Sao Bento Railway Station, Northern Portugal, Portugal

5Francisco Jose Fernandez Sanchez 5:00 PM Jun 6, 2022

Elegant station with some incredible tiles
This station, still in perfect working order, is an ideal place to learn about the history of Portugal written in magnificent tiles. To enjoy it, I recommend hiring some of the guided tours that pass by because if not, many of the details that are told in the tiles go unnoticed. The station is always very busy, since it is central and also has shops where the products that are consumed or bought are cheaper, since it is a station that is in use and many Portuguese on foot circulate through it To be able to enjoy it calmly, it is better to go first thing in the morning The trains, although they are modern, have something of a nineteenth-century aspect, it is also interesting to observe how they enter and leave

5pauljjj2017 5:00 PM Mar 7, 2023

Iconic station and start point for a local train up the scenic Douro Valley.
Linha do Douro

I took the slow train from Porto to Pinháo as the views from the train up the Douro valley were reported to be special. You can get a train from Porto Campanha or Sáo Bento, I chose Sáo Bento as I wanted to experience this beautiful station. I bought my ticket at the station after checking the train times on the nation railways timetable.
Outward journey-Train Inter regional (IR) 865 departed at 09.20 and arrival at Pinháo at 11.37, journey time 2hrs 17mins.
Inward journey- Train IR 868 departure at 14.06 and due Sáo Bento at 17.00, journey time 2hrs 54mins with a layover in Pinháo of about 2hrs 30mins.
Sit on the right side of the train on outward journey for best views. There were 15 stops in total with the first 5 through the suburbs of Porto. After 5 stops, Caíde, the route opens up with spectacular views of the Douro and the train in places travelling right beside the river. The views across the river were spectacular. The terraced vines were impressive, I can’t help thinking how hard it is to prepare and work them.

The carriages were obviously old but well maintained. Spotlessly clean, seats looked recently reupholstered. The train was 4 carriages long and there was a toilet on board. I must note that the conductor/ticket collector on the train was in a uniform suit, shirt and tie and I was impressed with his turnout compared to some other countries I have been in.

Not a lot to do in Pinháo but I was lucky to find a restaurant, Casa do Escritor, run by a French lady and her husband. Really good meal and views from the dining courtyard.
On the return trip sit on the left side for best views. Pináo station is clean, well maintained and has a station attendant. The station itself is worth a photo opportunity.
In summary this was the best experience I had whilst in Porto and makes it all the more enjoyable to plan it myself for what was a memorable experience. Unfortunately I cannot upload photos of the journey as I only took videos but I will include those of the station of Sáo Bento, Pinháo and the restaurant.