The one star is for the tram's themselves. They work. Actually they work really well and run really…read moreregularly. And they are comfortable. The four stars are lost for what must be the world's worst ticketing system. A system utterly complex and confused. Imagine John Cleese portraying a lost Hungarian asking directions to his hotel using a Hungarian English translation book written by the same person who designed Porto's Metro system. However declaring I will not buy this record it is scratched to strangers in London is far more likely to result in you finding your destination than trying to purchase one of these tickets. For a start it's all divided into a huge number of zones that have both numbers and letters. You have to know which one you start in, which you go through, and which you will end up in. You can't just press the stations name and then the destination. Further, some cards are recharchable but only if they are going to the same place. Working this out results in you getting a discount. There is an English menu but the words don't seem to relate to concepts of transport. Asking the very helpful Portugese people is no use either, as they seemed just as baffled as the tourists. Must be an awful lot of very frustrated inadvertent foreign fare evaders.

At the airport Metro station, there is always a guy who will help you with the ticket ;-) And since…read morerecently, you can recharge all the tickets.

I love the blue tile panels; they're stunning…read more The station is for local commuting (no trains go to Lisbon from here). Construction is underway, so some of the tile panels are covered halfway for protection.

To all other train station, you're fired. Sao Bento is giving art museum with a punctual departure…read moretime. Over 20,000 tiles inside. Each one depicting Portugal's very eventful history from battles to weddings to farming during the Renaissance. Honestly, I wish my local transit had this kind of ambition.

Porto Wine Hostel is a port-themed hostel conveniently located within walking distance of…read morerestaurants, public transportation, and popular attractions. What I liked: * The free glass of port wine at check-in was a nice way to start my stay. The wine theme continued throughout the hostel, with bottles lining the stairs and rooms named after port wines--a cute and creative touch! * My room was a private room with an en-suite bathroom. The full-length mirror was a small but much-appreciated detail. * Towels smelled freshly laundered (not always the case in hostels) and the staff were helpful and friendly. They answered all my questions and made sure I had everything I needed during my stay. What could be improved: * My "garden view" turned out to be more of a view of a large park under construction. Not quite the greenery I'd imagined. * Noise was a huge issue! The hostel warned about noise from the college crowd on the weekends; however, I wasn't prepared for loud music and gatherings lasting until 3 AM. Even with earplugs, it was tough to sleep. * The bathroom in my room was unusually narrow and dark, with an odd smell. I had to leave the door open for extra space. Things to know before you book: * There is no elevator in this hostel. This was fine for me; however, it's something to consider if stairs are an issue for you. * This is not a social hostel, so if you're traveling solo and looking to meet people, you might need to venture out or arrange a tour through the front desk. * Consider booking a different hostel if you want to fall asleep before 3 AM.

Love, love, LOVE this place!…read more First off, it's a bit of a hike from the metro station. It's not horrible, but it's not right around the corner, either. For myself, that was the only bummer. That being said, the short walk up a hill gave myself, my sister, and husband plenty of chances to look at the stunning Portuguese architecture and note some places to get coffee and shop for sandals and maybe some extra clothes. The Wine Hostel is fairly well marked and we had no trouble finding it. There's a small foyer you can enter where then you have to get buzzed into the building or swipe your fob. In this foyer, there was a vintage bicycle with a dozen empty port bottles in the front basket, a crate of empty port bottles on the back rack, and an empty crate of port bottles on the floor. The receptionist buzzed us in, and crates of empty port bottles lined the wall up the short stairs to the front desk landing. My sister turned to me grinning: "Are we in the right place or are we in the right place?!" The receptionist, Carla, was friendly and got us checked in. While she copied the info from our Passports, my group logged into their free wifi on our phones. Then she showed us around the hostel. The stairs continued up the left from the front desk landing with a gorgeous balister and opened to another landing that had a wide open kitchen and laundry area for guest use on the right and to the left an equally large common room where there was a dining table, several cushion chairs, 2 computer stations, a tv surrounded by bean bag chairs, and plenty of Portugal tour books and board games for free use. In the evenings there was port tasting for anywhere between 1-3 Euros, depending on the type of port you wanted to have, and every day there was a Happy Hour where they were even cheaper. We continued up the magnificent staircase to the next floor where our dorm room was. We stayed in the LBV room and it was beautiful! Three white wooden bunks and matching storage cabinets had plenty of room in this tall yet cozy dorm, with floor to ceiling windows that could be shuttered with doors. The room had an attached modern bathroom that was beautifully tiled with a toilet, sink, and stand up shower. There was a tall woven rack that offered plenty of room for holding toothpaste and deodorant and such. The only thing that was a slight bummer was the laundry dryer was currently broken, so if we wanted to do laundry, we would have to air dry it (which wasn't really possible because it was a foggy, rainy stay in Porto, but we weren't desperate for clothes just yet anyways). The Wine Hostel isn't very near a lot of sight seeing attractions, but it was close to a lot of wonderful restaurants, and that's honestly just as good. Walking out to find a delicious and affordable dinner was no problem at all, and Carla was happy to point us in the right direction. Another night my group stayed in and maybe had a touch too much Port while we used The Wine Hostel's wifi to finish checking in online to planes, securing train tickets, and paid for print-outs of said tickets. Since Porto is the home of port wine, the options are basically unlimited as to what kind of port you want to drink, and what only costs mere Euros here would wipe you out in the United States. My husband and I are huge port fans, so this was basically heaven. When it was time to check out, the Wine Hostel offered to hold our bags until our train left, but we declined as we could rent lockers at the train station to hold our stuff until it was time to head to Lisbon. It wasn't as cheap as leaving them as the hostel, which would have been free, but it would save us a trip and precious time. I would 100% go back to The Wine Hostel. I absolutely loved it and had a wonderful time and experience. The beds were comfortable and the sheets and comforter were new and clean, the residence was gorgeous, and the staff was friendly. I definitely recommend it!

Estação Aliados is an underground station on Linha D of the Metro do Porto. It is one of the…read morecleanest metro stations I've seen in a while with no litter and no graffiti. It is well lit and there are visibly mounted security cameras. The station is handicapped accessible with lifts from the platform level to the ticketing concourse and to street level. The station is a split platform with the trains going in between. This means that the doors of the train will open on the right. Automated ticket vending machines are on the ticketing concourse. Serving Linha D since September 2005, the station is between Trindade (towards Hospital S. João) and São Bento (towards Santo Ovídio). [Review 9906 overall, 1484 of 2018.]

Went with a large group of friends for a Douro Valley Wine Tour in March. Our Living Tours guides…read morewere Luis Matos and Pedro Teixeira, who picked us up from our hotel in two vans and drove us around all day while narrating the history and knowledge about the area. We stopped by two beautiful vineyards for delicious wine tastings (Quinta Dos Castelares and Quinta Santa Julia) with a peaceful boat ride on the Douro River in between. The whole day lasted 9am to 6pm. Luis and Pedro did a wonderful job and made the trip seamless and memorable. They mentioned that they partner with different vineyards daily, so you could get other wonderful options for wine if you go on the tour with them. Overall, highly recommend the experience and thank you for a great trip!

Our tour guide, Ruth, was a positive energy for the group.we loved the tours of the winery and the…read morefun atmosphere developed among all participants.

Trinidad is the busiest station on the whole of the Porto Metro; it acts as an important…read moreinterchange section as it is on all six lines of the Metro between A and F and is also served by bus routes. I used this station daily during my December 2024 trip to Porto across multiple routes. I did find the station a little difficult to navigate, and the platform layout wasn't as clear compared to other metro stations I've used worldwide. There were some overhead banners stating the lines and destinations, but the layout before reaching the platform was confusing. I also didn't like the departure time boards, which didn't display every line, including those serving the same platform. This left me in the dark about when my train would arrive. I ended up using this station during a strike, which was handled very poorly. There was no signage around the station, nor were there any audio announcements informing passengers about the strike or that trains were operating on a part route. I ended up purchasing a ticket to a zone I couldn't travel to. Why would the machines allow this? I then waited on the platform for a while again, none the wiser of the strike action. Clear guidance regarding the strike and information on how services were running would have been really helpful. The station is clean and tidy and reasonably modern, as a surface-level station, you can get in and out quickly for some platforms, and it is step-free, so friendly for those with large suitcases and heading to the Airport or those with specific access needs. 3* - The station is a central hub on the Porto Metro, so you just expect more, and it doesn't deliver. If using the station, make sure you plan and check everything and don't rely on inadequate station staffing and information for assistance.

Surface level station but inside a building, Trindade was built on the site of a former railway…read morestation. It's interesting to see as it is the only station in the Porto Metro system where the A, B, C, E and F lines intersect with the D line. It is the busiest station in the system, earning nearly 1/6th of all ticket validations. Transit between lines is well marked and signage is good. The station is completely handicapped accessible with elevators. There are automated ticket vending machines available and I saw a good number of reflective-jacket wearing helpers too. For the A, B, C, E, and F lines, Trindade is between Bolhão and Lapa. On the D line, it is between Aliados and Faria Guimarães. [Review 9908 overall, 1486 of 2018.]

This is a good way to get a nice aerial view of the bustling Porto tourist area by the river. Keep…read morein mind this ride is VERY short - I'd say it will be 5-7 minutes max before you're already reach the other gondola station at the top of the hill but it's a great way to still take some nice photos and honestly save you a brutal walk up to the top area where the bridge is. There are also some nice little vendors at the top of the hill by the park where the gondola station is especially a great vendor who was serving some insane delicious lemon gelato from a street cart. You also are a short walk away up top from the bridge that you can take some awesome photos of the city and riverside area. Here's the deal, this will cost you a bunch of Euros so unless you're young and hardy and don't mind a long ass walk or aren't averse paying for a taxi to go up to the top, this is probably a good option if you want to save some energy or time or save any older people or kids in your party from a long walk.

Skip the hilly hike with a scenic cable car ride…read more Teleférico de Gaia is a gondola cable car route down along the hillside of Vila Nova de Gaia from the upper terrace by Dom Luis I Bridge. It features a colourful view of historic Porto across the Douro River. We paid €9 pp for a return ticket for efficiency rather than hiking between these viewpoints after landing & touring historic Porto and walking across the famous bridge. After a walk down a tunnel, the gondola ride-on system from the top is efficient like a ski lift. The ride itself is only around five minutes each way, but those five minutes gives you panoramic views of the Dom Luis I Bridge, the Douro River and Porto hillside neighbourhoods. At the bottom, we found a lively waterfront with music, wine patio, street vendors and Mercado Beira Rio. The ride back from the lower cable car station took much longer due to the lineup heading back in the late afternoon. As we ate dinner, we noticed a few cable cars still operating at sunset past the posted 6pm closing time for the perfect golden hour view across the Douro River. Skip it or hit it? It's worth the view & quick journey but be prepared to lineup at peak rush.