Skip to content
The Better Trip

Destinations

Saved
A CP InterRegional train on the Douro line running along a terrace above the river, with vineyards and white houses climbing the hillside.

TrainSpringSummerAutumn

Porto to the Douro Valley by train: Régua, Pinhão and Pocinho

Up the Douro along the water's edge, vineyard terraces climbing both banks and the river at the window.

The short answer

Trains on CP's Linha do Douro take about 2 h 20 from Porto to Pinhão, 1 h 55 to Régua and 3 h 20 to Pocinho. On the timetable in force since 5 August 2026 there are seven InterRegional trains a day from Porto to Régua, five of them running on through Pinhão to Pocinho. A 2026 single from Porto Campanhã to Pinhão is €12.35 (€12.45 from São Bento); seats are not reserved and there is no supplement. From 3 November 2026 to 24 March 2027 buses replace the trains between Marco de Canaveses and Régua, while Régua to Pinhão and Pocinho stays on rails.

The journey starts among Jorge Colaço's tiles at São Bento and, less than an hour and a half out of Porto, reaches the river and stays with it. From Régua to Pocinho the train runs beside the water through the Alto Douro Wine Region, terraces stacked up both banks, and at Pinhão it stops at a station lined with tile panels of the harvest. It is an ordinary regional train at an ordinary regional fare, and it is one of the finest rail journeys in Europe.

Portugal

Porto to Pinhão
about 2 h 20
Porto to Pocinho
about 3 h 20
The line
172 km, 37 stops
Through trains to Pocinho
5 a day, summer 2026
Fare from Porto to Pinhão
€12.35 (2026)
UNESCO World Heritage
Alto Douro, since 2001

Why the Douro line is one of Europe's great rail journeys

Before the railway, the wine of the upper Douro reached Porto by bad roads or by the river itself, a hard and dangerous passage. Work on the line began in 1875 at Ermesinde, outside Porto. The first train reached Régua four years later, and Pinhão in 1880, which was meant to be the end of the line. Pressure from Porto's merchants and from Dona Antónia Ferreira, the great figure of the Port wine trade, pushed it on up the valley: Tua in 1883, then Barca d'Alva and the Spanish frontier in 1887, with through running to Salamanca. The section beyond Pocinho closed in 1988, and the line today is 172 km long with 37 stations and halts.

What it runs through is the reason to go. UNESCO inscribed the Alto Douro Wine Region as a World Heritage Site in 2001, 24,600 ha of a landscape where wine has been made for some 2,000 years: terraces, quintas, villages and chapels, all of it shaped by the vine. CP calls it the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. The line follows the river for most of the way, and from Régua to Pinhão and Tua it runs so close to the water that the terraces seem to start at the window. It passes through all three of the Douro's wine sub-regions, Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior, and it starts in a second World Heritage Site, the historic centre of Porto.

The best part is that no special train is needed. The regular InterRegional services do the whole run, and the ones sold as MiraDouro use restored Swiss Schindler carriages from the late 1940s and Sorefame carriages from the early 1970s, both with windows that open, at the normal fare.

Along the way

  1. Porto

  2. Porto São Bento, before you board

    The tiled hall of São Bento

    São Bento opened on 5 October 1916 on the site of the convent of São Bento de Avé Maria, to a design by the Porto architect José Marques da Silva. Its entrance hall is lined with more than 20,000 tiles by Jorge Colaço: episodes of Portuguese history, scenes of work and daily life, and the history of transport. Even if your train leaves from Campanhã, start here; it is four minutes away by urban train.

  3. Pala halt, about 1 h 15 out of Porto

    First sight of the Douro

    For the first hour the line runs inland through the country east of Porto. At the Pala halt, where only the stopping trains call, it comes out above the river, and from here the Douro valley takes over. From here to Régua the train runs along the right bank, with the river on your right.

  4. Just after Régua

    The Corgo bridge and the Bagaúste lock

    Leaving Régua the train crosses the metal bridge over the Corgo, a tributary of the Douro, runs through a tunnel and comes to the Bagaúste dam of 1973, where the river boats climb and descend through the lock. This is the start of the Cima Corgo, the heart of Port wine country, and the terraces close in on both banks.

  5. About a quarter of an hour before Pinhão

    Covelinhas and its bays

    Covelinhas is a small station in the classic Douro style with a long view over the water. Along this stretch streams run down into the Douro in a series of small bays, some with landing stages for pleasure boats, and the quintas stand out white against the vines.

  6. Pinhão, about 2 h 20 from Porto

    Pinhão station's azulejos

    Twenty-four panels made of 3,047 tiles, ordered in 1937 from the Fábrica Aleluia in Aveiro, cover the station walls: the grape harvest, the treading, rabelo boats carrying the wine downriver, the landscape and customs of the Douro. The village grew around the wine trade and the railway, and the station building houses a Wine House selling Douro wines and Port.

  7. Tua, about 15 minutes beyond Pinhão

    Into wilder country at Tua

    Above Pinhão the valley turns rockier and steeper as the line approaches the mouth of the river Tua. Tua was once a junction for the narrow-gauge line to Mirandela and Bragança, and its old railway buildings remain. Beyond it the line enters the Douro Superior, the most remote of the three wine sub-regions.

  8. Ferradosa, about half an hour beyond Pinhão

    Across the Douro at Ferradosa

    At Ferradosa the line crosses the river on a 570 m bridge built in 1980, when the Valeira dam raised the water level; it replaced a bridge of 1887 a little upstream. From here to Pocinho the train runs along the left bank, past Vargelas and Vesúvio, and the river is now on the other side of the carriage.

  9. Pinhão

Which side to sit on the Douro train

Going up the valley from Porto, sit on the right-hand side, facing the direction of travel. From Pala to Ferradosa the line runs along the right (north) bank of the Douro, so the river, the far bank and its terraces are on your right all the way through Régua, Pinhão and Tua. At Ferradosa the line crosses the river, and for the last stretch to Pocinho the water is on the left. Coming back to Porto, sit on the left: the river is on that side from Ferradosa all the way down, and if you board at Pocinho it is on your right only until the bridge. Seats are not reserved, so board early at Campanhã or São Bento to take one on the river side. On the MiraDouro carriages the windows open.

Ways to do it

When to go

Tickets and fares for the Douro line

How much is the train from Porto to the Douro Valley, and do I need to book?

CP's 2026 fares, valid from 1 January 2026, are single fares for one adult with VAT included. Regional and InterRegional trains have no seat reservations and no supplement, so the ticket is simply your place on the train: buy it online or in the CP app up to 60 days ahead, or at the station. Children aged 4 to 12 pay half, under 4s travel free sharing a seat, and anyone aged 65 or over pays half regardless of nationality. On journeys of 91 km or more, which includes Porto to Pinhão or Pocinho, a return bought as one ticket is 10% cheaper than two singles; it cannot be combined with other discounts. Each passenger may bring one piece of luggage free, in the rack or under the seat, plus a handbag or laptop bag.

Porto Campanhã to Régua
€10.90 InterRegional, €9.90 Regional
Porto Campanhã to Pinhão
€12.35
Porto Campanhã to Tua
€13.10
Porto Campanhã to Pocinho
€14.95
Porto São Bento to Pinhão
€12.45 (to Régua €11.10, to Pocinho €15.10)
Children 4 to 12, and over 65s
half fare

Douro line timetable from Porto

What time are the trains from Porto to Pinhão and back?

On the timetable valid since 5 August 2026 (until 2 November), InterRegional trains leave Porto Campanhã for Régua at 07:30, 09:30, 11:30, 13:30, 15:25, 17:30 and 19:30; the 15:25 and 19:30 start at São Bento at 15:20 and 19:25, and for the others São Bento is four minutes away by urban train. All except the 11:30 and 19:30 continue to Pinhão and Pocinho. The 07:30 reaches Régua at 09:25, Pinhão at 09:51 and Pocinho at 10:50. Back from Pinhão, direct trains leave at 08:08, 12:18, 14:07, 16:41 and 18:11; the 18:11 is in Campanhã at 20:30. For a day trip from Porto, the 07:30 out and the 18:11 back give over eight hours in the valley.

Porto to Régua
about 1 h 55; 7 InterRegional trains a day
Porto to Pinhão
about 2 h 20; 5 direct a day, plus 1 with a change at Marco
Porto to Pocinho
about 3 h 20; 5 a day
Last direct train Pinhão to Porto
18:11, Campanhã 20:30
Where trains start
mostly Porto Campanhã; 15:20 and 19:25 from São Bento

The winter 2026 to 2027 replacement buses

Is the Douro train running in winter 2026?

From 3 November 2026 to 24 March 2027 Infraestruturas de Portugal is modernising the line between Marco de Canaveses and Régua, and trains do not run on that section. InterRegional trains still run from Porto as far as Marco de Canaveses; change at Caíde for a direct bus that takes about 1 h 15 to Régua, and stopping buses serve every station between Marco and Régua. From Régua the train runs as normal to Pinhão and Pocinho, four times a day each way, leaving Régua at 11:04, 13:00, 16:49 and 19:45. The 07:30 from Campanhã reaches Pinhão at 11:31 and the 17:30 at 20:12; a return from Pinhão at 17:15 is back in São Bento at 20:25, so a day trip still works. Connections are timed but bus times are indicative. Bicycles, scooters and wheelchairs cannot go on the buses, and group tickets are not accepted on them.

Dates
3 November 2026 to 24 March 2027
Porto to Pinhão
about 2 h 45 to 4 h, train, bus, train
Régua to Pocinho trains
4 a day each way
Bus stop at Régua
shelters opposite the station on the EN108

Worth knowing before you go

Where to stay at either end

The line starts in the middle of Porto at São Bento, so the valley is an easy day trip from any of our Porto hotels: out on the 07:30 from Campanhã, back by 20:30.

The journey in pictures

A CP InterRegional train following the curve of the Douro on a river wall below a scrub covered slope.
An InterRegional train from Porto to Pocinho crossing the foot of terraced vineyards below a Douro village, mirrored in the river.
The Ferradosa railway bridge carrying the Douro line across the river between terraced vineyards.
Pinhão station, its platform wall lined with blue and white azulejo panels.
An azulejo panel of the grape harvest on the wall of Pinhão station.
Terraced vineyards rising above Pinhão and its bridge over the Douro under a blue sky.

Questions people ask

Good questions about The Douro line

How do I get from Porto to the Douro Valley by train?

Take a CP InterRegional train on the Linha do Douro from Porto Campanhã, or from São Bento for the 15:20 and 19:25. On the timetable valid since 5 August 2026 there are seven a day to Régua (about 1 h 55) and five to Pinhão (about 2 h 20) and Pocinho (about 3 h 20). A 2026 single from Campanhã to Pinhão is €12.35. From 3 November 2026 to 24 March 2027 a bus links Caíde and Régua in the middle of the trip.

Which side of the train should I sit on for the Douro Valley?

The right-hand side, facing forward, going from Porto up the valley. The line follows the right bank of the Douro from Pala to Ferradosa, so the river and the terraced far bank are on your right all the way through Régua, Pinhão and Tua. After the Ferradosa bridge the river is on the left for the last stretch to Pocinho. Coming back to Porto, sit on the left. Seats are not reserved, so board early.

Is the train from Porto to Pinhão worth it?

Yes. From Régua to Pinhão the line runs beside the river through the heart of the Alto Douro Wine Region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, with vineyard terraces rising from the water on both banks. Pinhão station itself is decorated with 24 tile panels of the Douro and its harvest. It costs €12.35 from Campanhã in 2026, with no supplement for the view.

Can I do a Douro Valley day trip from Porto by train?

Easily. On the summer and autumn 2026 timetable, the 07:30 from Porto Campanhã reaches Pinhão at 09:51, and the 18:11 from Pinhão is back in Campanhã at 20:30, which leaves over eight hours for a quinta visit, lunch or a boat trip. During the winter works from 3 November 2026, the 07:30 arrives at 11:31 via the bus from Caíde, and the 17:15 from Pinhão is back in São Bento at 20:25.

Do I need to book Douro train tickets in advance?

There are no seat reservations on the Douro line's Regional and InterRegional trains, and the fare is fixed, so it does not rise as the date approaches; the 2026 fare from Campanhã to Pinhão is €12.35 whenever you buy. Tickets go on sale up to 60 days ahead. Buying before the day saves queuing at the station, but it does not guarantee a seat, so board early in summer.

Is there a steam train in the Douro Valley?

CP's Douro Historic Train runs in summer between Régua and Tua with five wooden carriages built between 1908 and 1934. In 2026 it was hauled by a diesel locomotive in its original colours rather than steam, and made 51 trips between 6 June and 18 October, at €60 for adults and €32 for children aged 4 to 12. The 2027 dates had not been announced on 19 October 2026.

Which Porto station does the Douro train leave from?

Most Douro trains start at Porto Campanhã, the main station on the east side of the city. On the timetable valid since 5 August 2026, two of the seven daily InterRegional trains, at 15:20 and 19:25, start at Porto São Bento in the centre, four minutes before Campanhã. For the others, take an urban train from São Bento to Campanhã, four minutes away.

The Douro line

Up the Douro along the water's edge, vineyard terraces climbing both banks and the river at the window.

Porto → Pinhão

Check times and prices

We may earn a commission when you book through Omio. It never changes what we write. · Last checked: October 2026

More train journeys

All the train journeys

Image credits: Nelso Silva (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Edgar Jiménez from Porto, Portugal (CC BY-SA 2.0) · tak.wing (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Dinu from Bucuresti, Romania (CC BY 2.0) · Daniel VILLAFRUELA. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Porto → Pinhão

Book this journey

Check times and prices