The title does not exaggerate. If you google the most scenic train ride in Portugal, it will take you to exactly where I'm going to take you today. From Porto through the Douro Valley to Pinhão and Pochinho to see these stunning views.
My train ride started at the Porto São Bento station, a station so beautiful that it's worthy of its own post, when I get around to it one day.
As soon as I got on the train and saw the carriages, I knew I would be in a treat for my 200km 3-hour train journey. There's something so nostalgic about it, cruising in these classic art deco looking style carriages along the Portuguese countryside. And the best thing was that there weren't many passengers on board. We could walk freely from side to side inside the carriage to admire the scenery. The windows could be pushed halfway down, opening up an unobstructed view outside.
And if you wanted a full length unobstructed view, there's always the open door! I was surprised to see us travelling like this, it would never pass health and safety in UK 😄
As the train slowly left Porto, we traveled east towards Spain. The scenery was pretty ok with a mix of urban landscape, rural countryside, villages, and the vineyards along the Douro Valley. It wasn't as impressive as what I'd seen on the internet, but the novelty of the train ride was still very high that I didn't mind too much.
Some of the stations were very small, and a few people got off. Then there was another bigger station called Pinhão, a big tourist group got off here and the train was nearly empty. We'll be coming back to Pinhão later on in the afternoon.
We continued our journey and about 2 hours in, we reached the best part of the train ride. The train was travelling along side the river now weaving in and out of the valley.
Gradually, the views opened up and it was nothing short of spectacular. It was a beautiful clear day, and the reflection of the undulating valley into the river was so breathtaking. There weren't many people left on the train and everyone huddled towards a window to get the best view. I was thinking of those poor tourists who got off at Pinhão, you missed out big time!!! This is the best part of this train ride.
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Pocinho
After three and a half hours we arrived at Pocinho, the end stop of my train ride. Pocinho is a very small station, and I couldn't see anything nearby, not even a shop. Apart from a couple of staff and the handful of train passengers, there was not another soul in sight. Snowpea and I hung around the station for a few moments, munching our packed lunch waiting for the next train to head back west.
Pinhão
On the return journey, we went pass the same amazing views again. This time I didn't take any photos, that's all been done on the incoming journey. I put my phone away and took everything in with my own eyes. The experience is so much better than through the lenses.
After a while, we arrived at Pinhão, that's the town where the group of tourists got off in the morning, and missed the best views. Many people come here for hikes and port tastings. After all, this what the region is famous for.
The other thing one can do at Pinhão is to take a boat ride along the Douro river. Two companies offer the boat ride here and their boats depart every hour. So between them, there's a boat ride every half an hour making it very convenient for visitors and fair for the two companies. The ride lasts about an hour and cruises a shirt section along the same route as the train because the train travels alongside the river. Despite the same route and scenery, there was a different feel between the two forms of transport. The boat was much slower of course, and we got to see both sides of the valley at the same time, as well as the vineyards and hotels dotted along the valley. I think it was definitely worth doing it to get a different perspective of the area.
We walked around town for a little while after the boat ride before catching the train back to Porto for dinner. Great day out and I highly recommend it if you're in Porto.
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What a beautiful scenic route you took by train. The cars are very spacious and have nice size windows allowing to great views. I would totally take this if i was nearby. It's cool they have stops in small town, even individuals there can go on this journey. The boat ride on the river would defintely add a little charm to trip. Thanks for sharing 😃
I loved the carriages, plus the fact there weren't much people, maybe because it was a low season so that worked out perfect for us. And despite that, they were still doing the boat trips throughout the day.
That looks absolutely stunning! You couldn't have had a more perfect day for it either. Pretty awesome that you were able to cram all of that into one day. I definitely think riding the train to the end would be worth it.
We had more than enough time coz we took the 9am train. At the end of the day we even had a lot of spare time after the boat trip in Pinhao as I looked up the wrong timetable (weekend instead of weekday) for the return train back to Porto, and we ended up hanging around for another hour and just sat in the cafe 😅
Oh wow, that is awesome! What a fortunate mistake!
Wow that looks indeed stunning. The tikes in the station. The old seats and atmosphere… in the train.
Hahaha with an open door.
The boat ride looks awesome too.
I do the same when going back the same route. Put away the camera and enjoy it all. Perfect!
What a fun trip Pauline 😁 thanks for sharing.
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It's nice to take photos to share, but seeing things with your own eyes is so much better isn't it! It was a great day out
It is so much better. Enjoying the moment. Looking around, it becomes rare to see people without phones, just enjoying. I try to more and more… hahaha
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Wow, those train carriages are bloomin awesome! Even the open door!
And did you notice how near the train was travelling along by the river? It was fun 😊
Oh yeah, fun but potentially fear inducing!
The scenes are indeed amazing! Thanks for sharing. I needed to see nature today.
Your camera captures great photos! I would be hard to capture wonderful images while moving
Glad you enjoyed the virtual train ride, hope it made your day much better
It did! Thanks much!
Two train posts in one day. Im being spoilt!
Portugal still has some amazing railway architecture and this trip is considered one of Europes 'must-do'
journeys and now i can see why.
Train and boat in one day! Thats what I call a grand day out!
This is certainly the best train ride I've done so far. I wanna do some other ones in Switzerland and Finland. Siberia was also on my list, but sadly that ain't gonna happen now.
Hiya, @lauramica here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Travel Digest #2392.
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How GORGEOUS is the station in Porto?? We loved it. Jamie got excited when we were driving along the valley on the n222 and he saw that train on the other side - we raced it for a bit. So cool to read about someone who went on it! Loved the whole area and Porto is magnificent. I do wonder how that valley would look without the decimation for vineyards though. I think they've been struggling a bit since Ukraine as Russia was one of the biggest importers!
Wow! That would have been an awesome drive! Did you stop by any of the restaurants or vineyards? I saw some dotted by the lake, think the dining view would be so cool.
As to the station, not only that, I think a lot of the buildings in Porto have so much character, I still got a bunch of photos I haven't posted about yet
We were lucky enough to be shown around by a local. So he looks us to lots of cool places in Porto!
We just went to one where you could freecamp and do a tasting on a farm/vineyard and learnt a lot about the appellation. Really interesting.
The road was judged as one of best in world!
https://detour-roadtrips.com/home/detour-173-is-the-n22-in-portugal-really-the-worlds-best-road
The Duoro valley is gorgeous but I have not seen from a train only a boat. And what a train that looked like, and the open door, that takes me back to trains in India years ago!
We used to have that in Hong Kong when I was a kid, people seem to be a lot more sensible back then no one fell off the train. I think we're a lot more protective now, or are people just more stupid 🤔🙄🥴
There’s a lot to love about this. I’m a massive fan of Portugal, having been a number of times but I’ve not done this trip yet. I’m taking notes, as I want to do the same route in maybe two years time. Yep very specific but I’ve an idea.
Looks like you have a few nice holidays lined up already, nice things are worth waiting for!
2025 is very much organised as we are heading for Newquay, Slovenia and Corfu!!
The São Bento station in Porto is still in our memories - so beautiful it is!!! Unfortunately, we didn't do this train ride you did... it is a must if we go back one day to Portugal. It looks awesome, the boat ride too! 😍
Definitely highly recommend if you go back to Porto, and it's so affordable as well, nothing beats an economical day out 😄
Awesomeness LUT! There's nothing like a train ride to see the real country!
That carriage alone truly is gorrrgeous, gosh but I'd stay well clear of the open door!
My son visited Portugal recently as their company year-end function (lucky fish!) , only for a short period though, but he and his girlfriend loved it.
Sounds like your son is settling down very well in the Netherlands, so pleased to hear that.
Hopefully you come to Europe to visit him again and see more of the region, maybe hop across the channel 😉
I'd like to go next year to see the Tulips, who knows, imagine meeting you, Pauline, that would be magical 😍
Scenic indeed :) I love traveling by train as that´s one of just a few means of transport where I usually don´t suffer from motion sickness and when it even comes with views like these, it´s a very enjoyable experience :) Btw those open doors wouldn´t make it in my country either :D
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Looking like you did your Ph.D in photography... What a nice photograph... I can even see a small dot on a wall... Great... Great...
Dot on the wall?
Lovely write up and photographs
Ohhh you have been in an awesome region! That's one train ride I haven't made yet, but loved the photos; I travelled countless times by train when I was a kid, coming back to Lisboa from my grandparent's village. Thanks for sharing! !BEER
What a stunning ride from the train the view looks beautiful, the seats looks empty but I like the quietness
I love riding the train! There aren't many opportunities here in the United States, unless you are talking about commuter trains for just the area (not where I am, though).
I thought I'd get sick of riding the train when I lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked in Chicago, Illinois. I rode the Amtrak every day and never tired of looking out the window. I'd always bring a book, but I never pulled it out as I looked out the window the whole time - day or night. It was all so exciting to me. The only thing I'd do while looking out the window is talk to others who would ride each day, too.
I would love to ride around the country on a train, but my travels require that I get one place much faster than a train. Plus, my husband isn't as thrilled with trains. I just wish the cost wasn't so high. I can fly cheaper than taking a train.
My love of trains comes honestly as my mother is the same way. I think she got that from her dad who worked at the train company, Milwaukee Road. She still collects train memorabilia! I hope she comes to visit us here, because we have great area with miniature train displays by enthusiasts. She would love it, as I do.
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Ah , that is the train ride youi mentioned months ago, looks a grand adventure for sure