Public transport in Porto

The Andante system

In Porto the metro, the STCP city buses and the CP suburban trains to São Bento share one fare system. The ticket is called Andante. For visitors the right card is the Andante Azul: a paper card that isn't registered to your name and is valid for one year. You load journeys onto it and can top it up again and again.

Each card is for one person only. If there are two of you, each of you needs your own Andante Azul.

The fare for a journey depends on the zone. The lowest zone is Z2; for longer trips out of the city you load a higher zone.

Which ticket suits you

Visitors have three types of ticket to choose from:

• Single journey by zone. From the first validation it is valid for one hour in Z2 and Z3, and for one hour and 15 minutes in Z4. You can change as often as you like during that time. Buy ten identical journeys and you get an eleventh free.
• Andante 24. A day ticket valid for 24 hours in the zone you choose, handy for a day with lots of journeys in the centre.
• Andante Tour. Valid for 24 hours (Tour 1) or 72 hours (Tour 3) from the first validation across the whole network, with no zones. This card can't be topped up.

The Andante Tour is not valid on the historic tram or the Funicular dos Guindais. If you use the metro and buses a lot, for example to head out of the city or to the seaside at Matosinhos, it is the easiest option. If you mostly explore the old town on foot, a few single journeys are often all you need.

How to validate

In Porto you validate every journey yourself. Tap your card on the validator when you start your journey and every time you change line or mode of transport, no more than ten minutes before departure. This also applies when you change within the same journey: validating several times within the validity period costs nothing extra.

Children under four travel free as long as they don't take up a seat of their own.

Where to buy tickets

You can get Andante cards and journeys from the ticket machines at metro stations. There are also the Lojas Andante, the customer service centres, including at Trindade, Campanhã and Casa da Música. They are open on weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00 and on Saturdays from 9:00 to 13:00, and are closed on Sundays and public holidays.

At the airport, the tourist information desk loads journeys onto Andante cards daily from 8:00 to 19:00. There is no Loja Andante at São Bento, only the CP ticket office, which also only tops up cards.

On city buses you can buy a ticket from the driver in cash, with MB WAY or contactless. But it is only valid for that one journey and costs more than a journey on the Andante card.

Paying contactless or by phone

Paying contactless with your bank card currently only works in a pilot scheme at nine metro stations: Aeroporto, Senhora da Hora, Casa da Música and Trindade on line E, and Campanhã, Bolhão, Campo 24 de Agosto, São Bento and Aliados on the other lines. City bus 500 is also included. Use only the specially marked validators. Each journey is charged as a Z4 journey, with a daily cap.

With an NFC-enabled Android phone you can travel using the Anda app without buying a ticket at all. You tap your phone on the validator and are charged later at the cheapest fare. On iPhone the app can so far only top up cards, not validate.

Tram, airport and old town

The historic trams on lines 1, 18 and 22 use their own tickets, which you buy on board. The Andante card is only valid there as a monthly pass. Which line goes where is covered on the Getting there page.

From the airport, metro line E runs to the centre, and at night bus 3M. The best way into the city after landing is explained on the Porto Airport page. The Porto Card includes no journeys and is not currently on sale.