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. Slightly reduced metro,
tram and bus service is in operation.
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 30 minutes every day from
05.57 until last train at 00.42 every night.
More information at www.metrodoporto.pt and below. Please note
that tickets must be bought from the ticket machines 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 €2.60, 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. IMPORTANT - direct service now ends at Trindad station.
You have to change lines there to get anywhere else including
the main Campanhã station. At Trindad it is a matter of a few
steps between levels or an elevator. To avoid even that minor
inconvenience, get off the airport train at the station before
(Lapa) and wait on the same platform for one going to Campanhã.
The return metro service from Trindad starts every day at
06.22hrs and runs until 00.44hrs. Trains are currently running about every 30 minutes. Check times at www.metrodoporto.pt
The TRANSDEV bus company runs a sparse bus service direct from
the airport to its city bus station at Campo 24 de Agosto.
Details at http://www.transdev.pt/aeroportoporto/
this is the same bus station as used by many long distance
services to and from Porto.
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 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.
Intercity and Alfa Pendular trains 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,
fares are around €2 but almost everyone has a pass of some kind.
The names of the various different bus companies are picked out
in brown. See below for links to their websites for
timetables.
Aliados - AUTNA
international service from Vigo in Spain. 120 metres from
Aliados metro station, just a bus stop outside a McDonald's in
Praça da Liberdade. Picture here. They also stop at Porto Airport and
elsewhere, some go to Campo 24 de Agosto for easier connections
to the south.
Campanhã (railway station) - some local routes of ETG Gondarmarense
Campo 24 do Agosto. Citi Express, Rede-Expressos,
Transdev. 1 minute walk from Campo 24 do Agosto metro
station. Some routes of ETG
Gondomarense stop by the side of the little park there.
Picture here, local map here. NOTE - many routes of the ETG Gondamarense
company now run to and from Campanhã, the railway station a
little further to the east.
Casa da Musica - adjacent to Casa da Musica metro
station. AVIC,
Internorte including their Eurolines international services, Autna services to
Vigo, Resende
buses, also some local buses of Espirito Santo across the bridge from Gaia. .
Picture here.
Hospital São João - Arriva, Transdev, many STCP city buses and
metro line D - in the city's northern suburbs next to
the metro station Hospital São João. Close to University
etc. A downloadable leaflet showing the layout of stops
and a spider map of city and suburban places served is here.
Parque das Camelias (Rua de Augusto Rosa) - AV Feirense, AV Tâmega,
Espirito Santo, MGC Transportes - outdoor bus station
in an awkward location in Batalha district several minutes walk
from nearest metro stations at Bolhão or São Bento. Picture here.
Polo Universitário - Rodonorte - next to the metro station of the same
name to the north of the city centre. Very limited weekdays only
service to various small towns.
Praçeta Régulo Maguanha - Arriva, AV Minho. Situated 2 minutes walk
from Trindad metro station. A very basic facility! This is just
off Rua de Fonseca Carlos. Picture here
Rua Alexandre Herculano - União Transportes dos Carvalhos (UTC) - this
is the street outside the former Batalha terminal that was also
called Garagem Atlantico.
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 0600hrs
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 D, runs
north to south from the Hospital São João across the Douro River
(on a rather spectacular bridge) to Santo Oviedo, in the city of
Gaia. Line F extends eastwards through the Rio Tinto area into
the neighbouring city of Gondomar.
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!
The Andante 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.
However the Andante Tour 3 and 7 day tickets are not
rechargeable. Also, these are NOT valid on the 'old' trams on
routes 1, 18 and 22 nor on the elevator.
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 €3.25 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 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 don't have websites. 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 planner
for the Porto Metro area. Cash fare is €2 on STCP buses, may be
different on other buses.
Other bus operators in the area : sites are only in
Portuguese. Note that cash fares paid on board are a lot higher
than previously acquired tickets.
Click the logos to go to the bus company websites, which
will open in a new tab or window. Go to this
section above for for the various bus stations they use.
MARÉ MATOSINHOS 
Buses around Matosinhos, Senhora da
Hora, Valongo, Areosa and Leca connecting with metro service,
also local service from the airport to nearby suburbs. They also
have a couple of routes into the centre of Porto and route 106
which connects the main Campanhã railway station, Mar Shopping
and Matosinhos while avoiding the city centre.
Espirito Santo 
Buses in and around Vila Nova de Gaia,
also between Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto (Boavista) and city
centre Parque da Camelias.
Maia Transportes 
Buses
in and around Maia connecting with Porto metro tram service.
Valpibus 
Valpi
operate in and around Penafiel area, also with services between
that area and Porto Trindad metro station.
UTC - Uniȃo Transportes dos Carvalhos 
buses between Espinho, Carvalhos and
Porto (Rua Alexandre Herculano).
ETG Gondomarense 
buses in and around Gondomar and to/from Porto Campo 24 de
Agosto, Porto Campanhã and elsewhere.
AV Landim 
From Trindad
metro station to Celorico de Basto via Penafiel (one trip,
weekdays only); to Felgueiras via Lousada, Freamunde and
Paços De Ferreira daily service 6- 7 times daily plus rush hour
extras. Also to Felgueiras via Santo Tirso and Vizela several
times every day. Many of their buses also stop at Hospital São
João bus station.
AV Pacense
From Trindad
metro, shares routes with AV Landim above.
Rodonorte 
from Polo Universitário
metro station, limited weekday buses to various small towns to
the east. 'Express' routes to larger towns are now operated by Rede-Expressos.
There are only three tram routes remaining in Porto. Ancient
(but refurbished) four-wheeled wooden trams dating from the
1920's are used. Trams run every 20 - 30 minutes on each line
and normally connect with each other. Although operated
primarily for tourists, local people still use them.
Route 1 runs from Infante (Praça do Henrique) via
Massarelos,
the depot (and museum) along by the river currently running
every 20 minutes to Passeio Alegre every 20 minutes between 0900
and 1940 returning from
Passeio Alegre 0950 - 2010 with earlier and later 'short'
journeys from each end of the line to and from the Massarelos depot.
Route 18 runs daily every 30 minutes from Massarelos to Carmo, between 0803 and 1833, returning from Carmo 0815 to 1845, plus one later trip at 1945.
Route
22 runs daily on a circular route from Carmo
to Batalha (near the funicular) via Sao Bento station,
first journey at 0915 last at 1915. Runs every 15 minutes
between 1145 and 1745, otherwise every 30 minutes. The first and last
trams run through
to/from Massarelos via route 18.
All three historic lines are included in the standard ANDANTE
ticketing system, but if you pay cash on board it will cost €3
for one journey, €10 for two days unlimited journeys on all
three routes. A tram museum ticket also includes rides on these
routes. NB The ANDANTE TOUR 3 day and 7 day tickets are no
longer 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 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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