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An Alfa Pendular at Porto Campanhã. Courtesy of @rexybexy
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The best way to travel between Portugal's capital and second city is by train. Fast trains link Lisbon's Santa Apolonia station with Porto's Campanhã station in as little as 2h58, city centre to city centre. Choose between a tilting 200 km/h Alfa Pendular, or a slightly slower Intercity train. Further feedback or photos would be appreciated.
Lisbon to Porto is 337 km (209 miles) by rail.
Lisbon ► Porto
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Check times at the Portuguese Railways (CP) website www.cp.pt or at Omio.com.
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Trains leave Lisbon Santa Apolonia every hour or two, some 200 km/h Alfa Pendulars taking 2h58, others Intercity trains taking 3h23.
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All trains also call at Lisbon Oriente station in the east of the city 9 minutes after leaving Santa Apolonia, you can pick the train up here if you prefer. Lisbon Oriente is located next to the Parque da Nações, the former Expo '98 site.
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Trains arrive at Porto Campanhã. However, all tickets include a free transfer by suburban train to the beautiful Porto São Bento station closer to the old town. Suburban trains link Campanhã & São Bento stations every 5-15 minutes taking 4 minutes.
Porto ► Lisbon
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Check times at the official CP (Portuguese Railways) website www.cp.pt or at Omio.com.
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Trains leave Porto Campanhã every hour or two, some are 200 km/h Alfa Pendulars taking 2h58, others Intercity trains taking around 3h23.
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All trains also call at Lisbon Oriente station in the east of the city 9 minutes before arriving at Santa Apolonia, you can get off here if you prefer. Lisbon Oriente is located next to the Parque da Nações, the former Expo '98 site.
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Trains leave from Porto Campanhã. However, all tickets allow you to start from the beautiful Porto São Bento station closer to the old town, transferring by suburban train to Campanhã. Suburban trains link São Bento & Campanhã stations every 5-15 minutes taking 4 minutes.
If you use Porto - São Bento as your starting station at www.cp.pt it'll show you the suggested transfer time, but as this is not a guaranteed connection and I'd make sure it's giving you plenty of time (say, 20+ minutes) between trains at Campanhã - if necessary play safe and take an earlier local train from São Bento.
How much does it cost?
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Promo fares start at just €9.50 in 2nd class or €22.50 in 1st class.
These are advance-purchase tickets which vary like air fares, you must book at least 5 days in advance to see Promo fares, maximum 60 days.
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Full-price is around €25 by Intercity or €32 by Alfa Pendular in 2nd class, €37 by Intercity or €45 by Alfa Pendular in 1st class.
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Children under 4 travel free. Children under 12 get 50% off the full-price. There's no discount on Promo fares, which might be cheaper.
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Youths under 25 get 25% off the full-price. Seniors over 65 get 50% off the full-price. Just show proof of age, for example your passport. There's no discount on Promo fares, which might be cheaper.
How to buy tickets
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Buy tickets at the Portuguese Railways (CP) website www.cp.pt (in €) or at Omio.com (in €, £ or $).
Booking opens 60 days ahead. You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone, including in the CP app.
Omio.com is easy to use, overseas credit cards welcome, small booking fee. Cp.pt is more fiddly, but has an English version ands works with most overseas payment cards.
Rail Ninja is not an official CP reseller and should be avoided. Omio and CP are currently the only two sites currently authorised to sell Portuguese train tickets, no other retailer connects to CP's system.
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Booking tips
For Lisbon city centre select Lisboa - Santa Apolonia, or select Lisboa - Oriente for the east of the city & Parque da Nações.
For Porto, you can either select Porto - Campanhã which is the station used by the trains to/from Lisbon, or you can select Lisboa - São Bento and it will show through journeys to/from São Bento closer to the old city, using a suburban train for the free transfer between São Bento & Campanhã.
AP = Alfa Pendular. IC = Intercity. IR = Inter-Regional. R = Regional. U = Urban (suburban train). AP or IC on their own indicates a direct train. A combo, for example AP|U means Alfa Pendular with 1 change onto a suburban train (it'll show you details if you click the + sign).
When registering on www.cp.pt, it won't accept UK-style postcodes with letters in, so enter your postcode as 123456, it makes no difference.
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You can buy tickets at the station, there are almost always places available.
Route map
What are the trains like?
Alfa Pendular trains are CP's premier trains, fully air-conditioned 6-car electric trains which reach 220 km/h (136 mph) on some sections of the Lisbon-Porto route. Built by FIAT, they tilt into the curves, enabling them to go faster than conventional trains. They have 1st & 2nd class and a cafe-bar. There's free WiFi & power sockets at all seats. They are shown in the booking system as AP. For a seating plan, see the seat numbering page.
Intercity trains are CP's second-rank expresses, fully air-conditioned 1st & 2nd class, most also with cafe-bar & free WiFi. You'll find power sockets at some 1st class seats, but not in 2nd class. The distinctive stainless-steel exterior built in Portugal hides an interior design closely based on SNCF's (French Railways) successful Corail carriages. They are shown in the booking system as IC. For a seating plan, see the seat numbering page.
Travel tips
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Seat reservation is compulsory on Alfa Pendular & Intercity trains, all tickets come with a specified reserved seat automatically included. For a seating plan of an Alfa Pendular and of typical Intercity cars, see the seat numbering page.
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Boarding your train: There's no check-in, you just walk into the station, glance at the departure indicator to see which platform your train is on, walk over to it and get on, any time before departure. The doors may close a minute beforehand, so don't cut it too fine.
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Luggage: You take your luggage onto the train with you and stick it on any suitable rack near your seat. Suitcases and backpacks are fine, nobody weighs it, measures it, if you can manage it yourself and it'll go on a normal train luggage rack, it's fine.
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Children under 4 go free: Babies and infants under 4 years old travel for free if you're happy to have them on your lap, just bring them along without a ticket. If you want to them to have their own seat, book them a ticket, either child rate or a Promo fare.
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Children, Youth, Senior fares: Children under 12 get 50% off full-price fares, Youths under 25 get 25% off, Seniors over 65 get 50% off, but there's no discount on Promo fares. When booking, change the Discount box from Full-Price to Children, Youth or Senior after you've selected your train. Important tip, check that selecting Full-Price and Promo Ticket (in other words, buying an adult-rate Promo fare) doesn't make it cheaper! If it is, buy that.
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Food & drink: Alfa Pendulars have a cafe-bar in car 3. Most Intercity trains on the Lisbon-Porto route also have a cafe-bar. You can buy beer, wine, tea, coffee, soft drinks, sandwiches and snacks, with the menu displayed in both Portuguese & English. On Alfa Pendular, 1st class passengers can pre-book an at-seat meal when they buy their ticket, see the Afla Pendular photos above.
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WiFi & power outlets: Alfa Pendular trains have free WiFi & power sockets at all seats in both 1st & 2nd class.
Intercity trains have free WiFi, but only a few seats have power sockets, mainly in 1st class. Seats with a socket are indicated with a plug symbol in the seating plan when you book an intercity train online at www.cp.pt.
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First class lounge at Lisbon Oriente: If you have a 1st class ticket for an Alfa Pendular, you can use the 1st class CP Lounge at Lisbon Oriente with free WiFi & complimentary tea & coffee.
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Interrail & Eurail passes: These trains are all covered by Interrail & Eurail, but you'll need a compulsory seat reservation which costs a few euros. Make this at any CP station, it cannot be done online, and cannot be done at any station outside Portugal as no other operator or retailer has a connection to CP's ticketing system.
Station information
Lisbon Santa Apolonia is the city's main terminus, walking distance from the old city centre. Lisbon-Porto trains normally start & end here. See location map.
Lisbon Oriente is a modern station & transport hub to the east of the city centre. Designed by celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava (who also designed Lyon St Exupéry and Liege Guillemins), it opened in 1998 next to Expo '98, an area now occupied by the Parque da Nações. All Lisbon-Porto trains call here, and all Lisbon to Faro trains start from here (in fact, one or two trains run direct between Porto & Faro, these call at Lisbon Oriente but by-pass Santa Apolonia). Click for location map
Porto Campanhã is Porto's main station, trains to & from Lisbon & Faro use this station. See location map.
Porto São Bento is a terminus located in Porto's UNESCO-listed historic centre. Built between 1904 & 1916, the azulejo tiling in the main hall make it one of Europe's most beautiful stations, and a Porto attraction in its own right. Make sure you call in here! It's not served by mainline trains to or from Lisbon, but frequent suburban trains link it with Porto Campanhã every 5-15 minutes, journey time 4 minutes. A few Douro Valley trains start from here, before serving Porto Campanhã. See larger photo of the interior. See location map. See Wikipedia page about Sao Bento station.
