Santa Apolónia Station travel Guide

The station Santa Apolónia was Lisbon’s main train station until the construction of the ultra modern Gare do Oriente but it is still the terminus for the major of the intercity trains and all inter-country trains. For the History and description please click here. The station is located to the east of central Lisbon, on the edges of the Alfama district and is well connected by public transport with both metro (blue line) and local bus services leading to all districts of Lisbon.

The importance of Estação de Santa Apolónia will be for visitors who are planning to travel long distances by train as this is the terminus for many of the routes. There are two inter-county trains that depart from Santa Apolonia station and are:

The Sud Expresso which travels to the French border town of Hendaye and has connections with the French TGV rail network. The train departs Lisbon at 16:30 and arrives at Hendaye at 07:10 the following day. Travelling the other direction the Sud Expresso departs Hendaye at 22:20 and arrives at Lisbon Santa Apolonia at 10:30.

The Lusitânia Comboio Hotel which is the night train between Madrid and Lisbon. The Lusitânia Comboio departs from Lisbon Santa Apolonia at 22:30 and arrives at Chamartin station in Madrid at 9:30. The reverse route departs from Chamartin Madrid at 22:25 and reaches Lisbon at 07:30. The discrepancy between length of the journeys is due to the different time zones of Spain and Portugal.

Inside the station there are the expected range of shops which includes the supermarket Pingo Doce. As the station is on the edge of Alfama there is quiet a range of cafes, bars and shops within the close vicinity of the station. The station only has six train lines so is very easy to navigate, with good visual announcements and clear signage.

For visitors arriving at Santa Apolonia there are three sources of means to reach your final destinations; the metro, local bus services and taxis. The metro is the best option as the majority of the capital is connected and services are reliable and efficient.

The Santa Apolonia metro station, on the blue line was opened in 2007 and is pleasantly clean and safe, just perfect for weary travellers. Unless your hotel is in Alfama do not attempt to walk to central Lisbon (Baxia and Rossio) make a change from the blue to green metro lines. Taxis are cheap in Lisbon but always agree on a price or insist on the use of meter. Buses are very cheap but final destinations do not always indicate the route of the bus so stick to the metro.