Portugal Rail Pass - Portugal Rail PassesPortugal Rail Passes - Portuguese Rail Passes Portugal is officially the Portuguese Republic or República Portuguesa. Portugal is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira. It features the western most point in mainland Europe, and its Iberian portion is bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Spain is the sole country to have a land border with Portugal. Its two archipelagos form two autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The official and national language is Portuguese. Lisbon is the capital and largest city. Tourist hotspots in Portugal are: Lisbon, Cascais, Fatima, Algarve, Madeira, Porto and Coimbra. Lisbon attracts the sixteenth-most tourists among European cities (with seven million tourists occupying the city's hotels in 2006). Notable luxury destinations include the Portuguese Riviera and the Comporta Coast. Also, between 5–6 million religious pilgrims visit Fatima each year, where apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children allegedly took place in 1917. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima is one of the largest Roman Catholic shrines in the world. The Portuguese government continues to promote and develop new tourist destinations, such as the Douro Valley, the island of Porto Santo, and Alentejo. The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death. The story is associated with the 17th-century calvary that is part of the collection of the Archaeological Museum located in Paço dos Condes, a gothic-style palace in Barcelos, a city in northwest Portugal. The Rooster of Barcelos is bought by thousands of tourists as a national souvenir. Travel in comfort from Lisbon to Porto and everywhere in between with rail in Portugal. Other must sees include Sintra, the town with rich palaces, Parque Nacional da Peneda Gerês, a national park that tops them all and Cascais, a youthful beach town with a dazzling coastline. Portugal has a national railway system that extends throughout the country and into Spain, is supported and administered by Comboios de Portugal (CP). Rail transport of passengers and goods is derived using the 2,791 km (1,734 mi) of railway lines currently in service, of which 1,430 km (889 mi) are electrified and about 900 km (559 mi) allow train speeds greater than 120 km/h (75 mph). The railway network is managed by Infraestruturas de Portugal while the transport of passengers and goods are the responsibility of CP, both public companies. In 2006, the CP carried 133,000,000 passengers. Five main Railway companies provide rail transport in Portugal Comboios de Portugal CP or Comboios de Portugal or EPE or Trains of Portugal is a state-owned company which operates passenger trains in Portugal. Before June 2009, CP stood for Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses or Portuguese Railways, although the company has been using its current designation as a brand name since 2004. In 2017, CP transported 122 million passengers. There are four commuter train lines departing from Lisbon: the Cascais, Sintra and Azambuja lines which is operated by CP - Comboios de Portugal, as well as a fourth line to Setúbal which is operated by Fertagus crossing the Tagus river, over the 25 de Abril Bridge. The major railway stations are Santa Apolónia, Rossio, Gare do Oriente, Entrecampos, and Cais do Sodré. Lisbon has a number of main railway stations serving different parts of city and the rest of the country. There are coin lockers at the following Lisbon stations: Cais do Sodré, Entrecampos, Lisbon Oriente, Santa Apolónia, Rossio and Sete Rios. Oriente Station or Gare do Oriente, is part of the Parque das Nações district of eastern Lisbon. The modernist station building was designed by the leading Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and was completed in time for the 1998 Lisbon Expo. Gare do Oriente includes a Lisbon Metro station on the Linha Vermelha Line and a suburban train station on the Azambuja Line that has connecting trains to Santa Apolónia, Alverca, Vila Fraca de Xera and Azambuja. The Sintra Line connects Gare do Oriente with Roma Areeiro, Entrecampos, Sete Rios, M. Abraão Campolide and Sintra. The quickest trains from Gare do Oriente take 2 hours, 35 minutes to reach Campanha Station in Porto. Santa Apolónia Station is Lisbon's oldest railway station in Portugal having been built in 1865. Santa Apolónia is situated in the Alfama district of Lisbon near the River Tagus. Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (CP) trains run from here to both Paris and Madrid, including the high-speed Alfa Pendular service. Express trains to Porto depart from Santa Apolónia Station calling at Gare do Oriente. Santa Apolónia is convenient for a number of Lisbon attractions including the Museu Militar and the Museu Nacional do Azulejo. Sete Rios Station in northern Lisbon is the main bus station for long-distance buses to destinations all over Portugal. Many local Lisbon city buses also stop at Sete Rios. Sete Rios is also on the blue line of the Lisbon Metro. The metro station is called Jardim Zoológico. The Sete Rios train station has trains to Faro, Setubal and other destinations. Sete Rios is also a good place to find a taxi. Frequent trains from Sete Rios run to Setubal across the River Tagus operated by Fertagus. There are also several trains a day from Sete Rios to Faro in the Algarve (with connections to Lagos to the west and all stations to Vila Real de Santo Antonio to the east) taking a little over 3 hours to Faro via Tunes. The train to Evora with connections on to Beja departs from Oriente Station and stops on the way at Sete Rios. Also from Sete Rios are trains to Mira Sintra-Meleças, Torres Vedras, Obidos, Caldas da Rainha and Leiria on the Linha do Oeste. Rossio Station in central Lisbon is a temple of Neo-Manueline architecture and a major transport hub for the Lisbon city bus, subway, taxi, and tram network. The late 19th century building complete with horseshoe shaped arches and ornamental clock was designed by José Luís Monteiro and is the main rail gateway to Sintra. The station is close to the metro stations of Rossio and Restauradores with the latter station having pedestrian connections to Rossio Station. There are trains to Sintra Station approximately every 15 minutes from Rossio on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends, with the journey between Lisbon and Sintra taking 39 minutes. On weekdays after 8.38pm the service is every 30 minutes. Campanhã - Porto's main station, including use by Alfa Pendular high speed trains Portugal is serviced by four international airports located near the principal cities of Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Beja. Lisbon's geographical position makes it a stopover for many foreign airlines at several airports within the country. The primary flag-carrier is TAP Air Portugal, although many other domestic airlines provide services within and without the country. The government decided to build a new airport outside Lisbon, in Alcochete, to replace Lisbon Portela Airport, though this plan has been suspended due to austerity measures. Currently, the most important airports are in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Funchal (Madeira), and Ponta Delgada (Azores). The major seaports are located in Sines, Lisbon, Leixões, Setúbal, Aveiro, Figueira da Foz, and Faro. The two largest metropolitan areas have subway systems: Lisbon Metro and Metro Sul do Tejo in the Lisbon metropolitan area and Porto Metro in the Porto Metropolitan Area, each with more than 35 km (22 mi) of metro lines. In Portugal, Lisbon tram services have been supplied by the Companhia de Carris de Ferro de Lisboa (Carris), for over a century. In Porto, a tram network, of which only a tourist line on the shores of the Douro remains, began construction on 12 September 1895 (a first for the Iberian Peninsula). All major cities and towns have their own local urban transport network, as well as taxi services. Portugal 1 Country Pass Eurail Portugal Pass (Eurail is a European Rail Pass for Non Europeans) Eurail 2 Country Select Pass Portugal 2 Countries Pass Discover Portugal, Spain, France and Belgium by train. If you want to get a taste of 2 different cultures on a single trip, choose the Eurail Two Country Select Pass (previously called the Eurail Regional Pass). This pass lets you discover 2 bordering European countries by train and offers the best value if you want to focus your adventure on a specific part of Europe Portugal 3 or 4 Countries Pass Pick your itinerary and travel to three popular cities in Europe: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Belgium. Eurail 3 Country Select Pass Portugal 3 Countries Pass Travel in 3 bordering countries in Europe. Delve deeper into the culture, landscape, and everyday life of 1 region in Europe. With the Eurail Three Country Select Pass you can narrow your trip to 3 bordering countries Eurail 4 Country Select Pass Portugal 4 Countries Pass Travel in 4 bordering countries in Europe. Travel by train in 4 European countries with the Eurail Four Country Select Pass You can pick the 4 bordering countries you'd like to visit below Eurail Global Rail Pass 33 Countries Pass Enjoy train travel in 33 countries with this one pass! Eurail Pass Benefits in Portugal | |||||
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