A GUIDE TO TRAIN STATIONS IN LISBON

Lisbon has several major train stations, with Oriente, Santa Apolónia, Rossio, Cais do Sodré, and Sete Rios being the most important hubs. Each serves different destinations across Portugal and connects seamlessly with local transport. Travelers can reach Sintra from Rossio Station, Cascais from Cais do Sodre, and Porto from Oriente/Santa Apolonia. 

                                  

Oriente

Built to be Lisbon’s main train station, Oriente was inaugurated in 1998, in time to bring visitors to the World Fair which took place in the Portuguese capital that year. It was designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, who nearly two decades later was responsible for the new World Trade Center station in New York, using the same materials and his signature design. Oriente literally means “orient” and refers to the station’s location in the eastern part of the city, in the Parque das Nações district. That’s the former site of the World Fair, now a modern business and residential district. It's a major hub for high-speed Alfa Pendular and Intercity trains; connects Lisbon to Porto, Braga, Faro, and Spain.

                                  

This is the closest train station to the airport. It faces the Parque das Nações waterfront and also houses a metro station below it and a bus terminal behind it. Most buses are from the public Carris company that provides services within Lisbon and to the suburbs, but there are also those of private companies providing long-distance travel (like the popular FlixBus), including to Madrid (buses that link Lisbon to cities around Portugal mainly depart from the Sete Rios terminal). The buses of the Carris Metropolitana company to the city of Setúbal also depart from here. Across the street from Oriente Station (or connected through the underground level) is the Vasco da Gama shopping mall, home to dozens of stores and a good food court. It’s a convenient destination for those with a long wait for a train or bus, although the station also has shops and eateries. Oriente is the most modern and busiest, located in the futuristic Parque das Nações district. It’s ideal for long-distance travel.

Santa Apolonia

Santa Apolónia is the main train station in the center of Lisbon. It’s the city’s oldest (it was built on the site of a former convent of the same name, and inaugurated in 1865), and was, until 2020, the primary departure point for international trains. It's also from where the long-distance services of the national CP company depart to the north of Lisbon, such as Porto and Braga (trains to Faro, in Algarve, southern Portugal, depart from Oriente Station). Infrequent services stop at the suburbs to the east of Lisbon, but most suburban trains now depart from Oriente, Cais do Sodré, or Rossio Station. 

The trains to one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Lisbon region, Sintra, depart from Rossio, while those to the beaches of Cascais depart from Cais do Sodré. Santa Apolónia is historic and atmospheric, sitting right by the Tagus River and Alfama, with long-distance trains to northern Portugal and international routes. Since most tourists stay in the center of Lisbon, Santa Apolónia is most often the preferred station. However, Oriente is much closer to the airport.

Rossio

Built in the late 19th century (opened in 1891), it was originally called Estação Central. Its ornate horseshoe-shaped arches and turrets make it one of Lisbon’s architectural landmarks. The neo-Manueline (Portuguese Gothic Revival) architecture of this station makes it one of Lisbon’s most striking monuments. It faces the northwest corner of Rossio Square, which it was named after, and is the station for the suburban trains to Sintra. That historic town is the most popular day trip from Lisbon, so this is the station most used by tourists. The Lisbon-Sintra line also stops in the suburb of Queluz, which is home to one of Portugal’s most beautiful royal palaces. 

Inside, the station, which dates from 1888, has been modernized, but the exterior maintains the original horseshoe-shaped doorways and windows inspired by Portugal’s 16th-century palaces. A statue of King Sebastião once welcomed passengers between the doorways, but it was destroyed in 2016, when a tourist climbed it to take a selfie and it broke into pieces. Rossio is perfect for day trips to Sintra, with its dramatic façade right in the city center.

                                         

Cais do Sodre

The Cais do Sodré transportation hub is located on the waterfront, to the west of Baixa (downtown). It consists of a train station from 1928, which is linked to a metro station below it, and a ferry station behind it. Outside are the terminus and stops of several bus and tram routes. The trains are those of the Lisbon-Cascais line, which operates between 5:30am and 1:30am. The ferries link Lisbon to Cacilhas across the river, where there’s a bus terminal with services to the beaches of Costa da Caparica. 

The metro station is the final stop of the green line, and was inaugurated in 1993, with large tile panels covering the walls, depicting Alice in Wonderland’s White Rabbit running late. In the main hall of the Art Deco train station are ticket counters and several ticket machines (and often long lines of beach-going tourists in the summer). There are also a few shops, a couple of cafés, and a supermarket. The metro is downstairs. Cais do Sodré is your gateway to the beaches of Cascais, and it’s also a hub for ferries across the Tagus.