Porto (Sao Bento) (Porto)

A new line, which will ultimately be the Pink Line, is currently being constructed on the Porto Metro.
The plan is that by 2028, this Pink Line, will link Sao Bento with Casa da Música, creating a new interchange at both stations - and the line will also stop at one of the city's most popular tourist areas at Cordoaria

However, the construction is inevitably impacting on the area around Sao Bento station, hence many of the bus stops closest to it are currently closed, traffic is being diverted - and as a consequence the area around the station is becoming congested.
Therefore if you're thinking of bus or taxi to Sao Bento station, because you will have luggage etc, the advice is to head to Porto (Camphana) station instead.

Sao Bento station in Porto isn't solely beautiful, it's also a very practical station that's relatively easy to use and understand, once you have made your way through the crowds of visitors taking images of its interior.

Step into that main hall to begin a train journey and in its four corners, arranged clockwise, you will find

• a tourist and travel information office
• a ticket booking hall containing numerous staffed ticket counters
• a smart coffee shop/cafe
• a room which houses the left luggage office.

Ahead of you, through the doors you'll see the station concourse which gives the easy access to the linhas (platforms / tracks) that the trains depart from - And above those doors, you can't miss the departure boards

Taking a train to and from Porto São Bento station isn't an activity engaged in by most of the tourists who throng to it daily, but the trains which use it, don't solely travel to and from the city's suburbs.
They escape beyond Porto to give access to many other must-see locations in northern Portugal, including Aveiro, Braga and Guimares, the beaches to the south of Porto and The Douro River Valley.

All but the Douro Valley destinations have at least hourly departures, so there are 4 to 6 x trains per hour from Sao Bento to Camphana rail station - and the journey time is only four minutes.

At Porto (Camphana) station connections are available in and out of:

• Alfa Pendular trains to/from Albufeira - Ferreiras, Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Faro and Lisboa / Lisbon
• Intercidades trains to/from Albufeira - Ferreiras, Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Entroncamento, Evora, Faro, Guimaraes, Lisboa / Lisbon, Pombal, Valenca and Vana do Castelo
• Celta trains to/from Vigo in Spain via Valenca and Vana do Castelo

So if you will be travelling between the tourist heart of Porto and other destinations across Portugal, then Sao Bento is actually an excellent gateway station to seeing the best of Portugal by train.
Particularly when heading to Porto-Camphana, taking any of the trains which depart from Sao Bento, is an easier option than taking the Metro

When planning a trip, finding convenient accommodation can be trickier than working out which train to take.
Hence ShowMeTheJourney has partnered with the innovative accommodation portal, Stay 22, to offer three options for discovering your optimum accommodation:

1: Use the map above to see which hotel rooms and Vrbo rentals, with easy access to Porto Sao Bento, are available.

2: Or click on these cherry-picked properties, offered by Stay 22 partner Booking.com, which are by Porto Sao Bento and have been selected on the basis of high guest ratings:

The Passenger Hostel

Porto Royal Bridges Hotel

Eurostars Porto Centro

InterContinental Porto - Palacio das Cardosas

Nice Way Porto Hostel

3: Or see what's available with Stay 22's accommodation partners; which include, Expedia, Hotels.com and Trivago - by clicking the large button below.
Stay 22 will 'shuffle' the booking services so that you can be automatically directed to its partner that currently has the optimum availability at this location.

ShowMeTheJourney has anticipated what questions are most often asked about taking trains to and from Porto (Camphana) and answered them below.

If you can't find the information you are seeking, you can ask a question by using the Travel Planning Service.

Yes, Porto Sao Bento is a terminal station so all of it's linhas (platforms / tracks) are level with the main concourse, which is also level with the main station hall

Though the sloping pathway, that gives the step-free with the street outside the station, is on the left of the main station hall when arriving by train - so it is on the right-hand side when approaching the station.

Taking a taxi to and from Sao Bento station

This sloping path also gives the access to and from the the taxi rank.
However, because of the construction work in front of Sao Bento, the access by road to and from the station is currently compromised.
We waited in vain at the rank for more than 15 mins on a Sunday evening, hence the advice to take taxis from and to (Porto (Camphana) station instead, for the time being.

When arriving by train there, over to the far left of the main concourse, there is an entrance to the Time Out Market / food court.

Coin-operated left-luggage lockers are available in a lobby off to the left of the main station hall when facing the trains.

You will need an Andante Card to travel on the bus and metro in Porto and they can be purchased in Camphana metro station.
This is a pay-as-you-go card which costs 50 cents which you then load with funds, which will be deducted when you tap in when boarding a bus, tram or funicular. and out at the end of the Metro trip on the card readers - you also need to tap in when using the metro.
You load 'money' on to these 'blue' cards at ticket machines

A single Metro ride costs €1.20, but if you add sufficient funds for 10 journeys = €12 in one transaction, you will receive an additional journey for free.

Or you can purchase an Andante Tour Card from multiple sales points, including Camphana Metro station, which can be used for unlimited travel on Porto's public transport network for 24 hour and 72 hour (3 day) periods.
The periods of time aren't whole days, so a 24hr card be used from 12pm to 11:59am etc
The 'clock' counts down from the time when you first validate the card, by tapping it on a card reader at a metro station or bus - so you don't have to constantly tap in an out with a Tour Card.
A 72 hour card costs €15, so it becomes value for money if you take a minimum of 13 rides during your stay in Port

Many of Portugal's most-popular tourist destinations are an easy journey from Porto (Sao Bento) by train:

• Aveiro = 1 or 2 x Regional trains per hour to Aveiro station in a journey time of around 1hr 5mins - these trains reverse direction on departure from Camphana station
• Braga = there are 1 or 2 x Regional trains per hour to Braga station in a journey time of around 1hr 10 mins +
• Guimares = typically 1 x Regional train per hour to Guimares station in a journey time of around 1hr 15mins

Or have a day by the beach, Espinho is under a 35 min ride by the Regional trains heading to Aveiro

Taking in this incredible journey as a day trip from Porto by train is easily done.
The timetable allows for a return trip to the end of the line at Pochino, or to have a lunch in the charming village of Pinhao, as it has multiple restaurants by its lovely station.

The Douro Historical Train

On certain days of the week from mid June until the end of October, a steam train operates on a lovely part of the route between Régua and Tua.
The train doesn't depart from Régua until 15:30 - and the timetable is arranged so that it's possible to leave Porto around 13:30 and return to the city at around 20:30.

Porto Airport is served by Line E of the Porto Metro, though this line does not serve Sao Bento.
A transfer is required at Trindade station to/from the Yellow line B, but both escalators and elevators are available.