Porto · Portugal
São Bento Station
A practical guide to São Bento Station in Porto: how to read its 20,000 azulejo tiles, how much time to give it, what time to avoid the groups and what traps are around it.
Yes, it's worth it, and it's free. But give it 20 minutes and read the walls: the quick photo of the ceiling is the least of it.
São Bento Station is a commuter rail station right in the center of Porto whose hall is covered in about 20,000 hand-painted azulejo tiles. They tell the history of Portugal in huge blue-and-white scenes, with a color frieze above. It’s free, you can see it in 20 minutes and for many travelers it’s the first thing they see of the city.
Our experience
It was our first stop in Porto. We came from Lisbon on the Alfa Pendular, arriving at Campanhã at 11:48, took the urban train included in our ticket and by 12:05 we were in the hall. We gave it 20 minutes, reading the north wall first and then the south, and at 12:25 we walked out to lunch at Café Santiago, five minutes away.
Arriving at midday comes at a cost: it’s exactly when the groups start. That’s why we didn’t try to stay longer. If you have flexibility, come before 9:00 or in the middle of the afternoon.
A bit of history
Where the station stands today there was a Benedictine convent founded in 1518. When the last nun died, in 1892, they tore it down. King Carlos I laid the station’s first stone in 1900, with a design by the Paris-trained architect José Marques da Silva.
In 1905 Jorge Colaço set the first tile. His commission was to tell the country’s history in ceramic, and it took him eleven years. The station opened in 1916, in the middle of World War I and by then under the republic: the king who blessed it had been assassinated in 1908.
If you go on to the Douro Valley afterward, Pinhão station has another azulejo cycle, this time about the grape harvest. Between the two you get the history of the country and the history of the wine.
How it fits into your day
São Bento is five minutes from Clérigos Tower and on the way down to the Ribeira. See how we strung it together on our first day in Porto.
What to see, in order
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Battle of Valdevez (1140)
North wall, on the left as you enter, at the top. Knights, banners and tents: the moment Afonso Henriques gets Portugal recognized as a kingdom separate from León.
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Egas Moniz before Alfonso VII
Below Valdevez and easy to miss. The Portuguese tutor presents himself to the Castilian king with his wife and children, offering his life and his family's after the siege of Guimarães. It's one of the kingdom's founding stories of loyalty.
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Entry of João I and Philippa of Lancaster
South wall, at the top. The 1387 wedding in Porto that sealed the alliance with England, with the towers of the Sé in the background.
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The conquest of Ceuta (1415)
Below the entry of João I. Prince Henry the Navigator, aged 21, leading the fleet that kicked off Portuguese expansion.
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The color frieze
Above the blue panels, a polychrome band with the history of transportation: oxcarts, pilgrims, rabelo boats and, at the end, the locomotive.
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The side panels
Scenes from northern Portugal: the Lamego procession, the São Torcato pilgrimage, a cattle fair and wine coming down the Douro.
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The view from the steps
Go up a few steps toward the platforms and turn around. From up there the proportions of the panels read the way they were composed.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Read left to right: north wall first, then the south. That way the story goes in order.
- Take the panoramic photo at the end, from the steps on the platform side. By then the people lining up in the middle will be gone.
- There are paid luggage lockers inside the station, coins only. They're handy if your place to stay won't let you in yet.
- There are no signs explaining the scenes. Read up a little before you go, or the visit boils down to "knights and boats."
Do
- Carry your bag in front and your phone in your front pocket: with your head tilted back at the ceiling you're an easy target.
- Let the people heading to the platforms through. It's their everyday station.
- Walk three minutes to Rua das Flores or to Café Santiago to eat.
Don’t
- Don't accept "guides" offering themselves at the door for a few euros: the explanation varies and at the end they push for a tip.
- Don't eat at the station café or at the terraces on the square with picture menus.
- Don't sign petitions or accept roses on the square: they're distractions for theft.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to enter São Bento Station?
Nothing. It's a working station, and the hall with the azulejos is open to anyone during train hours.
How much time do you need?
Twenty minutes for the four large panels and the friezes. With 40 minutes you also see the side panels and the facade.
Who made the São Bento azulejos?
The painter Jorge Colaço, between 1905 and 1916. There are about 20,000 tiles, made in Sacavém, near Lisbon.
Do trains from Lisbon arrive here?
Not directly. The Alfa Pendular arrives at Campanhã and from there the urban train, included in your ticket, brings you to São Bento in four minutes.