THIS PAGE CHECKED AND UPDATED 1st NOVEMBER 2024
Page compiled from visits to the city. Porto is not in the
Algarve - I have been visiting! It is the second city of
Portugal, located in the north about 200 miles / 320km from
Lisbon.
Please confirm/check on the various official websites before
travelling. The emphasis is on public transport, partly as it is
so efficient and inexpensive and partly as I don't drive and I
am too mean to pay for taxis if there's an alternative.
Contactless payment in not generally available on Porto city
transport. However, a pilot programme is under way which allows
contactless payment at some metro stations and on one popular
bus route. The airport station is included. Cards accepted are VISA,
VPAY, Electron and Mastercard. You are advised to remove
the card from your wallet to avoid having two different
cards pinged for payment! On the Metro,
contactless is available at :
Purple Line (E): Aeroporto, Senhora da Hora, Casa da Música and
Trindade stations;
Lines A, B, C, D and F: Campanhã, Bolhão, Campo 24 de Agosto,
São Bento and Aliados (city centre stations).
Also available on the number 500 bus which runs between Praça da
Républica (Aliados) and Matosinhos.
Each tap will cost €2,15 and is valid for 1hr 15 minutes
including transfers / changes. If you make four or more journeys
in the same day, the price is capped at €7. You must use
only the blue validators like this 
with
the contactless symbol. Thanks to Helena A on Trip Advisor for
this information.
Porto Airport has a station on the Metro do Porto light-rail
system. Metro from the airport runs to the city centre TRINDAD
station currently every 15 - 20 minutes on weekdays, about every
20 minutes at weekends and on holidays,. First trains are at
0606 weekdays, 0558 Saturdays and 0557 Sundays and Holidays.
Last train is at 00.42 every night. Alternate trains (all trains
after about 2000hrs) are extended to Campanhã (for the main
railway station and long distance bus station) ending at Estádio
do Dragão, the stadium of FC Porto.
More information at www.metrodoporto.pt and below. Tickets must
be bought from the ticket machines at the station or at the
tourist information office. You can reach most of the city
centre (you may need to change lines at Trindad) in about 35
minutes for €2,75, which includes the 60 cents for the
rechargeable ticket card you can re-use for later trips.
The metro station at the airport is on the surface. Most of the
journey into the city is also on the surface. The vehicles are
fully accessible - picture below. There is plenty of space for
wheelchairs and large items of luggage at each end of the
trains. About half the trains from the airport now end at
Trindad station. You may therefore have to change lines there to
get anywhere else, including the main Campanhã railway station.
At Trindad it is a matter of a few steps between levels or an
elevator. If going to Campanhã, avoid even that minor
inconvenience by getting off the airport train at the station
before Trindad, called Lapa and wait on the same platform for
one going to Campanhã. The first direct trains from Campanhã station to the
airport are at 0707 on weekdays, 0706 on Saturdays and 0703 on
Sundays and Holidays. The last train from Campanhã is at
0031 every night. If no direct train is shown, take any
WESTBOUND train and change at Lapa station.
Metro service to the airport from Trindad starts on weekdays at 0558hrs, weekends and holidays at 0622hrs and runs every day until 00.37hrs. Trains are currently running about every 15 minutes daily between about 0700 and 2000. At other times trains run about every 20 - 30 minutes. Check times, it is Line E, at www.metrodoporto.pt
There are also a number of local bus routes from the airport to
various suburbs not covered by the metro. Times at www.stcp.pt or
see below.
There is a bus once or twice each hour during the night, when
the metro does not run, between the city centre at Aliados
and the airport. Go to http://www.stcp.pt/en/travel/ and find
route / line 3M - down at the bottom of the list.
Intercity and Alfa Pendular trains from Lisbon arrive at the
Porto Campanhã station. This is on the eastern edge of the city,
about 2km or 1¼ miles from the city centre. If you have booked
on line to Campanhã, you can connect with local 'Urbanos' trains
free of charge for the 3 minute run to the city centre station
of São Bento. There are also local trains to the eastern suburbs
- more information at www.cp.pt - look
for Urbanos Porto or see below.
Alternatively, you can pick up the Metro do Porto at
Campanhã for the city centre plus the northern and western
suburbs, or take one of the many buses - see below.
Tip - there is only one ticket machine at the metro station
entrance. There are more in the main station building on
Platform 1. There is also a 'Loja Andante' (city transport
ticket and enquiry office) on the way to the metro platforms,
queues (lines) are often very long.
Estádio do Dragão, the stadium of FC Porto, is
about 1.2km from Campanhã or one stop on the Metro to Estádio do
Dragão.
Most Regional and Urbanos trains go to/from both the Campanhã
and São Bento stations, but some do not. Check times carefully.
The long-distance bus (coach) timetables often do not tell you
which bus station is used, which in larger cities with more than
one (such as Porto!) is a bit of a problem. There are several
long distance bus stations in Porto, used by the different
companies.
Below are the long distance and regional terminals and the
companies that use them. Note that at most there is nothing and
often no-one to tell you which bus leaves from which stop, so
allow time to find the correct stop for your bus. For long
distance buses, you must usually purchase a ticket either from
the company website or from a ticket office before boarding. On
local and suburban city buses you can pay the driver in cash.
Cash fare for the city centre zones is €2,50 but almost everyone
has a pass of some kind, which greatly reduces the cost.
A large bus station (Terminal Intermodal Campanhã or TIC)
is located adjacent to the Campanhã railway station, which is in
the eastern suburbs. Most long distance and many regional
services stop there. There are various smaller bus terminals
scattered around the city.
The names of the various different bus companies are shown with
links to their websites. STCP is the Porto city bus operator.
| GREATER PORTO
SUBURBAN AREA UNIR - https://www.unirmobilidade.pt/ |
This operation has taken over the routes
previously operated by several different local bus
companies in the suburban Greater Porto area. The website
is only in Portuguese. A list of routes and timetables by
area can be found at https://www.unirmobilidade.pt/municipios/#anchor=horarios Each route has a page with a diagram of the places it serves. It is a complicated system, with buses to and from the same towns going to different bus stations in Porto. I have not found a comprehensive route map. Maps of the routes in different areas can be found here. Click on a place then 'Avançar' then click again to see the different operators then Avançar again for route maps. Ticketing is integrated with the ANDANTE tickets used on Porto metro, city buses and suburban trains. |
Airport - some journeys to / from northern Spain with
ALSA, AUTNA,
Flixbus,
Internorte
and Rede Expressos stop at
the airport. Also served by various buses of UNIR
- suburban bus operator to places where the metro does not go.
There is a night bus to and from the city centre while the metro
does not run. For that, go to https://www.stcp.pt/en/travel/lines/
and find line / route 3M from the list on the left.
Campanhã (railway station) - STCP city buses and UNIR buses to Arouca, Gondomar,
Penafiel - see also below for the regional and long distance
Terminal Intermodal Campanhã nearby.
Casa da Musica - adjacent to Casa da Musica metro
station. ALSA, Internorte
including their Eurolines international services, Autna services
to Vigo (Spain). Various UNIR routes towards
Matosinhos and across the bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia and
beyond. Also many local STCP city buses. Picture here.
Hospital São João - many STCP city buses. A downloadable leaflet
showing the layout of their stops and a spider map of city and
suburban places served is here., UNIR and
some other commuter buses towards the northern and western
suburbs, including Maia, Gondomar, Lousadsa, Paredes, Penafiel
and Santo Tirso. Also is on metro line D. Close to University (Polo
Universitário).
João de Deus metro
station (actually south of the river in Gaia) - UNIR and STCP
Parque das Camelias (Rua de Augusto Rosa) - UNIR,- outdoor bus station in an
awkward location in Batalha district several minutes walk from
nearest metro stations at Bolhão or São Bento. Picture here. Buses to Arouca, Oliveira de Azameis
and São João Madeira, among others.
Polo Universitário - UNIR, Rodonorte - next
to the metro station of the same name to the north of the city
centre. Weekdays only service to various small towns to the
north and east. Also used by some Rede-Expressos services
towards Amarante. Numerous STCP buses stop nearby.
Terminal Intermodal Campanhã
(TIC) adjacent to Campanhã railway and metro stations,
about 3 minutes walk via a tunnel under the tracks. All Rede
Expressos domestic and international routes now use this
facility. Used by ALSA -
services to Spain, AUTNA (to Vigo, Spain),UNIR, Internorte, Flixbus
and also
Gypsyy Bus for their direct service between Porto and
Sintra.
The Metro do
Porto is not an underground railway like London, New York
or Lisbon. It's a network of six tram or light-rail lines,
running on the surface in the suburbs, then converging to run
under the city centre in tunnels. The website has comprehensive
information, much of it in English.
Trains run every 15 - 30 minutes on each line from 06.00hrs
until around 01.00hrs. Through the central section from Senhora
da Hora to Estádio do Dragão that means a train every 5 or 6
minutes most of the day. Four of the lines radiate out to the
western and north-western suburbs and the airport. Line A has a
stop (Matosnhos Sul) near the Porto cruise terminal. Line B is a
long run along the trace of a very old railway to Póvoa de
Varzim. Line D, runs north to south from the Hospital São João
across the Douro River (on a rather spectacular bridge) to Santo
Oviedo and Vila d'Este, in the city of Gaia. Line E serves the
airport, line F extends eastwards through the Rio Tinto area
into the neighbouring city of Gondomar.
A map of metro and railways here.
Ticketing is fully integrated with most buses, trams and much
of the local rail network under the 'ANDANTE'
banner. Zonal fares are used, so you must always be sure that
you buy a ticket for the correct number of zones for your
journey. Day passes are available and you can choose how many
zones you want. Tickets are ridiculously cheap by UK standards;
a two zone (Z2) ticket covers most central city journeys and is
€1.20! A two zone (Z2) day pass is €4,15 - this covers the whole
of the central city area. In both cases add 60 cents for the
rechargeable ticket card. You must validate your ticket at the
scanners when starting each journey or changing between Metro
lines or from bus to Metro. If a nasty noise sounds and a red
light flashes, your ticket is not valid!
This
map shows the urban railways and the Andante Zones.
The Andante Azul and Andante 24 tickets are re-chargeable, so
for example, the first ticket, for example from the airport to
the city, will cost €2.60 (including €0.60 for the card) and
subsequent re-charges for the same zones just €2.00 per trip.
You can re-charge the ticket until it wears out or the
micro-chip fails! You can recharge your ticket with rides of the
same value or change the ticket type on the machine, but the
Andante offices will swap for you if needed.
There is of course an app for travel tickets for download, but
only for Android phones. Details at https://linhandante.com/en/purchase/anda-app/
Andante Tour tickets are not rechargeable. Also, these are NOT valid on
the 'old' trams on routes 1, 18 and 22 nor on the elevator.
Andante Tour tickets are purchased from Andante shops (which are
NOT open on Sundays and holidays) listed here plus th
main railway stations. The 24 hour ticket costs €7,50, the 72
hour ticket is €16. Both are valid on all metros and buses.
Metro stations and stops are unstaffed. The machines take
coins, notes and cards. Many stations have only one ticket
machine. Don't be tempted to avoid paying - although there are
no entry barriers on the system, groups of revenue protection
staff make random spot checks on passengers with hand-held
scanners. The current penalty for travelling without a validated
ticket is €95. During one visit, my ticket was checked twice on
the same tram by two different inspectors ten minutes apart.
On a security note, uniformed security staff patrol most
stations, day and night. These are the only visible staff apart
from train crew and those ticket inspectors. I also noticed city
police routinely travelling on trams. The whole system seemed
safe and secure; no groups of kids or beggars hanging about.
Many stations now also have CCTV.
Non-Portuguese speakers will be pleased to know that almost all the signs and announcements on Metro are in English as well as Portuguese.
The Porto Urbanos train network is operated by CP, the
national rail operator. There are three routes serving the
northern and eastern suburbs with a fourth line south to Espinho
and Aveiro. Large map here.
Trains run at much less frequent intervals than the Metro,
especially at weekends, so you will need to check timetables at
www.cp.pt before making a journey - look
for the 'Urbanos Porto'. However, as a general guide, trains on
the Braga line run about every hour every day, on the Guimarães
line about every two hours; to Penafiel and Marco de Canaveses
about once every hour daily, with additional trains on weekdays
rush hours on all lines. Down to Espinho and Aveiro, trains run
about every half hour on weekdays and every hour at weekends and
holidays with weekday rush hour extras. If you are coming by
train from Lisbon to either Aveiro or Vila Nova de Gaia, all the
trains stop there before they reach Porto Campanhã.
Fares are very inexpensive. The 1hr 20 minute ride from Porto
São Bento to Braga or Guimarães will cost you a whole €3.45 on
the local trains. Various tourist passes are available also if
you plan to travel more frequently. The CP Urbanos routes
within the Greater Porto area are incorporated into the metro
and bus Andante ticketing system. Any tickets specific to trips
on CP trains are now issued on a rechargeable card called SIGA,
which costs 50 cents. These can be reloaded and re-used for any
trip wholly on the Porto Urbanos network. For regular users,
there a many different passes available. The Andante Tour passes
are available to destinations within about 30 minutes of the
city, for example to Espinho.
Porto has an excellent bus network covering the city and far
out into the suburbs. Many buses are operated by STCP (Sociedade
de Transportes Colectivos do Porto, SA) but, especially out in
the suburbs, there are several other operators. Almost all of
their routes are integrated into the ANDANTE
ticketing system, but you might find the times slightly harder
to come by as some websites are not easy to use. STCP times and
route maps are all available through their website;
timetables were clearly displayed at most of the bus stops I
used. Beware that in some busy places/interchanges there are
several bus stops, so you sometimes have to look for the right
one for your route. Several routes radiate from the Airport into
the suburbs to complement the Metro service. Consult this website for a comprehensive,
all operators, trip
BUSES IN MOST OF THE OUTER SUBURBAN AREAS OF PORTO ARE NOW
OPERATED BY UNIR. GO TO THE YELLOW BOX ABOVE FOR INFORMATION.
Rodonorte 
from Polo Universitário metro station, limited weekday buses to
various small towns to the east.
There are only three tram routes remaining in Porto. Ancient
(but refurbished) four-wheeled wooden trams dating from the
1920's are used. Although operated primarily for tourists,
local people still use them. Hours of service are between about
0900 and 1900 daily, with some later trips when trams
return to the depôt at Massarelos.
Route 1 runs from Infante (Praça do Henrique) via
Massarelos, the depot (and museum) along by the river to
Passeio Alegre. Currently operating daily every 20 minutes
from 0900 to 1940, last trip from Passeio Alegre is at
2010hrs. Until 29th March 2025 the last trams will be one
hour earlier.
Route 18 runs from Carmo to Passeio Alegre via Massarelos
every 30 minutes from 0945 until 1745 with later journeys at
1815 and 1845 as far as Massarelos - strictly for tourists!
Route
22 the circular route from Carmo to Batalha (near the
funicular) via Sao Bento station NOT OPERATING owing to
works to construct a new metro line. Was expected to
return to service in autumn 2024, but has not yet.
All historic lines are included in the standard ANDANTE
ticketing system, but if you pay cash on board it will cost
€5(!) adult or one journey, €7 for two journeys on the same day
and €10 for two days unlimited journeys on all three routes.
There is a reduction for children under 12yrs. A tram museum
ticket also includes rides on these routes. NB The ANDANTE TOUR
tickets are not valid on these old trams.
Printable leaflet with maps and all details of the trams
http://www.portotramcitytour.pt/Porto-Tram-City-Tours.pdf
FC Porto play at the Estádio do Dragão, which is on
Metro lines A, B, E and F. It is about 1.2km (3/4 mile) from
Porto Campanhã main-line railway station. There are many bus
routes in the area. The other major team in Porto, Boavista
FC, play at the Bessa Stadium, which is in the Boavista
district to the west of the city centre. Nearest Metro station
(Francos) is about 600 metres away. Buses along the Avenida de
Boavista at its junction with Rua de Pedro Hispano stop closer.
Leixões FC play in the Estádio do Mar out at Matosinhos,
reachable by metro from the city centre. The closest stop is
called Estádio do Mar and is about 700 metres away.
If you have any comments or updates for this page, I will be
pleased to receive them by email.
I take no responsibility for any inconvenience caused as a
result of later changes to times etc. This page is for general
guidance only and you must check details before making
commitments and decisions!
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