São Bento railway station

Don’t worry, we aren’t trying to send you off somewhere else! Quite the opposite, we’re keeping you here with us! When visiting Porto, it would be a shame not to stop by the São Bento railway station, because it has such a lovely building front. Operational in 1896 but not open to passengers until 1916, it took 30 years to finally see this place finished. Built on the site of what used to be the Monastery of São Bento da Avé Maria—which gave the station its name—this train station was built by José Marques da Silva. An important architect from Porto, he inspired himself of the French Beaux-Arts style, creating an imposing symmetrical facade with two towers on each side. Did you know that he was so dedicated to his work that he completely forgot to include ticket offices? The morale of the story is that even the greatest minds make mistakes! I don’t want to shade the building front or anything, but the interior looks even better, especially the vestibule. A real art masterpiece, this entrance hall presents more than 20 000 Azulejos, which are small glazed tiles typical of Portugal. Assembled together to form frescoes, they retrace either some of the country’s key historic events or scenes from everyday life. An artistic gem of 550m², it was unveiled in 1906 by Portuguese painter Jorge Calaço, an artist of many azulejo compositions. After more than 11 years of hard work, we can safely say that it was clearly worth it. If you’re wondering, it’s the evolution of transport that is represented on this colourful frieze. Let the other travelers rush by, and as for you, take your time to appreciate this architectural gem.