The most beautiful train station in Porto: Porto São Bento station

We enter Porto São Bento station through a rather off-putting, dingy side entrance. This station is supposed to be the most beautiful in Porto? We are curious…

We walk past some offices into the station concourse and my breath really stops for a moment. It really is a beautiful and unique station!

Porto São Bento railroad station – origins

King Manuel I of Portugal reigned around 1518 and ordered that a monastery be built at his expense within the city walls of Porto. The monastery was given the name Mosteiro de São Bento de Avé-Maria. After the monastery was dissolved and the last monk died in 1892, the city demolished the building in 1894.

Porto was already connected to the rail network at this time. However, the trains all terminated far from the city center at Campanhã station. The plan was to extend the line into the city. While the monastery was still being demolished, the Royal Portuguese Railway Company began to extend the line towards the city center. The destination was the site of the former monastery, where the new city center station was to be built.

Initially, Porto São Bento station did not yet exist. The trains ended at Praça da Liberdade. There were three small wooden buildings with the ticket office and waiting room.

In order for the line to continue, three new inner-city tunnels first had to be built. In October 1900, the time had finally come. The Túnel da Quinta da China (96 meters), Túnel do Monte do Seminário (225 meters) and Túnel das Fontainhas/Túnel de São Bento (753 meters) were completed. Now all that was missing was the new station building, which today is still reminiscent of the name of the monastery.

Picture gallery or train station?

José Marques da Silva, an architect from Porto, designed the new 551 m² building in the shape of a “U”. The vestibule was designed by the artist Jorge Colaço. It was completed in October 1916 and I’m sure the first visitors were just as amazed as I was.

The artist has created something in the vestibule that I have never seen before. Numerous azulejos tiles make the room look almost like a museum. I find the division of the design into two parts very remarkable. In the lower area are the typical blue and white pictures. In the upper area, there is a colorful frieze of pictures all around.

It’s almost like being in a picture gallery when you watch the people in the entrance hall. Everyone strolls past the paintings, photos are taken – the only thing missing are the benches so that you can enjoy the paintings in peace.

For example, Henry the Navigator (port. Infante Dom Henrique), who conquers Ceuta, or the reception of Egas Moniz by King Alfonso VII of Castile and Leon. I really like the pictures that show people at work. For example, there are pictures showing work in the vineyards, the harvest and the delivery of wine via the Douro.

Service facilities at the station:

• Ticket counter
• Ticket machines
• Waiting rooms
• Information center
• Coin-operated lockers
• Exchange office
• Restrooms

Travel information