Sao Bento & Campanha
Two stations, one of them worth staying near
Long-distance trains stop at Campanha. Everything you came for is at Sao Bento. Five minutes of metro separates them, and a lot of bookings get it wrong.
If you are arriving in Porto by train, the single most useful thing to know is that the station your ticket names is probably not the station you want to sleep next to.
Long-distance services — from Lisbon, from Vigo, the Alfa Pendular and most Intercidades — terminate at Campanha, about two kilometres east of the centre. Sao Bento, the tiled one in the middle of the old town, is a terminus for regional lines and the Douro valley. The two are connected by a five-minute train and by the metro.
Sao Bento is the one you want
Sao Bento is not really a place to "stay near" as a category, because staying near it means staying in Baixa — you are on the square between Aliados and the cathedral, with the metro outside and the river ten minutes downhill. The station is a convenience on top of a location you would have chosen anyway.
It is also worth four minutes of your time as a building. The entrance hall is covered floor to ceiling in azulejo panels, it is free because it is a working station, and most people walk through it with a suitcase without looking up.
Trains to the Douro valley leave from Sao Bento, not Campanha, and the right-hand side of the carriage going out has the river. It is the best day trip from Porto and the cheapest thing on this page.
Campanha is a transfer, not a neighbourhood
Campanha does its job well: it is where the fast trains stop, it has the bus terminal beside it, and the metro runs from it into the centre. What it is not is a place to base a holiday. The streets around it are ordinary residential and light-industrial Porto, there is very little to walk to, and the saving on a room does not survive the taxi fares.
The one case where it makes sense is a genuine transit night — a late arrival and an early train out, with no intention of seeing the city in between.
Arriving late
Metro and train services between Campanha and the centre run until around one in the morning. After that it is a taxi, which is a short ride. If your train gets in after midnight and your room is in Ribeira, remember that the last part of that journey may be on foot and downhill on granite setts.
Not interchangeable
Sao Bento or Campanha
| Station | Trains | Where it is | Worth staying near? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sao Bento | Regional services and the Douro valley line | In Baixa, between Aliados and the cathedral | Yes, because it means staying in the centre |
| Campanha | Lisbon, Vigo, Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, buses | Two kilometres east, on the metro | Only for a transit night |
Arriving by train
What people ask about the stations
Which station should I get off at in Porto?
If your train stops at both, get off at Sao Bento — it is in the middle of the old town. Most long-distance trains only stop at Campanha, from where a local train or the metro takes about five minutes into the centre.
How do I get from Campanha to the centre of Porto?
Local trains run to Sao Bento in about five minutes, and metro lines A, B, C, E and F all serve Campanha. A taxi takes ten minutes.
Is it worth staying near Campanha station?
Only for a transit night. The area has little to walk to and the rate saving is usually spent on getting into town and back.
Can I see the tiles at Sao Bento without a train ticket?
Yes. The entrance hall is a public station concourse, open through the day, with no ticket and no queue.
Getting here