This part of our website is dedicated to giving you the information that you need if you are considering moving to, or have already moved to, Portugal. We have some essential facts, hints, and tips plus a collection of personal experiences on Our Portugal Blog, where you can contribute your own stories or tips.
Getting to Coimbra/Penela from Lisbon and PortoGETTING TO COIMBRA AND PENELA, CENTRAL PORTUGAL FROM LISBON AND PORTO
* ARRIVING IN PORTUGAL
By this stage of your journey you will have arrived in Lisbon or Porto, either by plane or boat. For information on how to get to Portugal by plane and tips and info when you're here, check out the Our Portugal Blog, found here: http://www.coimbrapropertyshop.com/our-portugal.php?article=33
* HOW TO GET TO THE STATION
** IN LISBON
From Lisbon, there are two stations that go to Coimbra-B, depending on where you are in the city. These are Oriente, and Santa Apolonia. Both of these stations are served by metro lines from various points of the city. If you were to stand in the centre of Lisbon, Santa Apolonia would be a 7eur taxi drive away, with Oriente being 10eur.
** IN PORTO
In Porto you need to go to the station Porto Campanhia. It is about 20eur by taxi at rush hour from the city centre, however it is also joined to the city by the modern metro system.
* CATCHING THE TRAIN
We recommend the Alfa Pendular train service, which costs 5eur more than the normal Intercidades service. Both of these services run on the same lines through the same stations, however the Alfa trains are 15mins quicker, and much more comfortable, with a cafe on board.
You can buy your tickets at the very infrequently working self-service computers or at a service window. In Santa Apolonia this is very straight forward, however in Oriente, some windows don't servce all trains and it may require some running around, so arrive early.
The timetable for the trains from Lisbon and Porto (Norte) can be found here: http://www.coimbrapropertyshop.com/downloads/trains.pdf. On this document the InterCidades (slower, cheaper) trains have an IC icon, while the Alpha trains have what looks a little like a motorcycle helmet icon.
The station you want to get off at is Coimbra-B. It is the only station in Coimbra that receives trains from Lisbon and Porto, so if you're on the train and they say "A proxima chegada e Coimbra" (The next stop is Coimbra) it means it's time to get off!
* BUS CONNECTIONS BETWEEN COIMBRA AND PENELA
There is no train station in Penela, so you will need to catch a bus. The journey by bus between Penela and Coimbra takes approx 45mins. The bus station in Coimbra is a short walk from the train station Coimbra-B, on Avenida Fernao de Magalhaes. The bus in Penela stops in the main high-street.
The times of bus travel are shown below. For more information, you can call the Coimbra bus terminal on (00351) 239 855 270 or the council of Penela on (00351) 239 560 120.
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COIMBRA 8.25 10.25 13.10 14.30 16.30 19.15
CONDEIXA 8.52 10.52 13.37 4.57 6.57 19.42
PENELA 9.15 11.15 14.00 15.20 17.20 20.05
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PENELA 7.25 9.25 12.15 14.30 16.30 18.20
CONDEIXA 7.50 9.50 12.40 14.55 17.10 18.45
COIMBRA 8.15 10.15 13.05 15.20 17.35 19.10
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