‘Getting off the beaten track’ is an often overused phrase, but it’s entirely apt if you’re hoping to explore the less-visited towns and cities across Portugal. Sometimes your destination is the goal; occasionally it’s a bonus, as it can be more about the journey itself and the evolving landscapes the carriage windows frame so perfectly. With this in mind, we give you our pick of Portugal’s Best Railway Journeys…
The Linha do Douro is consistently voted one of the top ten train routes in Europe.
It’s a well-deserved acclaim – what might be seen as a heritage railway in other countries is alive and well here in Portugal. You could see the Douro Valley line as being neglected or forgotten by Comboios de Portugal (the state-owned railway operator) – however, the lack of modernisation is one of the lines many charms. It’s also been under threat of modernisation for over twenty-years – now’s the time to ride the line before it’s gone.
Your journey begins at Porto’s famous Sao Bento train station. At the start of the 20th century, a central station was required for the Third Order commuter lines which would connect central Porto to its suburbs, and to the First Order mainline to Lisbon. The Estacao Ferroviaria de Sao Bento was proposed – to be built on the site of the derelict Sao Bento da Ave Maria convent in the district of Cedofeita.
The tricky engineering of the 700m long Dom Carlos I tunnel was tackled first, to bring the line from Alameda das Fontainhas (close to the Maria Pia Bridge), directly into today’s station on the Praca de Almeida Garrett. A tunnel collapse delayed the project in 1897 – a falling out between architect Jose Marques da Silva and the city authorities delayed the completion of the station further.
Sao Bento Station finally opened its doors to the public in 1916, and its impressive entrance hall is decorated with approximately 20,000 blue and white azulejo tiles. Azulejos have been an important element of Portuguese architecture for eight-hundred years – these beautifully painted, glazed ceramic tiles have their roots in the Islamic architecture of the Moorish occupation of Iberia. Indeed, the word azulejo is derived from the Arabic ‘zellij’ meaning polished stone, and the artform was adopted by the early architects of the Kingdom of Portugal – initially as decoration for religious buildings and royal palaces, before becoming the more widely used.
The mosaic on the south wall depicts the arrival of Philippa of Lancaster, (sister of Henry IV), into Porto. Philippa married Dom Joao I in Porto on 14th February 1387, becoming Queen Consort of Portugal and sealing an Anglo-Portuguese Alliance known as the Treaty of Windsor: the oldest, still-active union between two nations.
Their fourth son, the Infante Dom Henrique, perhaps better known as Henry the Navigator, appears below – his invasion of Ceuta in 1415 kick-started Portugal’s Age of Discoveries, their mapping of the sea route from Europe to India, and their colonization of Brazil.
The Battle of Valdevez is commemorated on the northern wall – a conflict fought in the 12th century between Alfonso VII of Leon and Afonso I of Portugal. Victory for Afonso I resulted in the Treaty of Zamora, and established Portugal as a free Kingdom. A rendering Luis Camoes’ legend of Egas Moniz appears below. Moniz was a knight and tutor to Dom Afonso I in his youth – when the adult Afonso reneged on an oath of allegiance to Alfonso VII, Moniz offer his life and that of his family as penance. Moved by his chivalry, Alfonos spare the family and ended his ongoing siege of Guimaraes (the family’s home city).
Surrounding these historical representations, you’ll see stylised depictions of rural Portuguese life – some are in blue and white, others in full colour. It took artist Jorge Colaco eleven years to complete the concourse project and the station is now designated a National Monument of Portugal.
Despite its grand entrance, Sao Bento is a relatively small station and the Linho Douro trains usually depart from Platform 2. Trains are often made up of just three or four carriages – the red/white and blue/white carriages are Swiss and Austrian in origin; their windows open fully so give you the best views and opportunities for photographs. There’s usually a silver carriage at the front of the train, just behind the locomotive – they’re our favourites: Portuguese built with a mix of seventies-meets-art-deco.
The Class 1400 diesel locomotive at the front of the train was built by English Electric and Vulcan Foundry in the late 1960s, based on the design of the British Rail Class 20. Most of the old diesel fleet has been retired or demoted to freight work as the Portuguese rail network has been electrified – it’s only really here on the Douro line where they’re still used for passenger services. There’s no buffet car or food/drink service – stocking up on supplies is advised before you head to the station. Sitting on the right-hand side of the train provides the best views, but be ready to close your window as you head into a tunnel, to avoid the exhaust fumes from the locomotive.
Leaving Porto, the first hour of your journey takes you northwest, through commuter towns such as Ermeside and Penafiel – these gradually fade away, replaced by rustic villages and isolated olive farms. Crossing the River Tamega, you’ll see small vineyards and schist-stone terraces starting to appear as you meet the River Douro at Mosteiro – the views are magnificent as the railway snakes its way upriver, and the olive groves and vineyards continue to multiply.
Peso da Regua is the largest town in the Douro and the historic home of the Real Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro: the Royal Company of Vine-Growers of the Alto Douro. The Companhia was created in 1756 to protect the region’s smaller producers from exploitation by more-powerful UK importers. It established the world’s first Denominacao de Origem Controlada, which protects the Douro Valley’s grape varieties and vinification methods.
As you’re just passing through, look out for the triple bridges of Ponte Metalica da Regua, Ponte Rodoviaria da Regua and the Ponte Miguel Torga. The arched Ponta Metallica is the oldest of the three, constructed in 1872 as part of the Corgo Line: a single-track, narrow-gauge railway which once ran from Chaves on the Spanish border – just in advance of its closure (in 1990), the line appeared in an episode of the BBC series Great Little Railways: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPz0_MDRosU
The Ponte Rodoviaria da Regua is a masonry bridge and dates back to the 1930s. It was to be a key element in a new railway line connecting Regua to the city of Lemago (and on to Viseu) – the railway was abandoned at the eleventh hour and the bridge was converted for road traffic. The Ponte Miguel Torga is a relative youngster, having been completed in 1997. It crosses the valley at a height of 90m and towers over the two older bridges – its curved, concrete span is 900m long and it was cast entirely in situ.
The sleepy hamlet of Pinhao is arguably the true centre of the port wine industry, where barrels of new wine were once loaded onto rabelo boats for transportation to the port houses in Gaia. Wine has been produced in the valleys of the Alto Douro for over 2,000 years, and whilst it’s most-famous outside of Portugal for its Port production, the region also produces an equal quantity of red, white and rose table wines each year.
With the arrival of the railway, wine producers where quick to switch from the rabelos to the train. Such is the march of progress, the railway was superseded by the road – since the late 1990s, the new wine has been transported by tanker to Gaia, where it’s aged, bottled and exported.
Departing from Pinhao, you’ll pass the by the iron-beamed, Gustave Eiffel-designed Ponta do Pinhao bridge on your right, followed quickly by the Quinta da Bom Fim on your left: producer of Dow’s port wines.
You’ll also begin to see just how much of the land is turned over to wine production, and yet many of the larger wine estates have embraced diversification in recent times, planting a range of native pines, cork oak trees and walnut groves. Olives and olive oil production have become almost as lucrative as the wine trade, with a focus on creating balanced, pesticide-free ecosystems to nurture and preserve Portugal’s native olive species.
Arguably the most-beautiful section of the line, the journey from Pinhao to Pocinho is certainly the most-rugged and remote – passing by the Barragem de Valeira Dam and hydroelectric power station, through the narrow Cachao da Valeira river gorge and over the Ponte Ferradosa bridge. The Ferradosa takes you onto the south bank of the river, so you’ll need to switch sides for the best views. This ‘new’ bridge was constructed in 1980, following the rise in water levels after the opening of the dam – the remnants of the old 1887 bridge can still be seen downstream.
There’s a short pause whilst the locomotive switches ends, then you can enjoy the journey in reverse as you head back to Porto. Riding the entire 160km of the line from Porto to Pocinho (and back again) is quite a full-on day. Dividing your time between the city and Pinhao, our Porto and the Douro Valley by Train holiday is a more leisurely way to explore and enjoy the city, the vineyards, and the railway.
We specialise in personalised holidays to Portugal.
Call our team 017687 721070 to begin planning your own personalised trip.
Follow us online