direct by bus on route / line 728 - at Santa Apolonia it departs from a stop by the exit on the left side of the main station hall, when facing the city.

Cais do Sodré station is used by the trains which depart 3 - 6 x timers per hour to Cascais and Estoril - most trains also call at the station in Belém.

The journey time to Cascais is around 45 mins and there are some lovely sea views to enjoyed on the left when heading away from Lisbon.

Rossio station is located a few minutes walk from Restauradores Metro station, which is linked to Santa Apolonia by the Blue line of the Lisbon Metro.

Though if you will be travelling between locations to the north of Lisboa / Lisbon and Sintra by train, the easier option is to make a connection at Lisboa-Oriente station.

The trains between Sintra station and Oriente are typically as least as frequent as the trains between Sintra and Rossio.