Porto, Portugal

ABOVE: The train shed in São Bento, Porto's main railroad station.

Transportation

Arriving in Porto

By air. Porto Airport (OPO) has regular service from Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Rome, and many other European cities. TAP Air Portugal flies nonstop from Newark to Porto several times a week, and SATA offers service from Boston during the summer months. TAP also flies to Porto from Caracas, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paolo.

Airport ground transportation. Line E (violet) of the Metro do Porto connects the airport to the city center in about 25 minutes. The Metro station is about 50 meters from the terminal.

Other ground-transportation services include buses (handy for certain suburbs) and taxis, which are cheaper than in many Western European countries.

By rail. São Bento station is the main railway station in Porto. It's conveniently located in the historic center, and the hotels listed on our Porto Hotels page are within walking distance or a short cab ride away. For local, regional, national, and international train timetables, see the CP (Portuguese Railways) Web site.

By car. Porto is on the Atlantic coast of Northern Portugal, and it's easy to reach by motorway from Lisbon and other tourist areas. (Porto is also close to Spain--in fact, many residents of Galicia fly in and out of Porto Airport.) Use ViaMichelin to plan your route.

Local transportation

The Metro do Porto opened in 2002 and has grown into an extensive light-rail network. Two lines of special interest to tourists are Line E (violet line, to the airport) and the original Lina A (blue line, which runs between the cruise port at Matosinhos and downtown). Also see Wikipedia's article on the Metro if you're a transit buff.

The Metro operates the Funicular dos Guindais, which runs from the riverside Ribeira district to the city center near the Ponte de dom Luis I bridge. Wikipedia has an interesting article on the funicular and its history.

Porto's city buses are operated by STCP, and they're convenient on routes that aren't served by the Metro. You might also want to try the "hop on, hop off" Porto sightseeing buses buses and the city's vintage trams.

Finally, the Porto Card is worth considering if you're staying outside the center and plan to make extensive use of public transport.

Next page: Tourist information

In this article:
Porto, Portugal	Hotels
Porto's lifeblood: Port wine	Restaurants
Sightseeing, excursions	Shopping
Museums	Transportation
Events and festivals	Tourist information

More about Porto:

Porto photo gallery - 35 captioned pictures

Cálem - A port wine lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia

Northern Portugal Index

"Best of the Web"
- Forbes and The Washington Post

Our most popular topics:

Need a car in Europe?

Auto Europe guarantees the lowest rental rates for standard cars, sports cars, SUVs, luxury cars, chauffered sedans, and RVs. Its Web site also has driving information for 38 countries.

If you live outside the EU, a tax-free Renault or Peugeot tourist lease can be cheaper than renting. Minimum driver age is 18, there' s no upper age limit, and rates include insurance. See: Short-term car leasing.

European train

Traveling by train?
Rail Europe has schedules, maps, and guides for 50+ European railroads. (Residents of North and Central America can buy tickets and rail passes online.)

From Europe for Cruisers:

Travel and cruise news:

Europe for Visitors Blog