Porto’s historic center has more than historic buildings, there are also three vintage tram routes operating daily:
- Tram 1 from Infante to Passeio Alegre (the longest of the three, following the river to Foz);
- Tram 22 which travels from Carmo down past Clérigos Tower, then up the steep Rua de 31 de Janeiro to Batalha;
- Tram 18 which climbs up the not-just-steep-but-long Rua de Restauração from Massarelos to Carmo.
If you just like to tram-spot, you’ll see Trams 22 and 18 coming and going beside the University of Porto Rectory Building. You may also spot the occasional unmarked vintage trams (2nd photo) that can be hired for city tours from the tram museum at Massarelos, which is currently closed but I believe re-opens to the public at the end of November 2016.
You can find out more about the heritage trams here, on the STCP site:
http://www.stcp.pt/en/tourism/porto-tram-city-tour/
Hours/Prices/Routes can be found in this PDF (including the Funicular):
http://www.portotramcitytour.pt/Porto-Tram-City-Tours.pdf
The trams only have about 20 seats, so I would advise embarking as close to the beginning of the route as possible (especially Tram 1 to Foz). As of 2011 the trams are no longer part of the public transit system except for special cardholders, which means the trams are used by tourists, not locals. While this is not an ideal situation for residents who rely on public transit every day, I arrived at the conclusion that the trams are much more fitting means of transportation for tourists in an historic city than flashy buses or tuk-tuks. Trams use existing tracks (and along route 1 to Foz they don’t share that track with the road), they are non-polluting, and they are a better fit, aesthetically.
March 8/13, 2016
Album: Portugal [Winter 2015/2016]
